DocumentPictureInPicture: requestWindow() method

Limited availability

This feature is not Baseline because it does not work in some of the most widely-used browsers.

Experimental: This is an experimental technology
Check the Browser compatibility table carefully before using this in production.

Secure context: This feature is available only in secure contexts (HTTPS), in some or all supporting browsers.

The requestWindow() method of the DocumentPictureInPicture interface opens the Picture-in-Picture window for the current main browsing context. It returns a Promise that fulfills with a Window instance representing the browsing context inside the Picture-in-Picture window.

The requestWindow() method requires transient activation, i.e. it must be invoked in response to a user action such as a mouse click or button press.

Syntax

js
requestWindow()
requestWindow(options)

Parameters

options Optional

An options object containing the following properties:

disallowReturnToOpener Optional

A boolean value. When set to true, this option hints to the browser that it should not display a UI control that enables the user to return to the originating tab and close the Picture-in-Picture window. Defaults to false.

For example, in Chrome's implementation of this feature, the provided UI control is a "back to tab" button in the Picture-in-Picture window's top bar:

browser window containing an embedded video player and multiple control buttons, with a back to tab button in the top bar, highlighted with a red box

height Optional

A non-negative number representing the height to set for the Picture-in-Picture window's viewport, in pixels. Defaults to 0.

preferInitialWindowPlacement Optional

A boolean value, which defaults to false. When set to true, it causes the Picture-in-Picture window to always appear back at the position and size it initially opened at, when it is closed and then reopened. By contrast, if preferInitialWindowPlacement is false the Picture-in-Picture window's size and position will be remembered when closed and reopened — it will reopen at its previous position and size, for example as set by the user.

width Optional

A non-negative number representing the width to set for the Picture-in-Picture window's viewport, in pixels. Defaults to 0.

Note: If one of height or width is specified, the other one must be too, otherwise an error is thrown. If both values are not specified, specified as 0, or set too large, the browser will clamp or ignore the values as appropriate to provide a reasonable user experience. The clamped size will vary depending on implementation, display size, and other factors.

Return value

A Promise that fulfills with a Window object instance representing the browsing context inside the Picture-in-Picture window.

Exceptions

NotSupportedError DOMException

Thrown if the API has been explicitly disabled (for example via browser settings).

NotAllowedError DOMException

Thrown if:

RangeError DOMException

Thrown if only one of height and width are set, or if height and width are set with negative values.

Examples

js
const videoPlayer = document.getElementById("player");

// ...

// Open a Picture-in-Picture window with all options set
const pipWindow = await window.documentPictureInPicture.requestWindow({
  width: videoPlayer.clientWidth,
  height: videoPlayer.clientHeight,
  disallowReturnToOpener: true,
  preferInitialWindowPlacement: true,
});

// ...

Specifications

Specification
Document Picture-in-Picture Specification
# dom-documentpictureinpicture-requestwindow

Browser compatibility

BCD tables only load in the browser

See also