Reference number: CH000746

How do I view the source code of a web page?

Question:

How do I view the source code of a web page?

Answer:

All Internet browsers enable users to view the HTML or other source code of any of the web pages they visit. For example, a user can easily view the code used to generate this page by following the below examples. Below is a listing of some of the different major browsers and how to view the source code in each of those browsers.

Microsoft Internet Explorer users
Mozilla Firefox and Netscape users
Opera user

When viewing the source code of a web page it is important that you keep in mind that only information and code that is not processed by the server will be displayed in the source code. For example, almost all Internet search engines process information on the server and then display the results on a web page. This means you can view the code used to generate the results page but you cannot view the search engine's source code.

This rule applies to all server side scripts, SSI, and code. Therefore, features such as search engines, forums, polls, chat, etc. will not display their code, and copying the information from the source code will likely only cause errors or direct you back to page you copied the information from.

Microsoft Internet Explorer users

To view the source code of a web page in Microsoft Internet Explorer, follow the below steps.

1. Open Internet Explorer
2. Click View
3. From the drop-down-menu click "Source"

Once the above steps have been completed a new window will open displaying the source code. 

Mozilla Firefox and Netscape users

To view the source code of a web page in Mozilla Firefox or Netscape, follow the below steps.

1. Open Mozilla Firefox or Netscape
2. Click View
3. From the drop-down-menu click "Page Source"

or

1. Press CTRL+U

Once the above steps have been completed a new window will open displaying the source code.

Opera users

To view the source code of a web page in Opera, follow the below steps.

1. Open Opera
2. Click View
3. From the drop-down-menu click "Source"

or

1. Press CTRL+F3

Once the above steps have been completed a new window will open displaying the source code. 

Related documents:

• Additional information about how to make your source code not viewable can be found on document CH000068.
• See document CH000525 for information about why a web page's source code may not be viewable.