Microsoft has released a new feature called Windows Control Overlay for Windows 10 and Windows 11 operating systems. Developers can use it to make their web applications more native-like.
Progressive Web App (PWA) is a web application built using web technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, but it works and looks like a native application. Developing a PWA is generally considered more efficient and cost-effective than a native application. While this technology has been around for a while on smartphones, it only started materializing on desktop operating systems recently, at least according to Microsoft.
There is, however, one visual aspect of web apps on Windows that reveals the fact that it is not a native app, and that is the title bar. This is a 30px area at the top of a window, next to the close, minimize, and maximize icons, that displays an application-defined icon or a line of text. While native apps were able to display content anywhere in the app window, including the title bar, web apps were forced to use the default title bar, making them different .
In January 2020, Microsoft offered the Windows Controls Overlay feature to allow developers to even customize their web application’s title bar. Since then, the company has worked with various web browsers to implement it. The feature recently rolled into Google’s web browser with the Chrome 105 update, and it’s also available in Microsoft Edge.
With this, Microsoft has now opened up Windows Control Overlay for use by developers, making the feature a default experience for everyone in Microsoft Edge 105. This means that developers can now customize their web application’s title bar, which which makes it neater. and watch more online with the native app.
“We think PWAs are great for building desktop web apps. Turning your website into an app that really feels like it belongs on a desktop has never been easier, and using the Window Control Overlay feature will help you create desktop apps much more modern and attractive for your users.“, reads the Microsoft blog.
