Virtual scrolling libraries interfere with contenteditable selection
OS: macOS 14.0 · Device: Desktop or Laptop MacBook Pro · Browser: Chrome 120.0 · Keyboard: US
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When a contenteditable element is used with virtual scrolling libraries (e.g., for large documents), the virtual scrolling mechanism may interfere with text selection and caret positioning. The selection may be lost when elements are removed from the DOM during scrolling.
When a contenteditable element is used with virtual scrolling libraries (e.g., for large documents), the virtual scrolling mechanism may interfere with text selection and caret positioning. The selection may be lost when elements are removed from the DOM during scrolling.
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| Case | OS | Device | Browser | Keyboard | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ce-0078-contenteditable-with-virtual-scrolling | macOS 14.0 | Desktop or Laptop MacBook Pro | Chrome 120.0 | US | draft |
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OS: macOS 14.0 · Device: Desktop or Laptop MacBook Pro · Browser: Chrome 120.0 · Keyboard: US
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When a contenteditable element has CSS filters applied (blur, brightness, etc.), editing performance may be degraded. Typing may lag, and selection may be slow to update.
When a contenteditable element has CSS will-change property set, performance may be affected. In some cases, it may improve performance by hinting the browser about upcoming changes. In other cases, it may degrade performance by creating unnecessary layers.
A known Chromium regression around spellcheck and large contenteditable regions caused severe typing lag—documented for planning workarounds such as spellcheck=false or chunking.
When a MutationObserver is attached to a contenteditable element or its parent, the observer callbacks may interfere with editing performance. Frequent DOM mutations during typing can trigger many observer callbacks, causing lag or jank.
getSelection(), getRangeAt, and DOM walks over very large contenteditable trees can block the main thread when the user selects all or drags across thousands of nodes—mobile devices suffer first.
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