VRDisplayCapabilities.canPresent

This is an experimental technology
Because this technology's specification has not stabilized, check the compatibility table for usage in various browsers. Also note that the syntax and behavior of an experimental technology is subject to change in future versions of browsers as the specification changes.

The canPresent read-only property of the VRDisplayCapabilities interface returns a Boolean stating whether the VR display is capable of presenting content (e.g. through an HMD).

This is useful for identifying "magic window" devices that are capable of 6DoF tracking but for which VRDisplay.requestPresent() is not meaningful. If canPresent is false, calls to VRDisplay.requestPresent() will fail, and VRDisplay.getEyeParameters() will return null.

Syntax

var canIPresent = vrDisplayCapabilitiesInstance.canPresent;

Value

A Boolean.

Examples

function reportDisplays() {
  navigator.getVRDisplays().then(function(displays) {
    for(var i = 0; i < displays.length; i++) {
      var cap = displays[i].capabilities;
      // cap is a VRDisplayCapabilities object
      var listItem = document.createElement('li');
      listItem.innerHTML = '<strong>Display ' + (i+1) + '</strong>'
                   + '<br>VR Display ID: ' + displays[i].displayId
                   + '<br>VR Display Name: ' + displays[i].displayName
                   + '<br>Display can present content: ' + cap.canPresent
                   + '<br>Display is separate from the computer\'s main display: ' + cap.hasExternalDisplay
                   + '<br>Display can return position info: ' + cap.hasPosition
                   + '<br>Display can return orientation info: ' + cap.hasOrientation
                   + '<br>Display max layers: ' + cap.maxLayers;
      list.appendChild(listItem);
    }
  });
}

Specifications

Specification Status Comment
WebVR 1.1
The definition of 'canPresent' in that specification.
Editor's Draft Initial definition

Browser compatibility

Feature Chrome Edge Firefox (Gecko) Internet Explorer Opera Safari (WebKit)
Basic support No support[1] (Yes) 55 (55)[2] No support No support No support
Feature Android Edge Firefox Mobile (Gecko) IE Phone Opera Mobile Safari Mobile Chrome for Android Samsung Internet for GearVR
Basic support No support No support 55.0 (55) No support No support No support (Yes)[3] (Yes)
 

[1] API Available on all platforms behind a flag, but currently only works on desktop in an experimental version of Chrome (other builds won't return any devices when Navigator.getVRDisplays() is invoked).

[2] Currently only Windows support is enabled by default. Mac support is available in Firefox Nightly.

[3] Currently supported only by Google Daydream.

See also

Document Tags and Contributors

 Contributors to this page: chrisdavidmills, abbycar
 Last updated by: chrisdavidmills,