Google Chrome – Meaning of Clockwise/Counter-Clockwise Rolling Circle

browsergoogle-chromeguiuser interface

When using Google Chrome I've observed that the icon that holds the favicon.ico shows a rolling circle before a page is fully loaded.

It appears as if the circle is rolling counter-clockwise when the browser is in the following states:

  • Resolving hostname
  • Connecting to server
  • Waiting for response (before first byte being sent from server?)

Whereas the circle appears to be rolling clockwise when the browser is in the following states:

  • Loading the page or referenced resources

My questions:

  • Are my observations correct w.r.t. the rolling circles indicating state?
  • Has anyone seen this documented somewhere?

Best Answer

When you load a webpage in a tab, a slow-spinning gray circle on the tab lets you know that Google Chrome is connecting to the website. The circle turns blue and spins faster once loading is in progress. Once the webpage is completely loaded, the icon changes to the website's graphic.

http://www.google.com/support/chrome/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=95622

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