Web browser (/#glob/webbrowser)

The PROMOTIC system uses the OS Windows browser for viewing Web pages. The browser is opened by the by the Pm.CreateView method, just like the other PROMOTIC viewers.
Opening Web pages in the application is the same for both types of browsers (WebBrowser and WebView2), it is not possible to specify which one to use when opening. The application is set to use either the older WebBrowser or the new WebView2.

Example:

Opening a new separate WWW page viewer window for a specific WWW address:

JavaScriptVBScriptSelect and copy to clipboard



var oCreator = Pm.CreateView(null, "/#glob/webbrowser", "url:https://www.promotic.eu;", "target:_blank;");

oCreator.Open();

1. WebBrowser (MSHTML, InternetExplorer 11)

The default legacy Web browser that is based on InternetExplorer 11 browser technology, is a standard part of the Windows OS and does not need to be installed. This browser is implemented by the MSHTML.dll library, which is always part of the Windows OS, even if InternetExplorer 11 is not installed.

2. WebView2 (Edge)

Optional new modern Web browser based on Edge (Chrome) browser technology, is not a standard part of the Windows OS and must be installed. It may happen that this component will be automatically installed in future versions of the Windows OS or another program has already installed this component (e.g. MS Office).

1) Installing the WebView2:
The component is called Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime version Evergreen (always the latest version). There is a version for 32 and 64-bit Windows OS. On 64-bit Windows, the 64-bit variant of WebView2 will work with both 32 and 64-bit PROMOTIC. There is also a full version of the installer (it no longer accesses the internet during installation) and also a very small version of the installer (everything is downloaded from the Internet during the installation). The installers can be downloaded from the Microsoft website.
After the installation, Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime will appear in the list of installed Windows OS applications. It is automatically updated to the latest version, and can also be uninstalled.

2) Change the default Web browser to WebView2:
The key WebView2 is used to change it in the application.

3) Benefits of WebView2:

- A modern browser, supporting the latest standards, the most widely used in the world, highest possible level of compatibility with WWW sites.

- High performance and stability due to the fact that several independent processes are used to display the page (chrome.exe).

- Ability to display DevTools console with debugging tools (key F12).

4) Disadvantages of WebView2:

- Needs to be installed.

- The active browser does not send any keystroke information to the PROMOTIC application, so the PROMOTIC application control by hot keys does not work. If any other PROMOTIC window is activated with the mouse, then the keys work normally.

- Some browser dialogs are not implemented as Windows OS dialogs, but as part of the browser page. For example, the printer selection window when printing, it means that you cannot print an HTML page invisibly from the application by scripting, although the printer dialog was displayed in the centre of the monitor, the actual browser could be off the monitor and thus invisible.

- When displaying an HTML page by script from memory (not from disk), links to images and other resources do not work from that page. A workaround is to save the page to an auxiliary file on disk and display it from disk (file:// or http:// protocol).