WebBrowser external object

This documentation is valid for:
GeneXus 18 Help
GeneXus 17 Help

The WebBrowser external object allows you to handle events related to web-designed applications, which are embedded in Apple and Android platform applications.

You can find the WebBrowser object in the KB Explorer within the SD module, which in turn is located within the GeneXus module. That is to say, it is part of the Smart Devices API.

Methods

Open method

Opens an inline web browser, displaying the given URL. This method replaces the OpenInBrowser method of Interop external object.

Input	url:URL
Output	None

Close method

Closes the inline web browser.

Input	None
Output	None

Events

BeforeNavigate event

This event lets you capture navigation events started from an embedded web view control before they happen so that you can decide how to handle this navigation.

Note that this event is not triggered from the inline web browser, but from an embedded web view control.

In addition, this method only supports internal links via the GET method, which means that POST links are not supported.

If WebBrowser.BeforeNavigate is not present, following a link from an embedded web view control will always open the inline web browser. The reason for this is that the embedded web view control has no navigation controls (like the "back" or "refresh" buttons) required for a smooth navigation experience.

When the WebBrowser.BeforeNavigate is present, you can control if a link is opened in the same embedded web view control or if it should open an inline web browser.

This event receives the URL that will be opened, and an in-out parameter that indicates if the navigation has been handled. If you set the &handled variable to True, the application will not follow the link because it assumes it has been handled in the event. If you set it to False, the navigation is handled as usual and the application will open an inline web browser to show the &url parameter.

Input	url:URL
In-out	handled:Boolean
Output	None

OnClose event

This event is triggered when the inline web browser opened within a Native Mobile application is closed. It is very helpful to code communication between mobile and web applications, allowing the execution of custom actions, such as logs, notifications, or specific logic when the browser is closed.

Input	url:URL
Output	None

Note: The OnClose event and the Close method only work when the Open method is used to open the browser.

Samples

Navigating inside the embedded web view control

To navigate inside the embedded web view control (say you have a &Component variable), the following code can be used:

Event GeneXus.SD.WebBrowser.BeforeNavigate(&Url, &Handled)
  composite
    &Component = &Url // assign the new URL to the variable in the form
    &Handled = true
  endcomposite
EndEvent

Keep in mind that the typical navigation options (like the "back" or "refresh" actions) will not be available.

Implement a payment flow

This event is also useful for implementing a payment flow where the web page acts like some kind of wizard with several steps, and after finishing it calls some well-known callback URL to finish the payment process.

This can be implemented as follows:

Event GeneXus.SD.WebBrowser.BeforeNavigate(&Url, &Handled)
  composite
    if &Url = &callbackURL
      <your_code>
    endif
    &Handled = true // always force navigation inside the embedded web view
  endcomposite
EndEvent