Advanced Browser

Applies to:
Templates overview

 

 

The "Advanced Browser" is an enhanced version of the "Simple Browser" with more professional functionality.

 

It has powerful additional features like a drop-down-menu, a google searchbar, a branded enduser setup wizard, a special popup window interface (state) and a new popup stopping feature.

 

 

Technology description:
The advanced browser template does contain all controls of the simple browser, and additional ones.

 

 

Drop down menu:

The drop down menu with additional functionality, such as Open, Save as, etc., has been realized via a Panel object in connection with buttons:

 

 

Drop down menus can be realized in any design with transparencies, so they don't need to be in windows style and can have any design.

A Drop down menu is realized via the use of a panel with role "Menu" in combination with a button object with this panel as target and action "Show".
 

The menu items are standard buttons, which are placed on the panel. They work like any other BrowserBob button.

 

Creating drop down menus (by the use of buttons and panels)

 

 

The google searchbar:
The searchbar enables you to search google directly from the user interface of the advanced browser.
 

 

 

Google searchbar with search button and clear button.

 

The searchbar has been realized via the use of an Edit object with role "simple", which allows text input, in combination with a button with target MainWeb and action "Navigate to target", which opens a link to a URL in the MainWeb window.
 

The search link is entered into the parameter field of the button.

Parameter: http://www.google.com/search?&q=<_Search Input.Text_>

 

The link contains a BrowserBob text variable (<_Search Input.Text_>), which reads the content of the edit field and replaces the variable with the text string during runtime.

Example: if you enter the searchstring BrowserBob into the searchbar, the link contain the following: http://www.google.com/search?&q=BrowserBob

 

TIP: existing variables can be found and entered into the parameter field via the parameter selection button. Under text variables, you find ready made variables for all your edit fields any other objects.

 

The "Clear" button does nothing else than clearing the search input field again, by Action "Set Text" with the concerned edit object as target (in our example the edit is named "Search input"), the parameter field of the button is left blank, which causes the clearing.

 

 

The setup wizard for enduser installation:
The advanced browser contains basic settings for an enduser setup wizard. Click on the Build button, in order to access these settings.
 

 

Using a panel with role "Setup" in combination with a web object and 3 buttons, allow you to create a fully customized enduser setup wizard for installation of your application.

 

Learn all about finishing your application as setup.exe here:

 

Finish your application - the build function

 

 

The Popup stopping functionality:
Simple but effective, the popup stopping functionality has been realized creating a new State (called "Main State no Popups") and by 2 menu items (buttons), which do simply change the state (the user interface) by action "Change State". The MainState has been set to allow new windows, the Popup stopping state simply denies the opening of new windows (by choosing "Cancel" under "New windows"). This specification can be made under properties of MainWeb separately in each state.

 

Both menu buttons have been positioned in the exact same place on the menu panel. One button is hidden in each state. Like this you achieve the effect, that a different button is shown in the menu, depending on the active state, "Disable Popups" or "Activate Popups".

 

 

The customized Popup windows user interface:
BrowserBob allows you to create a separate interface for popup windows, so you can create a window without buttons for example for displaying popup content.

 

The technology used to achieve this, is States. You just create a new state and change its appearance and then select this State in the properties of your MainDialog under States in the Popup drop down list. This popup window style is always called when the system asks for a new window without toolbar (like this would be in case of Internet Explorer). This request is interpreted as a request for a Popup window by the BrowserBob application, which causes it to open the Popup state if available.

 

 

Related topics:
Creating drop down menus (by the use of buttons and panels)

Variables

States overview

Finish your application - the build function