WebView2 New Windows Request: The Ultimate Guide to Opening New Tabs Inside Your Application

Are you tired of WebView2’s default behavior of opening new windows in a separate browser instance? Do you want to provide a seamless user experience by opening new tabs inside your application instead? Look no further! In this comprehensive guide, we’ll take you through the steps to achieve just that.

Understanding the Problem

When a user clicks on a link or submits a form in a WebView2 control, the default behavior is to open a new window in a separate browser instance. This can be frustrating for users, especially in applications that require a seamless experience. Imagine a scenario where a user is working on a complex task and suddenly, a new browser window pops up, disrupting their workflow.

This is where the NewWindowRequested event comes in. This event is triggered when the WebView2 control needs to create a new window, and it’s up to us to decide how to handle it. In this article, we’ll explore how to capture this event and open new tabs inside our application instead of separate browser windows.

Capturing the NewWindowRequested Event

The first step is to capture the NewWindowRequested event in your WebView2 control. You can do this by adding an event handler to the CoreWebView2.NewWindowRequested event.

private void webView_NewWindowRequested(object sender, CoreWebView2NewWindowRequestedEventArgs e)
{
    // Handle the event here
}

In this example, we’ve added an event handler to the NewWindowRequested event. The e parameter provides information about the new window request, such as the URL and the window features.

Creating a New Tab

Now that we’ve captured the event, it’s time to create a new tab inside our application. We’ll create a new instance of the WebView2 control and add it to a tab control or a similar UI element.

private void webView_NewWindowRequested(object sender, CoreWebView2NewWindowRequestedEventArgs e)
{
    // Create a new WebView2 control
    CoreWebView2 newWebView = new CoreWebView2();

    // Add the new WebView2 control to a tab control
    TabItem newTab = new TabItem();
    newTab.Content = newWebView;
    tabs.AddTabItem(newTab);

    // Set the initial URL
    newWebView.Source = e.Uri;
}

In this example, we’ve created a new instance of the WebView2 control and added it to a tab control. We’ve also set the initial URL of the new WebView2 control to the requested URL.

Handling Navigation

Now that we have a new tab, we need to handle navigation within the tab. We can do this by adding event handlers to the Navigating and NavigationCompleted events.

private void newWebView_Navigating(object sender, CoreWebView2NavigatingEventArgs e)
{
    // Handle navigation
}

private void newWebView_NavigationCompleted(object sender, CoreWebView2NavigationCompletedEventArgs e)
{
    // Handle navigation completion
}

In these event handlers, you can perform tasks such as updating the tab title, displaying a loading indicator, or handling navigation errors.

Handling Window Features

When a new window is requested, the e parameter provides information about the window features, such as the width, height, and whether the window should be resizable. We can use this information to customize the new tab.

private void webView_NewWindowRequested(object sender, CoreWebView2NewWindowRequestedEventArgs e)
{
    // Create a new WebView2 control
    CoreWebView2 newWebView = new CoreWebView2();

    // Set the initial width and height
    newWebView.Width = e.WindowFeatures.Width;
    newWebView.Height = e.WindowFeatures.Height;

    // Set whether the window should be resizable
    newWebView.Resizeable = e.WindowFeatures.Resizable;
}

In this example, we’ve used the window features to set the initial width and height of the new WebView2 control and whether it should be resizable.

Common Scenarios

Here are some common scenarios to consider when opening new tabs inside your application:

Scenario	Solution
Opening a new tab for a specific URL	Create a new WebView2 control and set the initial URL to the specified URL.
Opening a new tab for a popup window	Create a new WebView2 control and set the initial URL to the popup URL. You can also customize the window features, such as the width and height.
Opening a new tab for a file download	Create a new WebView2 control and set the initial URL to the download URL. You can also handle the file download by capturing the DownloadStarting event.

Best Practices

Here are some best practices to keep in mind when opening new tabs inside your application:

• Use a consistent UI element for tabs, such as a tab control or a navigation menu.
• Provide a way for users to close tabs, such as a close button or a context menu.
• Handle navigation errors and provide a error page or a friendly error message.
• Use the window features to customize the new tab, such as setting the initial width and height.
• Consider using a separate thread or process for each tab to improve performance and stability.

Conclusion

In this article, we’ve explored how to open new tabs inside your application instead of separate browser windows when using WebView2. By capturing the NewWindowRequested event and creating a new WebView2 control, you can provide a seamless user experience and improve the overall usability of your application. Remember to handle navigation, window features, and common scenarios, and follow best practices to create a robust and user-friendly application.

By following the instructions and guidelines outlined in this article, you’ll be able to create an application that provides a seamless and integrated experience for your users. Happy coding!

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