SaveAs functionality

[jgrahovac]

I'm using WebView2 in C++. How can I implement SaveAs option from right click menu? It is supposed to launch SaveAs dialog to save html file.

AB#32723386

[aks1008]

Hi @jgrahovac,

Not sure how to implement it is the C++. But if you have implemented already it and it is not working, it might be due to you are running application in Administrator mode. I have faced similar problem. I had WPF application where I was using SaveAs and Print functionality of WebView2, but it was not opening SaveAs dialog box. It was due to Admin mode.

Hope this might help you. Happy Coding :)

Thanks, AkshayL

[champnic]

If this is the admin/elevated issue, we are tracking that in #802. Otherwise I would expect this to just work.

[rgup63]

Does webview2 support ShowSaveAsDialog() to open save dialog box? I can see same is supported in IE based web browser like this WebBrowser.ShowSaveAsDialog(); . I am looking for something similar to this in webview2.

[champnic]

@rgup63 No we don't support that as a WebView2 API today. Do you want me to open that as a feature request?

[rgup63]

@champnic Yes please, I think it would be good if webview2 supports this feature.

[champnic]

Done :)

[szanto90balazs]

Hi @champnic 👋

Any update on this one? It would be a very useful feature to programmatically trigger the "Save As" flow, since the Ctrl+S hotkey is disabled (which is documented here: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/webview2/concepts/browser-features). Currently the only available option is to use the context menu. This way it's not possible to add the "Save As" to the main menu and assign a hotkey to it.

The only way "Save" can be triggered, if customization is made to the context menu. Still, this is only restricted to the context menu and it's also an experimental feature as of today.

Last, I think it would worth removing the Ctrl+S input gesture text from the "Save As" context menu item, as it is disabled on purpose.

Thanks in advance!

[champnic]

Hi @szanto90balazs! No update on this one yet, sorry!

[JMPZ11]

Just dropping a line - I assumed this capability would be available and wasted 6 hours today.

Also, WHY ISN'T THIS OPEN SOURCE???

This is exactly the sort of thing that should be - it boggles the mind in fact. You wrote a closed-source, verifiably half-a**ed web browser control for your open-source-based browser to be used on your open source dev platforms... and you made it closed.

No DOM, no ability to save pages... this remains a HUGE regression from the IE controls. I'd be better off reparenting the window or some whacky alternative.

[nishitha-burman]

Hello,

You can use JavaScript APIs to implement SaveAs. Here is an example:

var request = new XMLHttpRequest();
request.open("GET", "https://www.bing.com/");
request.responseType = "text";
request.send();
request.addEventListener("loadend", loadEnd);
async function loadEnd(e) {
    const content = request.responseText;
    const opts = {
        types: [{
            description: 'html file',
            accept: { 'text/html': ['.html'] },
        }],
    };
    const handle = await window.showSaveFilePicker(opts);
    const writable = await handle.createWritable();
    writable.write(content);
    writable.close();
}

Let us know if this addresses your scenario.

[szanto90balazs]

Hello @nishitha-burman,

We aim to download all the assets related to the page. If I understand it correctly, the proposed solution only downloads the HTML page, but not the other assets (CSS, JS, image files, ...) as opposed to the browser's SaveAs functionality.

[nishitha-burman]

Hi @szanto90balazs,

Thank you for your reply. We are currently investigating. Some follow-up questions:

1. Can you please describe your scenario where you would like to use SaveAs programmatically?
2. Would you like this functionality triggered by any hotkey?
3. What file format(s) would you like to save the file as?
4. Do you want to save the assets into different folders or everything in one file?

Thank you, Nishitha

[ghost]

Hi @szanto90balazs, unfortunately, we don't have a direct API to do this right now. However if you can send input to the WebView2 window, there is a workaround. You can send a right click input and handle the ContextMenuRequested event by setting the SelectedCommandId property to the "Save As" item, which will run that command.

[szanto90balazs]

@nishitha-burman I'll try to answer your follow up questions:

Can you please describe your scenario where you would like to use SaveAs programmatically?

From the context menu, from any WPF menu which might be shared globally across webview instances or using a global hotkey

Would you like this functionality triggered by any hotkey?

Yes.

What file format(s) would you like to save the file as?

The same formats that's offered by the "Save as" dialog triggered from the context menu.

Do you want to save the assets into different folders or everything in one file?

It would be good enough to stick to the same formats provided just like Save As does.

@yildirimcagri Good idea, I'll look into it.

[szanto90balazs]

@yildirimcagri The workaround you suggested worked great. I was also able to override the global Ctlr+S shortcut, so I can trigger SaveAs using key bindings.

This SO post helped significantly with the implementation. Some changes will be needed to it, though: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/6554494/how-can-i-send-a-right-click-event-to-an-automationelement-using-wpfs-ui-automa

See code example:

public static void RightClick(this AutomationElement element)
{
    Point p = element.GetClickablePoint();

    NativeStructs.Input input = new NativeStructs.Input
    {
        type = NativeEnums.SendInputEventType.Mouse,
        mouseInput = new NativeStructs.MouseInput
        {
            dx = 0,
            dy = 0,
            mouseData = 0,
            dwFlags = NativeEnums.MouseEventFlags.Absolute | NativeEnums.MouseEventFlags.RightDown | NativeEnums.MouseEventFlags.Move,
            time = 0,
            dwExtraInfo = IntPtr.Zero,
        },
    };

        var primaryScreen = Screen.PrimaryScreen;
        input.mouseInput.dx = Convert.ToInt32((p.X - primaryScreen.Bounds.Left) * 65536 / primaryScreen.Bounds.Width);
        input.mouseInput.dy = Convert.ToInt32((p.Y - primaryScreen.Bounds.Top) * 65536 / primaryScreen.Bounds.Height);
    NativeMethods.SendInput(1, ref input, Marshal.SizeOf(input));
    input.mouseInput.dwFlags = NativeEnums.MouseEventFlags.Absolute | NativeEnums.MouseEventFlags.RightUp | NativeEnums.MouseEventFlags.Move;
    NativeMethods.SendInput(1, ref input, Marshal.SizeOf(input));
}

internal static class NativeMethods
{
    [DllImport("user32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
    internal static extern uint SendInput(uint nInputs, ref NativeStructs.Input pInputs, int cbSize);
}

internal static class NativeStructs
{
    [StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)]
    internal struct Input
    {
        public NativeEnums.SendInputEventType type;
        public MouseInput mouseInput;
    }

    [StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)]
    internal struct MouseInput
    {
        public int dx;
        public int dy;
        public uint mouseData;
        public NativeEnums.MouseEventFlags dwFlags;
        public uint time;
        public IntPtr dwExtraInfo;
    }
}

internal static class NativeEnums
{
    internal enum SendInputEventType : int
    {
        Mouse = 0,
        Keyboard = 1,
        Hardware = 2,
    }

    [Flags]
    internal enum MouseEventFlags : uint
    {
        Move = 0x0001,
        LeftDown = 0x0002,
        LeftUp = 0x0004,
        RightDown = 0x0008,
        RightUp = 0x0010,
        MiddleDown = 0x0020,
        MiddleUp = 0x0040,
        XDown = 0x0080,
        XUp = 0x0100,
        Wheel = 0x0800,
        Absolute = 0x8000,
    }
}

Works with multiple displays as well, but the example code needs to be changed to get the screen the WebView2 is displayed on.

[nishitha-burman]

Sounds good, thanks for the update @szanto90balazs. Closing this issue since the workaround works.

[champnic]

We've removed the "Ctrl+S" hotkey text from the context menu, and it should be in runtime versions 105.0.1340.0+.

We're also going to reopen this issue to track future improvements to invoking SaveAs. While there is a workaround that exists, it's relatively cumbersome and non-intuitive.

[champnic]

@Mips128 from issue #2654 was also asking for the ability to set a path and type when saving to avoid launching the dialog and initiate the save silently.

[Mips128]

@champnic thanks for integrating this feature request into this ticket. I just want to point out that the discussed work around does not work in our case, due to the save dialog that appears.

[Mips128]

I just want to kindly ask the following two questions: Do you have any news regarding this feature request? Do you know if and when it will be implemented?

[nishitha-burman]

Hi @Mips128,

This feature request is in our backlog and something we will be looking into next year.

[nishitha-burman]

Hello,

We are looking into this feature and I have a couple of questions:

1. What kind of file types are you looking for support with the SaveAs functionality (e.g. HTML pages, PDF, images, video, etc.)?
2. Are you looking to build your own SaveAs dialog, trigger a built in one, or require no dialog (silent SaveAs)?
3. If you want to use a built in SaveAs dialog, what kind of customizations do you require? Are you looking for the ability to also close the dialog?
4. Do you require to set a default file path to save the file in?

@Mips128, @jgrahovac, @aks1008, @rgup63, @szanto90balazs

Thank you!

[mikkelmogensen]

I am looking to build my own SaveAs dialog for HTML pages, PDF, images, video, etc

[donid]

@nishitha-burman Hi, I have been hoping that WebView2 would implement SaveAs for quite a while. For me, the MHTHML format would be most important, so that I can save (archive) a whole page. Similar to PrintToPdfAsync and PrintToPdfStreamAsync it is always useful to be able to specify a filename or to receive a stream instance. This would provide great flexibility and the SaveAs API would be consistent to PrintToPdf.

[nishitha-burman]

Thank you for the feedback @mikkelmogensen and @donid. We are currently working on a SaveAs API and I would like to better understand your requirements. @donid are you looking to build your own SaveAs dialog or trigger the built-in SaveAs dialog? Are you also looking for an API to close the dialog?

Thanks!

[donid]

@nishitha-burman I am very happy to hear that this feature is in progress. My use-case would be to save pages as MHTML to a common folder that has been configured in advance - so, I would not need to use the built-in SaveAs dialog.

[nishitha-burman]

@donid Thanks for the details. To clarify, you don't require any SaveAs dialogs (custom or built in)?

[donid]

@nishitha-burman I am planing to use the SaveAs (MHTML) feature in a WinForms application. Maybe I will (optionally) allow the user to specify a filename by invoking the SaveFileDialog component that is provided by WinForms. Even if I would allow the user to choose the file format, that could easily be done with that component. So, I don't see any advantage in having api-access to WebView2's SaveAs dialog. Another scenario where I might use the new SaveAs feature is automated saving of web-pages, controlled by a command line interface (no dialogs at all).

[AndreaMontanari89]

Same scenario for me, can't wait for this feature! ✌️

[nishitha-burman]

@mikkelmogensen can you provide more details on your scenario for PDF, images, video? Are you looking support for a scenario where you save the whole page that contains images, pdf, video or the scenario where end user hovers over an image or pdf and do "Save-image-as"?