Desktop

How to run a Wisej app as a standalone desktop executable.

.NET Core

Currently we don't have the Wisej.Application.exe built for .NET Core. If you need it contact [e-mail] or use Electron.

👉 If you are deploying on a Linux distribution or on MacOS, make sure libgdiplus is installed.

.NET Framework

Wisej also supports a local desktop deployment (we call it Standalone deployment) as a local executable. It's very similar to the Electron system, except that we provide the shell for Internet Explorer, Chromium, Firefox and Edge.

You can find the project source on GitHub. After downloading the extensions source code, you can compile the HostService projects. In the /bin directory you will find 4 directories (one for each browser) containing a single executable Wisej.Application.exe.

All you need to do to deploy your Wisej app as a local app, is to copy the version of Wisej.Application.exe that you want to use along with the deployment files. The executable must be placed in the root folder, at the same level as /bin (not inside /bin).

To determine which files to copy to the deployment folder, please follow the IIS deployment list.

CodeProject demo running as a desktop application

When your Wisej application is deployed as a Standalone executable running as a desktop application, your "server side" code in .NET is running together with with the "client side" browser. This configuration gives your .NET code full access to the user's machine.

You can:

• Read/write the user's registry

• Read/write the entire file system

• Connect to a local or remote database

• Show native windows and controls

• Launch and control Word or any other local application

It is basically a local application running in the browser.

License

Desktop applications can be redistributed without using a server license. Technology partners can request a free Desktop License by contacting [e-mail].

Add <add key="Wisej.DesktopMode" value="true"/> to web.config. Otherwise Wisej.NET will look for a server licenses instead of the free desktop license.

Personalization

You can customize the final executable in several ways:

1. Each of the standalone applications is a simple WinForms project with a form and a web browser control. You can personalize it freely: i.e. add a toolbar, status bar, icon, etc.

2. Change the initial splash loader simply by placing either a splash.png, splash.gif or splash.jpg file in the root project folder.

3. Change the application's icon.

IE

Uses the Internet Explorer component that is already preinstalled with Windows. This is the smallest executable of all at roughly 500KB.

Chromium

Uses CefSharp integrated in a WinForms application frame. The final executable is roughly 130MB since we embed the full Chromium system in the executable.

You can update the CefSharp version simply by copying the newer files over the same files included in our GitHub repository.

Firefox

Uses GeckoFx integrated in a WinForms application frame. The final executable is roughly 102MB since we embed the full Firefox system in the executable.

You can update the GeckoFx version simply by copying the newer files over the same files included in our GitHub repository.

Edge/Chromium

Uses the latest WebView2 control from Microsoft integrated integrated in a WinForms frame. The final executable is approximately 850KB but it doesn't include the WebView2 SDK deployment.

You can update the WebView2 controls simply by copying the newer files over the same files included in our GitHub repository. However, the WebView2 SDK needs to be downloaded and updated independently.