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#21
José Roca Software / Re: AfxNova progress
Last post by José Roca - June 09, 2026, 09:29:24 PMThe idea is simple. I already have a class, CWebView2, to allow to embed an instance of WebView2 in any window. CWebView2Canvas extends CWebView2, calls the BASE constructor to create the instance of WebView2 and...
Uses this tiny html script to create a canvas:
Uses this tiny JavaScript function to get the context when the web page is loaded:
If the WebView2 control is ready, adds the script to the control and navigats to our tiny web page.
With the reference to CWebView2Canvas class we can call our wrapper functions, e.g.
As WebView2 is asynchronous, the safest way is to use the CWebView2NavigationCompletedEventHandler. I provide overridable classes to implement your custom event handlers.
For the wrapper methods, I use JavaScript inside them, e.g.
If the JavaScript function does not exist, the wrapper adds it to the web page and then calls it with ExecuteScript.
As I still don't have much expertise with JavaScript, I ask the IA to write it for me.
It is not crossplatform, because WebView2 is a control for Windows, but the size of the executable of one small example with a CWindow's GUI, the CWebView2 and CWebView2Canvas classes, the event's class, DWSTRING and the wrappers for AfxNova, weights around 67 KB, not 600. As a simple example of CWindow with a button, weights 54.5 KB, this means that my WebView2 classes add 12.5 KB.
As the javascript functions are added on demand, the size of the application will grow depending on how many different ones you use. The size of the executable of the example that produces the capture below weights 82.5 KB and it is using 14 different functions.
We are not limited to graphics functions, but we can do everything: images, video, audio... and even to use external libraries.
Uses this tiny html script to create a canvas:
Code Select
DIM s AS STRING = $"<html>"
s += "<body style='margin:0; padding:0; overflow:auto;'>"
s += $"<canvas id='cv' width='" & STR(cvWidth) & "' height='" & STR(cvHeight) & "'></canvas>"
s += $"</body>"
s += $"</html>"
Uses this tiny JavaScript function to get the context when the web page is loaded:
Code Select
DIM JS_INIT AS STRING = $"var cv, ctx;"
JS_INIT += "window.onload = function() {"
JS_INIT += " cv = document.getElementById('cv');"
JS_INIT += " ctx = cv.getContext('2d');"
JS_INIT += "};"
If the WebView2 control is ready, adds the script to the control and navigats to our tiny web page.
Code Select
IF this.IsReady THEN
this.AddScriptToExecuteOnDocumentCreated(JS_INIT, NULL)
this.NavigateToString(s)
END IF
With the reference to CWebView2Canvas class we can call our wrapper functions, e.g.
Code Select
DIM pCanvas AS CWebView2Canvas = CWebView2Canvas(hWin, dwsUserDataFolder)
...
...
pCanvas->DrawText("Hello World", 100, 100, "red", 40)
pCanvas->DrawLine(50, 50, 300, 200, "blue", 4)
pCanvas->DrawCircle(200, 200, 50, "purple", 3)
As WebView2 is asynchronous, the safest way is to use the CWebView2NavigationCompletedEventHandler. I provide overridable classes to implement your custom event handlers.
For the wrapper methods, I use JavaScript inside them, e.g.
Code Select
' ========================================================================================
' Draws a circle.
' x, y : coordinates
' radius; Radius
' clr: The color of the pen
' nWidth : The width of the pen
' ========================================================================================
PRIVATE SUB CWebView2Canvas.DrawCircle( _
BYVAL x AS SINGLE, BYVAL y AS SINGLE, _
BYVAL radius AS SINGLE, _
BYREF clr AS STRING, _
BYVAL nWidth AS LONG = 1)
' // Make sure that the JS function exists
IF m_hasDrawCircle = FALSE THEN
DIM js AS STRING
js = _
"function drawCircle(x, y, radius, color, width) {" _
& " ctx.strokeStyle = color;" _
& " ctx.lineWidth = width;" _
& " ctx.beginPath();" _
& " ctx.arc(x, y, radius, 0, Math.PI * 2);" _
& " ctx.stroke();" _
& "}"
this.ExecuteScript(js, NULL)
m_hasDrawCircle = TRUE
END IF
' // Call the JS function
DIM js AS STRING
js = "drawCircle(" _
& STR(x) & "," & STR(y) & "," _
& STR(radius) & ",'" _
& clr & "'," & STR(nWidth) & ");"
this.ExecuteScript(js, NULL)
END SUB
' ========================================================================================
If the JavaScript function does not exist, the wrapper adds it to the web page and then calls it with ExecuteScript.
As I still don't have much expertise with JavaScript, I ask the IA to write it for me.
It is not crossplatform, because WebView2 is a control for Windows, but the size of the executable of one small example with a CWindow's GUI, the CWebView2 and CWebView2Canvas classes, the event's class, DWSTRING and the wrappers for AfxNova, weights around 67 KB, not 600. As a simple example of CWindow with a button, weights 54.5 KB, this means that my WebView2 classes add 12.5 KB.
As the javascript functions are added on demand, the size of the application will grow depending on how many different ones you use. The size of the executable of the example that produces the capture below weights 82.5 KB and it is using 14 different functions.
We are not limited to graphics functions, but we can do everything: images, video, audio... and even to use external libraries.
#22
José Roca Software / Re: AfxNova progress
Last post by Paul Squires - June 09, 2026, 11:54:01 AMReminds me a lot of the Tauri project and what they've accomplished as an alternative to Electron.
https://v2.tauri.app/
Tauri is cross platform and written in Rust.
https://v2.tauri.app/
Tauri is cross platform and written in Rust.
#23
José Roca Software / Re: AfxNova progress
Last post by Johan Klassen - June 09, 2026, 10:27:42 AMGood day José Roca 
this is great stuff, I can see that creating a GUI applications using your WebView2 class will be easy, even for me, thank you
this is great stuff, I can see that creating a GUI applications using your WebView2 class will be easy, even for me, thank you
#24
José Roca Software / Re: AfxNova progress
Last post by José Roca - June 09, 2026, 03:08:08 AMMi idea is working.
I'm currently developing a new graphics engine based on Microsoft WebView2, wrapped inside a custom class that exposes a clean and easy‑to‑use API.
The goal is simple: give you a powerful 2D drawing system without requiring you to learn HTML, CSS, or JavaScript
Under the hood, the engine uses an HTML5 <canvas> element and JavaScript to perform all rendering. This means you automatically benefit from:
- GPU‑accelerated drawing
- smooth rendering with no flicker
- high‑resolution text and shapes
- automatic scrolling when the canvas is larger than the control
- modern browser‑level performance
But you never have to deal with any of that complexity.
Instead, you work with a very simple and intuitive API, for example:
No fonts to create.
No pens or brushes.
No device contexts.
No GDI or Direct2D setup.
Just straightforward drawing commands.
If you do know HTML, CSS, or JavaScript, you can extend the system even further. But if you don't, the API will give you what you need to draw text, shapes, images, and more.
In short, this project aims to provide a modern, lightweight, and extremely easy graphics language, built on top of WebView2 but completely hiding the web technologies behind a clean and friendly interface.
I'm currently developing a new graphics engine based on Microsoft WebView2, wrapped inside a custom class that exposes a clean and easy‑to‑use API.
The goal is simple: give you a powerful 2D drawing system without requiring you to learn HTML, CSS, or JavaScript
Under the hood, the engine uses an HTML5 <canvas> element and JavaScript to perform all rendering. This means you automatically benefit from:
- GPU‑accelerated drawing
- smooth rendering with no flicker
- high‑resolution text and shapes
- automatic scrolling when the canvas is larger than the control
- modern browser‑level performance
But you never have to deal with any of that complexity.
Instead, you work with a very simple and intuitive API, for example:
Code Select
pCanvas->DrawText("Hello World", 100, 100, "red", 40)
pCanvas->DrawLine(50, 50, 300, 200, "blue", 4)
pCanvas->DrawCircle(200, 200, 50, "purple", 3)
No fonts to create.
No pens or brushes.
No device contexts.
No GDI or Direct2D setup.
Just straightforward drawing commands.
If you do know HTML, CSS, or JavaScript, you can extend the system even further. But if you don't, the API will give you what you need to draw text, shapes, images, and more.
In short, this project aims to provide a modern, lightweight, and extremely easy graphics language, built on top of WebView2 but completely hiding the web technologies behind a clean and friendly interface.
#25
José Roca Software / Re: cPDF Class
Last post by Richard Kelly - June 08, 2026, 07:09:08 PMTo those who have spent time on this Adobe Acrobat issue - thank you. I went back and slowly built up pages a bit at a time until this expected name object occurred. It was related to the font object and descriptor referencing one of the standard 14 type 1 fonts. After several hours trying to pinpoint the root cause, I just decided to remove references from cPDF. For replacements, I put in TTF Times New Roman and, for a monospaced font Consolas which is the Windows 11 default font for Notepad. Without embedding any fonts, Adobe Acrobat is happy. The new issue that there is some conflict with Adobe and Microsoft True Type fonts on the font widths when I embed a font which I'm investigating. The attached is a non embedded fonts versioon that Adobe Acrobat is happy with.
#26
José Roca Software / Re: AfxNova progress
Last post by José Roca - June 08, 2026, 08:27:41 AMMy next step will be to take full advantage of the WebView2 control and turn it into a true "super control".
I'm planning to write a canvas class that allows drawing anything you need: graphics, images, text, shapes, and more. The idea is to expose a classic, easy‑to‑use API on the outside, while internally generating the required HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to perform the rendering.
This approach will make it possible to build all kinds of document‑related features:
- invoices and reports
- barcodes and QR codes
- embedded images
- tables and layouts
- previews and printouts
- charts and visualizations
- even animations
Basically, anything you can do on a modern web page will be available through a simple, traditional API.
The WebView2 control also has a localized context menu and/or shortcuts that allow to save, copy, rotate images, zoom and printing.
I'm planning to write a canvas class that allows drawing anything you need: graphics, images, text, shapes, and more. The idea is to expose a classic, easy‑to‑use API on the outside, while internally generating the required HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to perform the rendering.
This approach will make it possible to build all kinds of document‑related features:
- invoices and reports
- barcodes and QR codes
- embedded images
- tables and layouts
- previews and printouts
- charts and visualizations
- even animations
Basically, anything you can do on a modern web page will be available through a simple, traditional API.
The WebView2 control also has a localized context menu and/or shortcuts that allow to save, copy, rotate images, zoom and printing.
#27
José Roca Software / Re: AfxNova progress
Last post by Paul Squires - June 08, 2026, 06:56:23 AMExcellent, thanks! I will use your latest repository files. Very exciting new code you're working on! I look forward to using it when you are finished. AfxNova makes coding in FB so much easier and these new technologies will make it even better.
#28
José Roca Software / Re: AfxNova progress
Last post by José Roca - June 07, 2026, 08:07:41 PMHi Paul,
Everything I have uploaded is working fine as far as I know, so there is no need to delay the release of the new version of Tiko.
As you can see, I'm working to provide access to the latest technologies, such as WebView2 and Direct2D. Direct2D, DirectWrite, and WIC can already be used if you manage the object lifetimes yourself and call the methods directly. I'm currently working on wrapper classes to make them easier to use by providing constructors, automatic memory management, and overloaded methods.
I have already finished wrapping the most important interfaces, but wrapping the entire set will take time, since Direct2D is a whole ecosystem. The advantages of Direct2D are that it is faster, offers higher quality, and is fully DPI‑aware — all essential qualities for modern 4K displays.
Everything I have uploaded is working fine as far as I know, so there is no need to delay the release of the new version of Tiko.
As you can see, I'm working to provide access to the latest technologies, such as WebView2 and Direct2D. Direct2D, DirectWrite, and WIC can already be used if you manage the object lifetimes yourself and call the methods directly. I'm currently working on wrapper classes to make them easier to use by providing constructors, automatic memory management, and overloaded methods.
I have already finished wrapping the most important interfaces, but wrapping the entire set will take time, since Direct2D is a whole ecosystem. The advantages of Direct2D are that it is faster, offers higher quality, and is fully DPI‑aware — all essential qualities for modern 4K displays.
#29
José Roca Software / Re: AfxNova progress
Last post by Paul Squires - June 07, 2026, 07:22:25 PMHi José,
I have gotten back to updating Tiko code and am just about ready to post the version 1.3.1 update. I can grab your most recent AfxNova repository files now, or I can wait a bit longer if you'd like to add anything before I publish the Tiko update. Just let me know.
Thanks,
Paul
I have gotten back to updating Tiko code and am just about ready to post the version 1.3.1 update. I can grab your most recent AfxNova repository files now, or I can wait a bit longer if you'd like to add anything before I publish the Tiko update. Just let me know.
Thanks,
Paul
#30
José Roca Software / Re: cPDF Class
Last post by Richard Kelly - June 06, 2026, 11:47:59 PMPDF is fine with Edge, Chrome, and, QPDF doesn't find any issues yet Adobe Acrobat returns error 18 - expected a name object. I can't seem to find any online checkers that will show my where in the PDF this error crops up. Does anybody have something like the Adobe PreFlight that might at least tell me where and what was expected. I've gone over things line by line and don't see anything.