3.5 Browser Control Methods

The WebForms class provides a set of methods for controlling browser-level behavior. These methods allow the server to generate commands that change the browser URL, page title, clipboard content, scroll position, browser history, and page navigation state.

Unlike DOM manipulation methods, Browser methods do not primarily target an HTML element. They operate on browser-level features and are executed by WebFormsJS in the browser.

The Browser methods provided by the WebForms class are:

3.5.1 ChangeUrl

The ChangeUrl method changes the URL displayed by the browser without using a normal page redirect.

This method is useful when the application needs to update the browser URL while continuing to use the current document.

Example

In this example, the URL is obtained from the browser using Fetch.GetValue and then supplied to ChangeUrl.

3.5.2 SetHeadTitle

The SetHeadTitle method changes the title of the current document.

This changes the title represented by the document's <title> element.

Example

The title can therefore be generated dynamically from a value available in the browser.

3.5.3 ClipboardWriteText

The ClipboardWriteText method writes the specified text to the browser clipboard.

The operation can be followed by a WebForms Core message using the clipboard value exposed by the Fetch system.

Example

Here, the server instructs WebFormsJS to write the requested text to the clipboard and then uses Fetch.ClipboardText to obtain the clipboard text for the following operation.

3.5.4 ScrollTo

The ScrollTo method moves the browser viewport to the specified horizontal and vertical coordinates.

It provides two overloads:

Example

The same operation can receive values dynamically:

This is useful when the coordinates are obtained from form fields or other browser-side values.

3.5.5 HistoryGo

The HistoryGo method moves the browser through its history by the specified number of steps.

It provides two overloads:

Example

For example, -1 moves one step backward in the browser history.

The value can also be obtained dynamically:

3.5.6 ReloadPage

The ReloadPage method instructs the browser to reload the current page.

The method does not require any arguments.

Example

This allows page reloading to become part of a WebForms Core command sequence.

3.5.7 Redirect

The Redirect method navigates the browser to the specified path.

Example

The destination can therefore be determined dynamically.

3.5.8 Complete Browser Example

The following example demonstrates all Browser methods together. Each operation is assigned to a separate command index, allowing the corresponding HTML control to trigger its own browser operation.

The corresponding HTML can contain ordinary HTML controls. No special browser-specific markup is required:

3.5.9 Browser Methods and WebForms Core

Browser methods demonstrate that the WebForms class is not limited to manipulating HTML elements. A server-generated WebForms Core response can also instruct the browser to perform browser-level operations.

These operations are still expressed through WebForms Core Action Controls. The server defines the required browser action, while WebFormsJS interprets and executes the command in the browser.

This provides a unified server-side programming model for both DOM manipulation and browser control. The developer can therefore compose browser operations with other WebForms Core commands in the same server-generated response.