In general, you can have IE add-ons interact with standalone applications by using Windows messages and the Shared (static in C#) GetModulesByTypeName method of the AddinExpress.IE.ADXIEModule class. There is just one limitation: both processes (IE with your add-on and standalone application) must be running in the same Integrity Level.
Ok, so here we go now. In the IEModule class of your IE add-on, you need the following declarations:
Private ADDON_TO_MYAPP_MessageId As IntPtr
Private MSG_ADDON_TO_MYAPP As String = "ADDON_TO_MYAPP"
_
Public Shared Function RegisterWindowMessage( _
ByVal lpString As [String]) As IntPtr
End Function
_
Public Shared Function FindWindow( _
ByVal lpClassName As String, _
ByVal lpWindowName As String) As IntPtr
End Function
_
Public Shared Function PostMessage( _
ByVal hwnd As IntPtr, _
ByVal wMsg As IntPtr, ByVal wParam As Int32, _
ByVal lParam As Int32) As IntPtr
End FunctionThen the OnConnect, OnDisconnect, DocumentComplete event handlers:
Private Sub IEModule_OnConnect( _
ByVal sender As System.Object, _
ByVal threadId As System.Int32) _
Handles MyBase.OnConnect
Me.ADDON_TO_MYAPP_MessageId = _
RegisterWindowMessage(MSG_ADDON_TO_MYAPP)
SendMessageToMyApp(0)
End Sub
Private Sub IEModule_OnDisconnect( _
ByVal sender As System.Object, _
ByVal e As System.EventArgs) _
Handles MyBase.OnDisconnect
SendMessageToMyApp(1000)
End Sub
Private Sub IEModule_DocumentComplete( _
ByVal pDisp As System.Object, _
ByVal url As System.String) _
Handles MyBase.DocumentComplete
SendMessageToMyApp(0)
End SubAnd three methods: SendMessageToMyApp is used to notify your standalone application about events, such as opening/closing a tab and web-page loading. The other two are called from the application:
Private Sub SendMessageToMyApp(ByVal delay As Integer)
Dim hwnd As IntPtr = FindWindow(Nothing, "My Application")
If hwnd <> IntPtr.Zero Then
PostMessage(hwnd, Me.ADDON_TO_MYAPP_MessageId, delay, 0)
End If
End Sub
Public Function GetCurrentTitle() As String
Try
Dim text As String = Me.HTMLDocument.title
If [String].IsNullOrEmpty(text) Then
text = "Blank Page"
End If
Return text
Catch
End Try
Return [String].Empty
End Function
Public Sub NavigateTo(ByVal url As String)
Try
Dim dummy As Object = Type.Missing
Me.IEApp.Navigate(url, dummy, dummy, dummy, dummy)
Catch err As Exception
MessageBox.Show(err.Message, Me.ModuleName, _
MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.[Error])
End Try
End SubAnd now the key piece of the application. Using the GetModulesByTypeName method, you can get a list of instances of your IEModule classes and use their methods and properties:
Private Sub RefreshItems()
Dim [module] As ADX_IE_Addon_And_WinApp_VB.IEModule
comboBox1.BeginUpdate()
Try
remoteModules.Clear()
comboBox1.Items.Clear()
Dim modules As ArrayList = _
AddinExpress.IE.ADXIEModule.GetModulesByTypeName( _
"ADX_IE_Addon_And_WinApp_VB.IEModule")
If modules.Count > 0 Then
For i As Integer = 0 To modules.Count - 1
[module] = TryCast(modules(i), _
ADX_IE_Addon_And_WinApp_VB.IEModule)
If [module] IsNot Nothing Then
remoteModules.Add([module])
comboBox1.Items.Add( _
[module].GetCurrentTitle())
End If
Next
End If
If comboBox1.Items.Count > 0 Then
comboBox1.SelectedIndex = 0
Else
Application.[Exit]()
End If
Catch err As Exception
MessageBox.Show(err.Message, Me.Text, _
MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.[Error])
Finally
comboBox1.EndUpdate()
End Try
End SubThat’s all with it.
You may also be interested in:
Understanding and Working in Protected Mode Internet Explorer
How to develop an add-on for IE6, IE7 and IE8
How to add a custom button to IE toolbar
How to create an Explorer bar and context menu
Available downloads:
This sample add-in was developed using Add-in Express 2009 for Internet Explorer and .net
C# sample IE add-on for VS 2005
VB.NET sample IE add-on for VS 2005
