Is it possible to download and execute exe from web application running on Xojo CLoud

Targets Web
1

On Xojo Cloud, web application is running and there also a exe, which gets downloaded at client side, but
is it possible to download and execute exe from web application running on Xojo CLoud?
As soon as it is downloaded, it should run.
Is it possible?

TIA

2

I don’t think there is a simple way. In theory, you can call a resource with an URL and there is a method to run an exe from Internet Explorer but I have no idea if it would work with anything else, even Edge.
http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/developer-musing/how-to-run-an-applicationexe-file-from-a-web-page-53003

In principle, you could download an exe, and instruct the user to double click on it. The exe must be signed, but I believe smart screen will still ask for confirmation because it has been downloaded from the Internet.

3

Not automatically, that’s called malware.

4

Exactly!

5

Ok
Then, can we check if application is downloaded already, if it is already downloaded then it should not download again and again.

6

A browser is a sandbox so its really hard to get out of it without setting off all sorts of problems with anit-virus / police :wink:

Off the top of my head:

Option 1)

Have your site visit a page, we’ll call it check.html on that page redirect to install_app.html after 5 seconds, where user is prompted to download/install.

If your app is installed, hook chrome (or whatever browser is running) and check the urls being browsed. If it sees yoursite.com/check.html then redirect to no_need_to_install.html before the sites 5 second refresh. Your web server then knows that the app is installed as there is no way to get to no_need_to_install.html without having the app installed.

It’s pretty dodgy hooking a browser but its doable, I wouldn’t use that method unless the person installing the app knows what you’re doing (monitoring urls).

Option 2)

You might also be able to do it with an iframe opening a Uniform Resource Indentifier (URI) but that really is off the top of my head and I’ve not tested that. This wouldn’t be quite as bad as above in that it wouldn’t be monitoring the browsers urls, but it would need to auto-submit/take over the browser for a split second to confirm that the app is installed after calling it with the URI.

7

Option 3)

Check a cookie called “installed” when you browse check.html if the cookie is false then go to install_app.html

When app is installed pop open a new browser that goes to yoursite.com/install_complete.html that says thanks for installing, while setting the “installed” cookie to true.

Your server can now check “installed” cookie if it need to know if the client has your app installed.

This isn’t 100% fool proof as the client can reset/block their cookies.

8

It’ll also fail if the user aborts the app install in the middle or deletes the app after it’s installed.

9

Another approach would be to have the app periodically talk to the web app on the user’s behalf just to say that it’s there. If the time goes beyond a certain point you at least know that it’s not running.

10

I will try this approach.

11

Now what i have done is in my project is that, i have created a desktop application which when executed reads a text file which basic information for label print. I have create zip of that build and when i click on the button the print label from web application it should create a text file and download it and download the zip of that build as well.
But here the zip is not downloaded only the text file created is downloaded. Why is that happening?
Can only one file be downloaded at a time?

12

We should have probably started from the very beginning.

WHY do you need that desktop app ?

Usually what web apps do to print labels is build the PDF on the server and then allow the user to download it.

In this instance, you could upload the text file to your app and generate the PDF in the web app. No more need for a messy process with a desktop app.

You can use DynaPDF from Monkeybread.net or the PDF class developed by Dave S, which I could not locate in this forum but I hope he chimes in.

I could not find the third party store on Xojo.com either, where I hoped to find it. The new site simply does not seem to make any mention of that third party store anymore :confused:

13

There is another function in our project where in we have to trace eye glass frame where the application has to communication with the device till trace information is received.We have create desktop application for this and was hoping to somehow do same with the web application. But i think this is the the best way to trace frame for web application