Store selected text from HTMLviewer in a variable

Getting Started
#1

All,

I’m trying to build an Windows tool that will help me download a webpage (done!) and when I load the local file in the HTMLviewer, I would like to select text (in Arabic, Japanese, Korean… all languages I don’t read) and put tags around it (to markup terminology that needs to be added to a glossary for translators). Is there a way to do this?

The problem I have is I can’t find a way to store the selected text in a variable.

Thanks for your help,

Gert

#2

Well, you may want to check our MBS Win Plugin:
http://www.monkeybreadsoftware.de/xojo/plugin-win.shtml

We have a couple of methods to extend the Xojo HTMLViewer for Windows:
http://monkeybreadsoftware.net/pluginpart-windowshtmlviewer.shtml

e.g. IEHTMLTextMBS as string function gives you the html text of a webpage.

#3

Christian, does IEHTMLTextMBS store the selected text from a web page or the whole web page?

I only need the selected text.

thanks

Gert

#4

IEHTMLTextMBS is for the whole page.
Same for IETextMBS, but maybe you an programmatically find the text?

#5

What would be the way to find the selected text programmatically, Christian?
If I cannot see the start & stop position of the selected text, I don’t see how I can get it.

thanks

#6

It’s up to you to define that.
Maybe load all the text into a textarea and let the user copy & paste it.
Or maybe in HTML you can find some HTML tags and pick text between.

Check the DecodingFromHTMLMBS(s as string) as string function, too.

#7

Christian, I read all the documention and I’m not sure if you understand the problem I’m trying to find a solution for: I cannot make the user work in the text-view of an HTML file; he needs to select a word in the HTML window and I should be able to find that word preferably by an offset (line & position number) or by DOM info.

I don’t have a problem decoding the text, in fact, it does not need to be decoded. I just need to edit the HTML and add a marker, wrapped around the selected word.

The problem is: I don’t see how I can get any info about the start an stop position of the selected text, or how I can even copy the selected text. It’s like XOJO can’t get inside the HTMLviewer…

thanks

gert

#8

Well, which platforms do you use?
And on Windows is it only native or webkit as engine for HTMLViewer?

Maybe I can add functions to get selected text there.

#9

I’m using Windows now; Not yet sure what my users will work on, but if I have a solution that works only on Windows, it would be great. I can use whatever engine – don’t have a preference.

If you would have a solution, I would definitely go for this. As I need to put tags around the selected text, having the start and stop position would also be most helpful.

thanks, Christian.

gert

#10

[quote=338544:@Gert Van Assche]I’m using Windows now; Not yet sure what my users will work on, but if I have a solution that works only on Windows, it would be great. I can use whatever engine – don’t have a preference.

If you would have a solution, I would definitely go for this. As I need to put tags around the selected text, having the start and stop position would also be most helpful.

thanks, Christian.

gert[/quote]

If you have a string you can use String.Left String.Mid And String.Right

#11

execute a javascript that returns you the selected text ?
I’m not at all a javascript expert, but I think this could be done.

function getSelectionText() { var text = ""; if (window.getSelection) { text = window.getSelection().toString(); } else if (document.selection && document.selection.type != "Control") { text = document.selection.createRange().text; } return text; }

Edit: I don’t know how you can send this javascript selected text back to Xojo !

Edit2 : seems not possible but found this :

[quote]The MonkeyBreadSoftware (MBS) plugins have some methods to do this.

Another way: the Document.title hack. Change document.title in the javascript to return the value, then use the htmlviewer.titleChanged event to capture the result. Not elegant, but does work.[/quote]
so you could store the text selected start and length in the document title, and so get them back into Xojo

Edit 3 : you should fill a feature request !

#12

You can return values to Xojo through Titlechanged.

#13

On macOS you can use the following extends method (in a module)

[code]Public Function EvaluateJavaScript(Extends viewer As HTMLViewer, script As Text) as Text
DIM result As Text

#if TargetCocoa
Declare Function stringByEvaluatingJavaScriptFromString Lib “Cocoa” Selector “stringByEvaluatingJavaScriptFromString:” (id As integer, script As CFStringRef) As CFStringRef
result = stringByEvaluatingJavaScriptFromString(viewer.Handle, script)
#endif

Return result
End Function
[/code]

#14

To all that contributed and help me find a solution: thank you!

#15