UjjwalSud/web-enabled-desktop-application-with-WPF-and-mvc

This project demonstrates integration of a web app with a desktop app using WPF and MVC. WPF hosts a WebView to display MVC content, enabling seamless communication between web and desktop environments.

Web-Enabled Desktop Application with WPF and MVC

This guide explains how to create a desktop application using WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation) that integrates a web application hosted in MVC (Model-View-Controller).

Prerequisites:

• Visual Studio
• Microsoft.Web.WebView2 package for WPF

Steps:

1. Create WPF Application:

   • Start by creating a new WPF application project in Visual Studio.

2. Install WebView2 Package:

   • Install the Microsoft.Web.WebView2 package in your WPF project. This package enables embedding a Chromium-based WebView control into your WPF application.

3. Set up Communication:

   • In your MVC project, add JavaScript code to send messages to the WPF application. This can be done in the layout page (_layout.cshtml) or any relevant JavaScript file. For example:

   if (
       window.chrome &&
       window.chrome.webview &&
       window.chrome.webview.postMessage
   ) {
       window.clientAdapator = {
           processUICommand: (c, d) => {
               window.chrome.webview.postMessage(
                   JSON.stringify({ command: c, meta: d })
               );
           },
       };
   }

4. Handle Messages in WPF:

   • In your WPF application, handle the messages sent from the WebView control. This can be done by subscribing to the WebMessageReceived event. For example:

   private void SystemWebView_WebMessageReceived(object sender, CoreWebView2WebMessageReceivedEventArgs e)
   {
       // Process the received message
       string message = e.TryGetWebMessageAsString();
       // Handle the message as needed
   }

5. Run the Application:

   • Build and run both your MVC and WPF projects. The WPF application will embed the MVC web application and communicate with it using the WebView control.

Benefits:

• Web Integration: Embeds a web application into a desktop environment, enabling access to web-based features and resources.

• Desktop Functionality: Provides access to desktop-specific features and resources, such as local file access or system notifications.