Microsoft Access: Edge Browser Control is finally here :)

[JoeJimenezMicrosoft]

Hey Microsoft Access Folks! I'm excited to share some great news: the issue of running relative paths in the Edge Browser control has been resolved! Now, you can run local HTML files, render PDFs from local relative paths, and display JPG, PNG, BMP, and GIF files (sample database included).

Unfortunately, we can't embed Office format files like DOCX, XLSX, or PPTX in the Edge Browser control. If that becomes possible, it would be an incredible feature for automating tasks within Access. However, XML, JSON, and TXT formats are supported.

Feel free to download the attached ZIP file for a quick test, and please share your findings or additional insights with the community! A big shout-out to Joe and all the Microsoft Access team members—thank you! #MicrosoftAccess #EdgeBrowserControl #WebBrowser

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For opening office docs, are you able to achieve this in the regular Edge App? If you can I will look into it, if not, then this doesn't sound like something that would be possible.

 

[Mohsin Malik]

For opening office docs, are you able to achieve this in the regular Edge App? If you can I will look into it, if not, then this doesn't sound like something that would be possible.

Hi @JoeJimenezMicrosoft, thanks for the response! I just tested with Word/Excel file links, and I am thrilled to share that document previews work seamlessly in Microsoft Edge browser control. It would be absolutely amazing to incorporate the same functionality into the Edge Browser Control for Access, enabling users to load both https:// and https://msaccess (online and local files). Please check out the short video link (

) for a quick reference! Let's make it happen!

MS-Excel Link Tried: https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=521962

MS-Word Link Tried: https://freetestdata.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Free_Test_Data_1MB_DOCX-1.docx

 

[isladogs]

@Mohsin Malik
Yes, both of those work BUT out of interest, did you try:
a) downloading those files and trying to open a local copy in Edge
b) uploading a Word/Excel file of your own and trying to open that from its URL in Edge
I tried and failed in both cases

 

[JoeJimenezMicrosoft]

Good news and bad news. Good news is if you set the browser control to the address it redirects to, it works fine.
Bad news is with the links you posted, the redirect isn't an inherent feature of WebView2, the underlying engine both Edge and Access are using, but rather a feature of Edge itself, so Access cannot take advantage of it. And it does not appear to work with local files

 

[Mohsin Malik]

Good news and bad news. Good news is if you set the browser control to the address it redirects to, it works fine.
Bad news is with the links you posted, the redirect isn't an inherent feature of WebView2, the underlying engine both Edge and Access are using, but rather a feature of Edge itself, so Access cannot take advantage of it. And it does not appear to work with local files

Hi there! thanks for testing and sharing the news. I have delved further into this and uncovered the following. It appears that the Office files viewer is a configurable option in Microsoft Edge (screenshot) and requires anyone to enable this option so that any office files from the URL open in Microsoft Edge.

But here's the good news to handle the redirect feature: If you use the following

https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=[OFFICE_FILE_URL]

endpoint/protocol, you can bypass the need to enable this setting or remember the redirect URL. This endpoint automatically handles requests and displays office files in the Edge browser control as well as it works in any modern web browser.

@JoeJimenezMicrosoft , could you please explore whether this endpoint can be adapted to work with the https://msaccess/ protocol for loading local files? We'd love to hear your thoughts and any additional information you may need. For your reference, the URLs below to test the feature for loading Office files in the web browser control. Together, let's keep pushing the boundaries!


MS-Excel Link Tried: https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=521962
updated to
MS-Excel Link Tried: https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=521962

MS-Word Link Tried: https://freetestdata.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Free_Test_Data_1MB_DOCX-1.docx
updated to
MS-Word Link Tried: https://view.officeapps.live.com/op...ploads/2021/09/Free_Test_Data_1MB_DOCX-1.docx

 

[Mohsin Malik]

Hi again!

I have found another endpoint/protocol that displays Office files in the Web Browser but without the Office Ribbon.

EndPoint:

https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/embed.aspx?src=[OFFICE_FILE_URL]

Check out these examples:

Excel: https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/embed.aspx?src=https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=521962

Word: https://view.officeapps.live.com/op...ploads/2021/09/Free_Test_Data_1MB_DOCX-1.docx

PowerPoint: https://view.officeapps.live.com/op...u/files/torman_personal/files/samplepptx.pptx

 

[isladogs]

Thanks @Mohsin Malik
Just tried both the view.aspx & embed.aspx redirects and both worked exactly as described for online Word/Excel/PowerPoint files including files stored on my website. As you would expect, this fails for e.g. ACCDB files as there is no online version of Access

As I expect you've already done, I then tried modifying the string for local Excel/Word/PowerPoint files but was unsuccessful

 

[Mohsin Malik]

Thanks @Mohsin Malik
Just tried both the view.aspx & embed.aspx redirects and both worked exactly as described for online Word/Excel/PowerPoint files including files stored on my website. As you would expect, this fails for e.g. ACCDB files as there is no online version of Access

As I expect you've already done, I then tried modifying the string for local Excel/Word/PowerPoint files but was unsuccessful

I am glad to hear that the view.aspx and embed.aspx worked seamlessly for online office files, including those stored on your website!

I am optimistic that @JoeJimenezMicrosoft can now dive in to explore possibilities and push the boundaries to find a solution that works for local files as well, just like the progress made with other formats, especially local PDFs and other resources. Perhaps with the https://msaccess protocol! Let's keep our fingers crossed!

 

[JoeJimenezMicrosoft]

It is very unlikely that we will get local office files working

 

[arnelgp]

It is very unlikely that we will get local office files working

before it used to work (legacy Webbrowser control).
you only need do some registry fix.
look at my sample (run on win7 x32, office 2007).

 

[isladogs]

@arnelgp
Whilst you used to be able to open Office docs in the IE browser control using those registry fixes, that approach stopped working for me over a year ago using Win10 and A365. Is your experience the same with newer versions?

 

[arnelgp]

Is your experience the same with newer versions?

same here.
the one I posted on Sample Database was written in A2019 and Win 10.
It worked then, until MS keep "digging" without any blueprint and eventually
nailed a Gas pipe! BOOM!

 

[NauticalGent]

MS keep "digging" without any blueprint and eventually
nailed a Gas pipe! BOOM!

So true...

 

[mp_access]

hi guys, it does not work on an actual access-runtime.
if i try it in ms access - everything fine.
if i try it on my client-pcs which all have runtime-version of access - it does not work (the webbrowser control is "not loading")
if i install ms access full on that pc - everything fine.

is that a known bug or error with the runtime-version ?

thanks and regards, mike

 

[Mindflux]

Looks like Edge browser control hit GA yesterday (4/25/23) for Office 365. You no longer have to use one of the Preview/Beta channels.

Release notes for Current Channel releases - Office release notes

Provides IT Pros with release notes for Monthly Channel releases for Microsoft 365 Apps.

learn.microsoft.com

 

[isladogs]

That's good news. Thanks for letting everyone know.

 

[Mohsin Malik]

Hello everyone!

I am currently working on something where I need to share the clipboard inside the new Edge browser control, and I am having some difficulties getting the standard keyboard shortcuts to work (Ctrl+X, C, V, A). At the moment, I am resorting to using the right-click contextual menu, but as you might imagine, this is far from ideal.

I have attached an example database below for reference, in case anyone needs a quick overview of what I'm trying to achieve. I would greatly appreciate any suggestions or advice on how to get the keyboard shortcuts working properly inside the Edge browser control. If anyone faced this issue or know any workarounds, please let me know.

Thank you in advance for your help!

Best regards,
Mohsin

 

[jimmymac1234]

Trying to open a local Html file but it just doesn't seem to be working. The html file contains a google maps api that uploads custom markers with info, it works fine in microsoft edge but wont appear in the web browser control for some reason.

 

[jimmymac1234]

also has anyone noticed that the .LocationURL property does not work?

 

[Mohsin Malik]

Trying to open a local Html file but it just doesn't seem to be working. The html file contains a google maps api that uploads custom markers with info, it works fine in microsoft edge but wont appear in the web browser control for some reason.

@jimmymac1234 please check the following link on the protocol to load local html file. You need to add https://msaccess/ protocol before the file name, for-example:

https://msaccess/

C:\Users\user\Documents\test.html

Use the Edge browser control on a form - Microsoft Support

support.microsoft.com