21 Embedded Browsers

Oracle Visual Builder Add-in for Excel uses either the WebView2 or the .NET WebBrowser control as an embedded web browser to display web pages from inside Microsoft Excel.

The embedded web browser is used to display the log-in web page when authenticating using Oracle Fusion Applications Token Relay or OAuth 2.0 Authorization Code Flow. See Authentication Options.

WebView2 is based on Edge/Chromium. The .NET WebBrowser control is based on Microsoft Internet Explorer technology.

The add-in uses WebView2 if the appropriate runtime is detected on the local computer. Otherwise, it uses the .NET WebBrowser control. There is no option to choose the embedded web browser. Your default web browser setting in Windows Settings has no effect on the add-in.

Note:

If you wish to avoid using Internet Explorer with the add-in, make sure that the WebView2 runtime is installed as described in The WebView2 Control.

The WebView2 Control

Microsoft Edge WebView2 is an embedded web browser based on Edge/Chromium. In order for Oracle Visual Builder Add-in for Excel to use WebView2, the WebView2 runtime must be installed on each computer where the add-in runs.

Installation

You can download the runtime from here: https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/webview2/consumer/.

Note:

The WebView2 runtime may already be present on your computer if you have Microsoft 365 Apps installed. See Microsoft Edge WebView2 and Microsoft 365 Apps.

Technical Notes

• Choose one of the "evergreen" installers. Do not choose the "Fixed Version" option.
• Using the WebView Refresh page function can interrupt the login sequence, particularly if it is performed early in the login sequence. Users should avoid using Refresh.
• If you encounter a problem with the log-in web page, please contact the page owner. Such pages are outside the scope of the add-in. Let the page owner know that the page needs to be compatible with Edge/Chromium. Refer to Feature differences between Microsoft Edge and WebView2 on the Microsoft web site for more information.
• When the add-in uses the WebView2 browser control, the browser's SmartScreen feature is disabled. See the Microsoft Defender SmartScreen Frequently Asked Questions or the documentation for more information.
• The WebView2 browser control uses a user data folder on the local computer to store browser data, such as cookies, permissions, and cached resources. This folder can be found under %LocalAppData%\Oracle\Visual Builder\. For example, C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Oracle\Visual Builder\EBWebView.

  To clear the browser cache for the WebView2 browser control, refer to Clear the Embedded Browser Cache.

  See also Manage the User Data Folder in the Microsoft Edge documentation.

• When the add-in uses the WebView2 browser control, it enables some Microsoft capabilities relating to single sign-on (SSO) with Azure Active Directory, such as the AllowSingleSignOnUsingOSPrimaryAccount property. See the AllowSingleSignOnUsingOSPrimaryAccount property in the Microsoft API Reference.

The .NET WebBrowser Control

If Oracle Visual Builder Add-in for Excel cannot find a compatible WebView2 runtime, it uses the .NET WebBrowser control instead. The .NET WebBrowser control is based on Microsoft Internet Explorer technology.

Support Notes

• Microsoft ended support for Internet Explorer (IE) 11 desktop application for certain operating systems on June 15, 2022. Refer to Lifecycle FAQ - Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge at https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/faq/internet-explorer-microsoft-edge.
• Oracle support for the .NET WebBrowser Control is deprecated and will be dropped in a future release. You should install the WebView2 runtime as soon as possible.

Installation

There is no special installation required. This control is part of the Microsoft .NET Framework.

Since the .NET WebBrowser control is based on Microsoft Internet Explorer, make sure that Internet Explorer has been upgraded to version 11 and that all Microsoft updates and security patches have been applied.

Technical Notes

• If you encounter a problem with the log-in web page, please contact the page owner. Such pages are outside the scope of the add-in. Let the page owner know that the page needs to be compatible with Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE).
• When troubleshooting a problem, be sure to pay special attention to your IE configuration. There are key settings under Internet Options that can influence the behavior of the add-in. These settings include the LAN settings, Security settings, Languages settings, and Certificates settings.
• The add-in installer sets the FEATURE_BROWSER_EMULATION feature control key for Excel in the registry to IE 11 mode. See Browser Emulation in the Microsoft Internet Explorer documentation.

Clear the Embedded Browser Cache

If required, you can clear the cache for the embedded browser to get rid of all browser data including profile data such as history, bookmarks, and cookies. You may want to try clearing the browser cache if, for example, you are having an issue with a login page.

Oracle Visual Builder Add-in for Excel uses the WebView2 control as an embedded browser if it detects a compatible version of the WebView2 runtime. Otherwise, it uses the .NET WebBrowser control, which is based on Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE).

Clear the WebView2 browser cache by following the instructions in this topic. Clear the .Net WebBrowser browser cache from your Windows Internet Options dialog. Check your Windows help for details.

To clear the cache for the embedded browser, choose Clear Embedded Browser Cache from the Advanced menu.

Note:

You can also clear this cache by simply deleting the EBWebView folder at %localappdata%\Oracle\Visual Builder\EBWebView. The browser recreates the folder when the add-in next accesses the browser.

If the add-in uses the WebView2 control as the embedded browser, the cache is cleared. If it uses the .NET WebBrowser control instead, you'll see this message:

Close this message and clear the browser cache as directed.