Gecko 2 ActiveX Control VCL component in Delphi?

Question

Hey there,

How can I import the Gecko 2 (used in Firefox 2) Active control into the component palette so I can add it to my form at design-time?

Basically, I want something like a TWebBrowser component, but not using Internet Explorer. Nor do I want the outdated Mozilla Control ( http://www.iol.ie/~locka/mozilla/mozilla.htm ) or the Gecko SDK for Delphi, which are both for 1.x ( not 2.x ) and are not maintained any more.

Thanks in advance guys, Daniel.

P.S: I'm using Delphi 2010.

Answer 1

AFAIK there is no other solution with firefox. But there are two other possibilities with google chrome:

• Google chrome frame http://www.progdigy.com/?p=116

• Chromium Embeded http://code.google.com/p/delphichromiumembedded

Answer 2

I am looking too for something like this just now. After much investigation, this is what I learned:

1. The Mozilla Browser component they have on that page is outdated, but they do build an up-to-date component with a thing called XULRunner. Just download XULRunner binaries and the component is there.

2. But it's not being actively developed anymore, meaning the functionality of the ActiveX control itself stays roughly the same.

3. Minimal installation size for the component seems to have jumped from 4 megabytes to at least 10 megabytes (without recompilation).
   Given that one of the selling point of Mozilla Embedding was the size, now (~16 mb) it's comparable to IE6 (roughly 24 mb).

4. There are some problems with the component, namely, after importing it into Delphi I have found out it does not handle Tabs correctly. Tabbing while inside of it just tabs you out of it instead of iterating through the web page controls. Additionally, the component itself does not get focus when you focus any of the page controls.

Last issue was a deal-breaker for me, but I'm investigating the source now and I'm going to submit a patch to XULRunner if I manage to fix it. With it fixed the component should be pretty usable and up to date, just don't use XULRunner 1.9.2.x because it throws access violations left and right (that's one stable release, no doubts!). XULRunner 1.9.1.x works just fine.