Web Dashboard APIs

OpenKneeboard currently has a very limited JavaScript API for Web Dashboard tabs; this is likely to be extended in the future. Future plans are primarily being discussed in issue #240

Table of Contents

  1. Detecting OpenKneeboard
  2. Transparency
  3. JavaScript APIs
    1. Conventions in v1.9+
    2. A note on await
    3. TypeScript
    4. SetPreferredPixelSize
    5. GetVersion
  4. OpenDeveloperToolsWindow
  5. Experimental JavaScript APIs
    1. EnableExperimentalFeature
    2. EnableExperimentalFeatures
    3. ‘cursor’ event
      1. Change history
        1. 2024071801 -> 2024071802
    4. DoodlesOnly
      1. Change history
        1. 2024071801 -> 2024071802
    5. SetCursorEventsMode
    6. Page-Based Web Applications

Detecting OpenKneeboard

There are several ways to detect if your web page is being accessed within OpenKneeboard’s “Web Dashboard” tabs:

  • the user agent string contains OpenKneeboard/a.b.c.d, where a.b.c.d is the version number
  • window.OpenKneeboard is set, and is a valid object
  • DEPRECATED - removed in v1.9: the <body> element has the OpenKneeboard class
  • DEPRECATED - removed in v1.9: the <body> element has the OpenKneeboard_WebView2 class; this also indicates that OpenKneeboard is using Microsoft’s Chromium-based-Edge ‘WebView2’ browser engine

OpenKneeboard v1.9 and above no longer add CSS classes to the body, as this can lead to compatibility problems. The easiest way to restore the old behavior is to add the following to your page:

if (windows.OpenKneeboard) {
  document.body.classList.add("OpenKneeboard");
}

The window.OpenKneeboard object is loaded before any scripts on the page start executing.

Transparency

OpenKneeboard’s virtual browser window is fully transparent; this allows full RGBA transparency via standard CSS, e.g.:

body.OpenKneeboard {
    background-color: transparent;
}

JavaScript APIs

All APIs are methods on the window.OpenKneeboard object; it is best practice to confirm that OpenKneeboard is being used and the API you want is available; for example, if you want to call SetPreferredPixelSize(), a safe way to call it is like this:

if (window.OpenKneeboard?.SetPreferredPixelSize) {
  window.OpenKneeboard.SetPreferredPixelSize(width, height);
}

In v1.9 and above, window.OpenKneeboard can usually be accessed just as OpenKneeboard.

Conventions in v1.9+

The JS API is extended and improved in v1.9 and above:

Functions have consistent return behavior:

  • they return a Promise, which can be used with await, promise.then(), or other standard techniques
  • if the success value is undocumented or documented as any, it may contain additional information intended to inform you, but may change without warning between versions. Do not write code that depends on a particular value or type
  • on failure:
    • the error will be logged to the developer tools console
    • the Promise will be rejected with an OpenKneeboardAPIError

The OpenKneeboardAPIError extends the standard JavaScript Error class, adding an apiMethodName string property; for example:

// In v1.9+:
try {
  /* ... some code here ... */
  await OpenKneeboard.SomeAPI(/* ... */ );
  /* ... some more code ... */
} catch (error) {
  if (error instanceof OpenKneeboardAPIError) {
    // Logs "OpenKneeboard.SomeAPI()" and an explanation
    console.log(error.apiMethodName, error.message);
  }
}

A note on await

Several OpenKneeboard API functions return a Promise; the examples will use the await syntac for these, e.g.:

try {
  await OpenKneeboard.DoSomething();
  DoSomethingElse();
} catch (error) {
  HandleError(error);
}

As these are standard Promise objects, if you prefer, you can use the traditional syntax instead:

OpenKneeboard.DoSomething()
  .then(function(result) { DoSomethingElse(); })
  .catch(function(error) {HandleError(error); });

TypeScript

In v1.9 and above, TypeScript definitions are included both in data subfolder of the OpenKneeboard source tree, and in the share\doc subfolder of an OpenKneeboard installation.

Unless you are intentionally using an experimental API, you should only include OpenKneeboard.d.ts in your project; the various OpenKneeboard-Experimental-*.d.ts files define additional features that are not usually available.

If you are not familiar with TypeScript, you may still want to copy the OpenKneeboard.d.ts file into your project - some IDEs will automatically use it to provide better help while you are writing your JavaScript code.

All of OpenKneeboard’s stable APIs are defined in OpenKneeboard.d.ts.

SetPreferredPixelSize

Set the preferred pixel size and aspect ratio for this page.

// Syntax (v1.8):
window.OpenKneeboard.SetPreferredPixelSize(width: number, height: number): undefined;
// Example (v1.8):
window.OpenKneeboard.SetPreferredPixelSize(1024, 768);

// Syntax (v1.9+):
OpenKneeboard.SetPreferredPixelSize(width: number, height: number): Promise<any>;
// Example (v1.9+):
await OpenKneeboard.SetPreferredPixelSize(1024, 768);

width and height:

  • must be an integer number of pixels
  • must be greater than or equal to 1
  • must be less than or equal to D3D11_REQ_TEXTURE2D_U_OR_V_DIMENSION (16384 as of Direct3D 11.1).

In v1.9+, awaiting/resolving the promise is optional, but does provide a means to detect success or failure; for compatibility, it can also be accessed via the window.OpenKneeboard

GetVersion

This requires OpenKneeboard v1.9 and above.

// Syntax:
OpenKneeboard.GetVersion(): Promise<Object>;

// Example:
const okbVersion = await OpenKneeboard.GetVersion();

The promise resolves to an object like the following:

{
  "Components": {
    "Major": 1,
    "Minor": 9,
    "Patch": 0,
    "Build": 0
  },
  "HumanReadable": "v1.9.0+local",
  "IsGitHubActionsBuild": false,
  "IsStableRelease": false,
  "IsTaggedVersion": false
}
  • Components: individual parts of the OpenKneeboard as numbers; you probably want to use these for any version-dependent logic in your code. Released OpenKneeboard versions have versions of the form vMajor.Minor.Patch.Build or vMajor.Minor.Patch+GHABuild. Build is the run number from GitHub actions; it is 0 for local developer builds.
  • HumanReadable: if you display an OpenKneeboard version number to the user in any form, you should use this string. For example, v1.8.2-rc1 is much clearer to the user than v1.8.2.2057 (the actual v1.8.2 release is v1.8.2.2080).
  • IsGitHubActionsBuild: whether or not this version of OpenKneeboard was built automatically through continuous integration; otherwise, it is a local developer build
  • IsStableRelease: true for builds made on GitHub Actions from a stable release tag; false for all other builds.
  • IsTaggedVersion: true for builds made on GitHub Actions from a release tag, false for all other builds. This differs from IsStableRelease for tagged pre-release builds; for example, an automated build of v1.9.0-rc1 would be a tagged version, but not a stable release.

The two forms of version number are used because:

  • Some Windows features only support the 4-numbers form
  • The string version is much more understandable to people than the 4-numbers form

OpenDeveloperToolsWindow

Opens the MS Edge developer tools window; requires OpenKneeboard v1.9.

OpenKneeboard.OpenDeveloperToolsWindow();

Experimental JavaScript APIs

These features will be changed without notice, and in any update, including patch releases; you should avoid using them in released software if possible; reach out in #code-talk on Discord before releasing software that uses them.

If you want to use an experimental API with the goal of switching to a stable API when it is used, the best approach is to wrap enabling it in a try/catch, e.g.:

try {
  await OpenKneeboard.EnableExperimentalFeature('foo', 1234);
  TurnOnMyUseOfThisExperimentalFeature();
} catch (ex) {
  console.log("Failed to initialize experimental feature foo", ex);
}

Experimental features are identified by a name, and a version number (usually YYYYMMDDnn, where ‘nn’ increments if there are multiple revisions within a day); they must be explicitly enabled.

EnableExperimentalFeature 

// Syntax:
OpenKneeboard.EnableExperimentalFeature(name: string, version: number): Promise<any>;
// Example:
await OpenKneeboard.EnableExperimentalFeature("foo", 2024071801);

On success, the Promise will resolve to a JSON object, which may contain additional information for debugging.

On failure, the Promise will be rejected, with a string error message indicating the reason. Likely reasons for failure are unrecognized features or versions.

EnableExperimentalFeatures

Enable multiple features in one go.

// Example:
await OpenKneeboard.EnableExperimentalFeature([
  { name: "Foo", version: 1234 },
  { name: "Bar", version: 5678 },
]);

Return values will be the same; if any feature names/versions are not supported, the function will indicate failure - however, preceding features may have been enabled

‘cursor’ event

This feature requires:

  • OpenKneeboard v1.9 or above
  • experimental feature: RawCursorEvents version 2024071802
  • experimental feature: SetCursorEventsMode version 2024071801

This event provides access to OpenKneeboard’s raw cursor events, bypassing browser mouse emulation.

// Example:
OpenKneeboard.addEventListener('cursor', (ev) => { console.log(ev.detail); });
await OpenKneeboard.EnableExperimentalFeatures([
  {name: "RawCursorEvents", version: 2024071802},
  {name: "SetCursorEventsMode", version: 2024071801},
]);
await OpenKneeboard.SetCursorEventsMode("Raw");

For version 2024071802 of the experimental feature, the events will be of this form:

{
  buttons: int,
  position: { x: number, y: number },
  touchState: "NearSurface" | "NotNearSurface" | "TouchingSurface",
}

These events are used for both tablet and mouse events.

  • buttons: bitmask; the lowest bit is left click or the tablet pen tip. Other buttons are additional mice buttons or buttons on the tablet (not pen)
  • position: positions in pixels
    • x and y are floating point; especially with a tablet, the cursor can be positioned between two logical pixels
  • touchState
    • for tablets, this is self-descriptive
    • for mice, NotNearSurface means “outside of the web page’s area”, and TouchingSurface means ‘clicking’
    • you should usually hide any cursors you may be showing if the state changes to NotNearSurface

An example/debugging tool - api-example-RawCursorEvents.html is included in the data folder of the OpenKneeboard source tree, or the share\doc\ subfolder of an OpenKneeboard installation.

Change history

2024071801 -> 2024071802
  • enabling the feature now only makes the cursor event mode available, it does not automatically switch to it
  • it is no longer incompatible with the DoodlesOnly feature

DoodlesOnly

This feature requires:

  • OpenKneeboard v1.9 or above
  • experimental feature: DoodlesOnly version 2024071802

Enabling this feature disables the standard mouse emulation, and instead uses OpenKneeboard’s standard “draw on top” behavior, letting users take notes or sketch on top of your content.

As the mouse emulation is disabled, after enabling this feature, it is no longer possible for the user to interact with your web page, including the scroll bars; it should only be used for single-screen content.

// Example:
await OpenKneeboard.EnableExperimentalFeatures([
  {name: "DoodlesOnly", version: 2024071802},
  {name: "SetCursorEventsMode", version: 2024071801},
]);
await OpenKneeboard.SetCursorEventsMode("DoodlesOnly");

Change history

2024071801 -> 2024071802
  • enabling the feature now only makes the cursor event mode available, it does not automatically switch to it
  • it is no longer incompatible with the RawCursorEvents feature

SetCursorEventsMode

This feature requires:

  • OpenKneeboard v1.9 or above
  • experimental feature: SetCursorEventsMode version 2024071801
// Syntax:
OpenKneeboard.SetCursorEventsMode("MouseEmulation" | "DoodlesOnly" | "Raw"): Promise<any>;
// Example:
await OpenKneeboard.EnableExperimentalFeatures([
  {name: "RawCursorEvents", version: 2024071802},
  {name: "SetCursorEventsMode", version: 2024071801},
]);
await OpenKneeboard.SetCursorEventsMode("Raw");
  • setting the mode to "Raw" requires RawCursorEvents version 2024071802
  • setting the mode to "DoodlesOnly" requires DoodlesOnly version 2024071802

An example/debugging tool - api-example-RawCursorEvents.html is included in:

Page-Based Web Applications

This allows creating a web page that works like a native OpenKneeboard tab type with multiple pages, instead of a potentially-scrollable web view.

This functionality is documented on a separate page.

Table of contents