Control: Web Browser
  • Display Name: Web Browser
  • Type Name: WebBrowser

Description

Place a Web page in a window.

The Browser is based on Windows technology:

  • Before v10.3: based on Internet Explorer.
  • Since v10.3: based on WebView2 that is using the Microsoft Edge (Chromium) rendering engine.

Creation

Open the destination window to add the Control.

From the Toolbox, select the Control icon, move the pointer into the window and drag out the initial position and size for the control.

Access

If the Property Editor is not displayed, click on Ribbon > Home > Property Editor

Click on the Control. The Properties for the control will appear in the Property Editor panel and allow changes to be made.

Properties

Name Description
Name Name of the control
Alias Alias of the control
General
URL Enter a valid URL (link) to a web page. e.g. http://support.sym-3.com/Sym3OperatorHelp/Default.htm
Layout
X X location in the window to place the control
Y Y location in the window to place the control
Width Default = 20
Width of the control.
Height Default = 120
Height of the control.
Anchor Which edge of the window the control is anchored to when the window is resized
Visual
Visible Default = Visible
Visibility of the control.

Binding

The following properties may be bound to a tag

  • Visible

Web Client

The WebBrowser control allows you to embed external web content directly within your HMI window. In the web client, this is implemented using an HTML <iframe> element.

Important Limitations: Cross-Origin Security Restrictions

Many websites actively prevent iframe embedding for security reasons. The WebBrowser control may not work with URLs that implement:

  • X-Frame-Options Headers: Sites can set DENY or SAMEORIGIN to block embedding
  • Content Security Policy (CSP): The frame-ancestors directive can prevent iframe loading
  • Blocked Sites: Popular services (Google, Facebook, banking sites, social media) typically block iframe embedding

When a site blocks embedding, the iframe will appear blank or show an error message. In the browser’s console, a message like this may be displayed:

Refused to display 'http://xxxxxxxxxxxx/' in a frame because it set 'X-Frame-Options' to 'sameorigin'.

The WebBrowser control works best with:

  • Internal Dashboards: Grafana, Kibana, custom analytics tools
  • Documentation Pages: Internal wikis or documentation hosted on your domain
  • SCADA/Industrial Integrations: Third-party systems that explicitly support iframe embedding
  • Custom Web Applications: Your own web services designed for embedded display
  • Reports and Visualizations: Business intelligence tools configured to allow embedding

Alternatives

If the WebBrowser control doesn’t work for your target URL:

  • Configure a button or a menu to open the URL in a new browser tab/window using the Open URL action

Security Considerations

  • Only embed URLs from trusted sources
  • Be aware that embedded content runs in the user’s browser context
  • Consider using internal/whitelisted URLs only in production environments