Trigger events when user closes a Web Form?

Question

Hi. Is there a way to fire code (a trigger perhaps?) when a user unexpectedly closes the entire browser window by clicking on the X in the upper, right corner of the browser?
Or, is there a way to prevent the user from being able to close the browser window by clicking on the X?
Any help would be great. Thanks.
Edited by: sharpe on Jun 26, 2012 11:20 AM

Answer 1

The concepts behind a running form tend to be a mystery for some. However, there is no reason to believe that any Oracle magic occurs when running an Oracle Forms application. On the client side, the running for is a standard java applet. Like any applet running in a browser, the browser uses a plug-in (the JRE in this case) to support the content (the applet). The browser creates a container on the page where the JRE can present its content or host the applet, based on the underlying html. Once the applet starts, it will be displayed in this container space on the page within the browser window. In the case of Oracle Forms, we decided it would be nice to offer an option where the form could be exposed outside of this browser space and float freely.
So the answer to your question regarding what the "window" is called, well the browser is the "browser" and the floating window is actually a java frame which can be created in any applet. Again, no Oracle magic here. ;)
Generally, separateFrame=true is used when more real-estate is needed or when you simply do not want to see the browser controls. That said, I often recommend against using separateFrame=true for a variety of reasons. One of the most common reasons is that if the browser window which is hosting the form is closed or if the browser navigates from the current page, the running form will terminate. Because the browser, in this case, is not doing anything obvious, end-users can easily make the mistake of thinking it is ok to navigate to a webpage using the currently shown blank page. This will cause the form to close.
If you don't mind having the browser controls visible then using separateFrame=false is probably a better way to go. This would also allow you to use the note I mentioned in order to detect attempts to close the browser, assuming you are using Forms 10.1.2.3 or newer and JRE 1.6. To detect the closing of the "separateFrame" you likely would need to create a java bean, which may become a little more complicated than what can be described here. But remember what I mentioned above, if you use separateFrame=true and the hosting browser is closed, the form will also close. So in this case, you would have to code to detect both the applet frame closing as well as the browser window.
There are a variety of ways in which some of the browser controls can be hidden using java script, so this can offer some help if using separateFrame=false. So this is yet another option.