Windows support is here! 🔥 Read the full announcement →
NativePHP
⚠️ NativePHP is currently in alpha. We do not recommend distributing production releases of your applications yet.
Windows

#
Working with Windows

NativePHP allows you to open native application Windows. While this usually happens in your NativeAppServiceProvider, you are free to open a window anywhere in your application.

#
Opening Windows

To open a window, you may use the Window facade.

1namespace App\Providers;
2 
3use Native\Laravel\Facades\Window;
4 
5class NativeAppServiceProvider
6{
7 public function boot(): void
8 {
9 Window::open()
10 ->width(800)
11 ->height(800);
12 }
13}

When opening a window, NativePHP will automatically open the root URL of your application. You may pass a unique identifier to the open() method to distinguish between multiple windows.

The default ID, if none is specified, is main.

You can use the ID to reference the window in other methods, such as Window::close() or Window::resize().

#
Closing Windows

To close a window, you may use the Window::close() method. You may pass a unique identifier to the close() method to specify which window to close. If you do not specify a window ID, NativePHP will try to detect the window ID automatically based on the current route.

1Window::close();
2Window::close('settings');

#
Resizing Windows

You may use the Window::resize() method to resize a window. This method accepts a width and height as its first and second arguments, respectively.

You may pass a unique identifier to the resize() method to specify which window to resize.

If you do not specify a window ID, NativePHP will try to detect the window ID automatically based on the current route.

1Window::resize(400, 300);
2 
3Window::resize(400, 300, 'settings');

#
Retrieving the Current Window

You may use the Window::current() method to retrieve the currently focused window. This method returns an object with the following properties:

  • id: The ID of the window.
  • title: The title of the window.
  • width: The width of the window.
  • height: The height of the window.
  • x: The x position of the window.
  • y: The y position of the window.
  • alwaysOnTop: Whether the window is always on top.
1$currentWindow = Window::current();

#
Managing Multiple Windows

If you would like to open multiple windows, you may use the Window::open() method multiple times. In order to distinguish between the individual windows, you may pass a unique identifier to the open() method.

If you do not specify an ID, NativePHP will automatically use main as the ID.

This ID can be used to reference the window in other methods, such as Window::close() or Window::resize().

1Window::open('home')
2 ->width(800)
3 ->height(800);
4 
5Window::open('settings')
6 ->route('settings')
7 ->width(800)
8 ->height(800);

#
Configuring Windows

#
Window URLs

By default, all calls to Window::open() will open up the root URL of your application. If you would like to open a different URL, you may use the route() method to specify the route name to open.

1Window::open()
2 ->route('home');

You may also pass an absolute URL to the url() method:

1Window::open()
2 ->url('https://google.com');

#
Window Titles

By default, all calls to Window::open() will use the application name as the window title. If you would like to use a different title, you may use the title() method to specify the window title to use.

1Window::open()
2 ->title('My Window');

#
Window Sizes

You may use the width() and height() methods to specify the size of the window.

1Window::open()
2 ->width(800)
3 ->height(800);

If you want to constrain the window to a specific size, you may make use of the minWidth(), minHeight(), maxWidth(), and maxHeight() methods.

1Window::open()
2 ->minWidth(400)
3 ->minHeight(400)
4 ->maxWidth(800)
5 ->maxHeight(800);

#
Window Position

To specify the position of the window, you may use the position($x, $y) method.

1Window::open()
2 ->position(100, 100);

#
Remembering Window State

The users of your application may resize or move the window and expect it to be in the same position and size the next time they open it. NativePHP provides a simple way to manage the state of your window. You may use the rememberState() method to instruct NativePHP to remember the state of the window.

1Window::open()
2 ->rememberState();

Please note that NativePHP only allows you to remember the state of one window at a time.

#
Resizable Windows

By default, all windows created with the Window facade are resizable. If you would like to disable resizing, you may use the resizable() method and pass false as the first argument.

1Window::open()
2 ->resizable(false);

#
Focusable Windows

By default, all windows created with the Window facade are focusable by clicking on them. You may use the focusable() method to disable focusing.

1Window::open()
2 ->focusable(false);

#
Movable Windows

By default, all windows created with the Window facade are movable. You may use the movable() method to disable moving.

1Window::open()
2 ->movable(false);

#
Minimizable, Maximizable, and Closable Windows

By default, all windows created with the Window facade are minimizable, maximizable, and closable.

You may use the minimizable(), maximizable(), and closable() methods to disable these features.

1Window::open()
2 ->minimizable(false)
3 ->maximizable(false)
4 ->closable(false);

#
Window Shadow

By default, all windows created with the Window facade have a shadow. You may use the hasShadow() method to disable the shadow.

1Window::open()
2 ->hasShadow(false);

#
Windows on Top

In some cases, you may want to make a window always on top of other windows. When opening a window, you may use the alwaysOnTop() method to make the window always on top.

1Window::open()
2 ->alwaysOnTop();

If you would like to toggle the always on top state of a window, you may use the alwaysOnTop() method on the Window facade directly and pass the window ID as the second argument.

If you do not specify a window ID, NativePHP will try to detect the window ID automatically based on the current route.

1Window::alwaysOnTop(true, 'settings');

#
Window Background Color

By default, all windows created with the Window facade have a white background color. This color is visible when resizing the window, right before the content is rendered.

You may use the backgroundColor() method to change the background color of the window. This method accepts a hex color code as its first argument.
You may also pass a hex color code with an alpha channel to make the background color semi-transparent.

1Window::open()
2 ->backgroundColor('#00000050'); // Semi-transparent black

#
Hiding the menu

By default on Windows and Linux the application menu will be visible. This method will hide the menu and have it reveal when the user presses ALT.

1Window::open()
2 ->hideMenu();

#
Window Title Styles

#
Default Title Style

By default, all windows created with the Window facade show their title in the center of the title bar.

#
Hidden Title Style

You may use the titleBarHidden() method to hide the title bar of a window.

1Window::open()
2 ->titleBarHidden();

When using this style, you may want to add a custom title bar to the window yourself via HTML/JS.

In order to keep the window draggable, you should add an HTML element with the following CSS attributes:

1<div style="height: 30px; -webkit-app-region: drag;">
2 <!-- Your Custom Title Content -->
3</div>

#
Events

NativePHP provides a simple way to listen for native window events. All events get dispatched as regular Laravel events, so you may use your EventServiceProvider to register listeners.

Sometimes you may want to listen and react to window events in real-time, which is why NativePHP also broadcasts all window events to the nativephp broadcast channel.

To learn more about NativePHP's broadcasting capabilities, please refer to the Broadcasting section.

#
Window Shown Event

The Native\Laravel\Events\Windows\WindowShown event will be dispatched when a window is shown to the user. The payload of this event contains the window ID.

#
Window Closed Event

The Native\Laravel\Events\Windows\WindowClosed event will be dispatched when a window is closed. The payload of this event contains the window ID.

#
Window Focused Event

The Native\Laravel\Events\Windows\WindowFocused event will be dispatched when a window is focused. The payload of this event contains the window ID.

#
Window Blurred Event

The Native\Laravel\Events\Windows\WindowBlurred event will be dispatched when a window is blurred. The payload of this event contains the window ID.

#
Window Minimized Event

The Native\Laravel\Events\Windows\WindowMinimized event will be dispatched when a window is minimized. The payload of this event contains the window ID.

#
Window Maximized Event

The Native\Laravel\Events\Windows\WindowMaximized event will be dispatched when a window is maximized. The payload of this event contains the window ID.

#
Window Resized Event

The Native\Laravel\Events\Windows\WindowResized event will be dispatched after a window has been resized. The payload of this event contains the window ID and the new window $width and $height.

You may register listeners for these events in your EventServiceProvider:

1/**
2 * The event listener mappings for the application.
3 *
4 * @var array
5 */
6protected $listen = [
7 'Native\Laravel\Events\Windows\WindowShown' => [
8 'App\Listeners\WindowWasShownListener',
9 ],
10 // ...
11];