BrowserHawk 7.0
By Ben Higgins
January 24, 2004

With a number of different web browsers now available to end users, it is important that web developers customize web page content to be compatible with as many browser types as possible. You've probably noticed that HTML is not standardized for all browsers. BrowserHawk, a component offered by cyScape, is a tool that ASP developers use to retrieve different browser properties. Now cyScape has made this component available to ASP.NET developers as managed code. The ASP.NET framework does have its own browser sniffing class, but it is limited in its options, only offering a fraction of the properties available through BrowserHawk. Below are 4 examples using the BrowserHawk component and 1 using the built in ASP.NET system.web.HttpBrowserCapabilities class.

ASP.NET system.web.HttpBrowserCapabilities class:

Dim br As System.Web.HttpBrowserCapabilities = Request.Browser
Response.Write(br.Platform() & "<br/>" & br.Version() & "<br/>" & br.Type())

ASP.NET using BrowserHawk 7

This is an example of catching the basic properties of the Internet user (Platform, Browser type, and Version).

'Import the BrowserHawk namespace.

Imports cyScape.BrowserHawk

'Declare the object. GetBrowser() executes the command.
Dim browobj = BrowserObj.GetBrowser()

'Response write the properties to the browser.  
Response.Write("Your browser is: " & browobj.Browser & 
  " " & browobj.Fullversion & "<br/>")
Response.Write("Your platform is: " & browobj.Platform & "<br/>")
Response.Write(".NET Framework installed?" & " " 
  & browobj.NETCLRInstalled.ToString() <br>& "<br/>")
Response.Write(".NET Framework version:" & " " 
  & browobj.NETCLRVersion & "<br/>")
Response.Write("Supports ActiveX controls?" & " " 
  & browobj.ActiveXControls & "<br/>")
Response.Write("Supports VBscript?" & " " 
  & browobj.activexcontrols & "<br />")
Response.Write("Browser data file version: 
  " & BrowserObj.BDDVersion & ", <br/> dated: " 
  & BrowserObj.BDDDate & "<p>")

This is an example of the extended BrowserHawk properties:

Imports cyScape.BrowserHawk

'Create an instance of the ExtendedOptions class.
Dim extOptions As ExtendedOptions = New ExtendedOptions

'Specify the additional properties that you want to catch. I've provided a list of all of the 'properties available below.
extOptions.AddProperties("screensize, browsersize")

'Call the GetExtendedBrowser method which executes the capture.
Dim extbrow = BrowserObj.GetExtendedBrowser(extOptions)

Response.Write("Screen Size is: " & extbrow.width.ToString & " + " & extbrow.height.ToString & "<br/>")

Response.Write("Browser size is: " & extbrow.widthavail.ToString & " + " & extbrow.heightavail.ToString & "<br/>")

As you can see, the code needed for the BrowserHawk 7 component is a little more extensive, but well worth the additional functionality. Other examples using ASP.NET written in VB.NET and Classic ASP are shown below.

Classic ASP using BrowserHawk 7

<% 'Create an instance of the Browserhawk component. This retrieves the
"basic " options.
Set browObj = Server.CreateObject("cyScape.BrowserObj")

'Response write the properties to the browser.
Response.Write "Your browser is: " & browObj.Browser & " " & browObj.Fullversion & "<P>"
Response.Write "Your platform is: " & browObj.Platform & "<P>" %>

<% 'Retrieve the extended Options.
Set bh = Server.CreateObject("cyScape.browserObj")

'Add the extended properties.
bh.SetExtProperties "screensize, browsersize"

'Execute the capture.
bh.GetExtPropertiesEx 0

Response.write "screen size:" & bh.width & " X " & bh.height & "<br/>"
Response.write "browser window size:" & bh.widthAvail & " X " & bh.heightAvail

%>

The extended properties available with the professional license of BrowserHawk 7:

LANGUSER MSJVMBUILD PLUGIN_SVGVIEWER PLUGIN_FLASH BROWSERDATETIME SCREENSIZE BROWSERDATETIMEMS COOKIE_PERM NETMEETINGBUILD LANGSYSTEM REFERRER PLUGIN_CUSTOM VBSCRIPTENABLED PLUGIN_QUICKTIME VBSCRIPTBUILD COOKIE_BOTH PLUGIN_CRYSTALREPORTS PLUGIN_JAVAVER JAVASCRIPTBUILD WIDTHAVAIL WIDTH

COLORDEPTH PLUGIN_MEDIAPLAYER JAVAVENDOR PLUGIN_ACROBATVEREX JAVASCRIPTENABLED PLUGIN_IPIXVIEWER PLUGIN_DIRECTORVEREX PLUGIN_VIEWPOINT PLUGIN_REALPLAYER PLUGIN_DIRECTOR HEIGHT PLUGIN_AUTHORWARE CONNECTIONTYPE JAVAENABLED CONNECTIONSPEED TIMEZONEDIFF TEXTSIZE PLUGIN_MAPGUIDE ALL PLUGIN_FLASHVEREX HEIGHTAVAIL

OPENPORTS MSXML PLUGIN_MEDIAPLAYERVEREX PLUGIN_REALPLAYERBUILD COOKIE_SESS FIREWALL REFERER COOKIESENABLED BROWSERSIZE FONTSMOOTHING PLUGIN_QUICKTIMEVEREX JAVAVERSION SSLENABLED SSLKEYSIZE BROWSERBUILD PLUGIN_ACROBAT ACTIVEXENABLED SERVICEPACK PLUGIN_CITRIX IMAGESENABLED

~Ben

Ben Higgins is a member of the ORCS Web, Inc. Webteam - a company that provides managed hosting solutions for clients who develop and deploy their applications on Microsoft Windows platforms. Services include shared hosting, dedicated hosting, and webfarm hosting, with specialty in .Net, SQL Server, and architecting highly scalable solutions.