While there are many internet browsers like Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Google Chrome that are free to download and install on your computer, building web browsers yourself gives you more control over how you want to surf the web. With a custom web browser, you can not only decide what the look should be, but you can also add custom buttons and functions. Visual Basic is one of the most common programs used to create a web browser.
Steps
Step 1. Install Visual Basic on your computer
either download the software from the Visual Basic Developer Center or using the installation disc.
Step 2. Start Visual Basic and start a new project by going to the File menu and clicking on the New Project button
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Step 3. Browse for "Text" and select "Web Browser" on the form page that appears
Step 4. Go to "View" on the top menu bar, browse to "Other Windows" and click on "Toolbox."
"The Visual Basic toolbar appears on the screen.
Step 5. Double click on the WebBrowser tool in the toolbar
Step 6. Click on the right arrow icon in the upper right corner of the form and click "Undock in Parent Container."
"This will change the appearance of the form from full screen to a smaller window in the Visual Basic interface.
Step 7. Resize the web browser to the size you want using the clickable outlines around it
Step 8. Set the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) property to the address of the website you want to visit
A test website will open and you can see how the website will look when opened through your internet browser.
Step 9. Create a new button and assign the following properties to it
- The text on the button must contain "Go."
- Name the button "GoBtn."
Step 10. Activate the button by double clicking on it
A Private Sub will pop up on the screen. Enter the following code between Private and End Subs (you can replace "URL" with any web address):
WebBrowser1. Navigate (URL)
Step 11. Test the button by clicking on it
This will take you from the test site to the destination site assigned to the button.
Step 12. Select the TextBox tool from the toolbar
Step 13. Drag the TextBox tool and drop it onto the web browser custom form you are creating
Step 14. Name the text field, for example - "addressTxt
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Step 15. Go back to the button you created earlier and replace the URL with "addressTxt. Text."
"This means that you want to use the button to navigate to whatever URL you enter in the address bar.
Step 16. Test the address bar by using it to visit various websites
Step 17. Save the web browser you just created as a Visual Basic program by choosing the Save command from the File menu
Advice
- Building web browsers is not always necessary to take advantage of user preferences. Many pre-designed Internet browsers, such as Firefox and Google Chrome, allow you to customize the look and feel of the browser with a variety of backgrounds, add-ons, and applications. However, their customization options are still limited.
- If you want to create a web browser without using Visual Basic, you can consider programs such as QR WebBrowser Maker and Flock Social Web Browser Maker. These programs have preset options that you can choose to provide your web browser with custom settings.