Package html, js, css as a desktop app

Question

I have a online tool where you can make presentations and then either preview them right online or download them for use later in a presentation. This have been done in flash. An xml is created for the presentation and then flash is using it to display everything. The same with the downloadable version where you get a package with a flash projection file, the xml and all files needed. Works nice.

I have now remade it with html, css and javascript so it can be used with mobile/ipad, and the online preview is working great, I haven't found a good solution for the downloadable version thou.

I have tried appjs which works, but it is a bit big and not stable enough yet (must be stable for the people using it). I have also tried Zinc from multidmedia where I create an app that displays a web browser where I put the presentation. However, since Zinc is using IE7 for the browser on windows it needs flash video which Zinc can't handle(weird, I know).

What I really would want is to be able to package everything (html, css, js, images, videos, xml) from my server into presentation.app or presentation.exe and it works, it would however be ok to have the presentation viewer (html, css, js) packaged togheter as an app and the presentation material in a seperate folder where the xml, images and videos for the presentation is.

Anyone have any tips?

Handicraftsman

Answer 1

Here are 3 open source solutions for it:

1. http://appjs.com/
2. http://deskshell.org/
3. http://www.tidesdk.org/

Adobe AIR can be a solution too...

EDIT: This last tweet states that AppJS has been abandoned in 2013 in favor of node-webkit.

Dispermous

Answer 2

If you can live only with Windows 8, you can embed your JS/HTML application as a WinRT app. I tested this sometime ago, and most of the JS libraries such as jQuery have no issue working within WinRT shell. See for example:

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/davrous/archive/2012/08/21/windows-8-html5-metro-style-app-how-to-create-a-small-rss-reader-in-30min-part-1-2.aspx

Leid

Answer 3

2023 Update: Ive seen a lot of good apps from Electronjs.org Undoubtedly some apps many if not all of us are familiar with:

• slack
• discord
• vscode
• https://www.electronjs.org/apps

Henke