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HTML Executable Changelog

What's new in HTML Executable 4.9.5.0

Jun 8, 2020
  • Fixed crash on Windows 10 update 2004 (May 2020). Rebuild your ebook/publication EXE files or install the updated runtime module to make your older ebook EXE files work again.
  • Updated PDF viewer engine, script engine and several internal components.
  • Links in PDF documents can now open external files or folders. The link reference for files must begin with open: such as open:readme.txt (given that the readme.txt is in the current directory). For folder, the link must begin with folder:
  • Some filenames could lead to incorrect Pascal syntax when generating Map IDs.
  • Added a warning if you try to load projects that were made with a more recent version of HTML Executable (for projects made with the next major release of HTML Executable).
  • Minor improvements and bug fixes.

New in HTML Executable 4.9.4.0 (Feb 7, 2019)

  • Fixed slow loading on some computers.
  • Updated compression system, PDF viewer engine, script engine and several internal components.
  • Minor improvements and bug fixes.

New in HTML Executable 4.9.3.0 (Dec 12, 2018)

  • Improved behavior for generating paths for external encrypted files.
  • Collecting search data is now performed earlier in compilation.
  • Fixed random crash when editing the activation URL in Registered certificates.
  • Fixed "The notification platform is unavailable" problem on some Windows 10 tablets.
  • The _heopenit target now uses the original filename and no more a random filename for temporarily extracted files.
  • Updated virtualization engine, PDF viewer engine, script engine and several internal components.
  • Minor improvements and bug fixes.
  • Compatibility for projects made with previous versions of HTML Executable
  • Runtime modules for version 4.9.3 are compatible with publications made by versions 4.9.X, 4.8 but not compatible with publications made with previous versions of HTML Executable (4.7 and lower).

New in HTML Executable 4.9.2.0 (Jun 21, 2018)

  • Improvements for Windows 10 April 2018 update.
  • Faster compression method for more responsive ebooks.
  • Forbid virtual printers for PDF files: HTML Executable detects almost all PDF virtual printers, so that you can forbid them while still allowing real printers. Only for PDF files displayed with the built-in PDF viewer.
  • More operations of HTML Executable (such as external file encryption...) are now multi-threaded, HTML Executable does not appear stuck anymore.
  • New HEScript event in UserMain script: OnWebUpdateNewVersionFound. This event occurs when a new version is detected by the web update feature at publication startup.
  • HTML Executable now properly reads BOM to detect specific encoding before parsing files. For instance, Chinese characters in some HTML and PDF files are now properly detected and indexed.
  • The global password generator now avoids confusing characters such as I, L, l, 0 and O.
  • Self-Extracting publications are now compatible with Microsoft Edge as default browser.
  • Improved behavior of compiled PHP apps on multiple monitor setups. Be sure to disable "Always center the window" option in old projects.
  • Fixed: search results always show "0" occurrence(s) for PDF files with special character set.
  • Fixed: Windows notifications sometimes generate false error reports.
  • Fixed: clicking Help could sometimes freeze the GUI.
  • Fixed: some PDF files were not correctly indexed by the search engine.
  • Fixed: "Encrypt External Files" now creates the destination folder if it does not exist.
  • Fixed: random error message "Can't allocate the DIB handle".
  • Removed slow PPMD compression method.
  • Updated skin engine, virtualization engine, PDF viewer engine and several internal components.
  • COMPATIBILITY FOR PROJECTS MADE WITH PREVIOUS VERSIONS OF HTML EXECUTABLE
  • Runtime modules for version 4.9.2 are compatible with publications made by versions 4.9.X, 4.8 but not compatible with publications made with previous versions of HTML Executable (4.7 and lower).

New in HTML Executable 4.9.1.0 (Nov 15, 2016)

  • New compression method to bring more responsive ebooks: this method doesn't unpack data to memory fully but by chunks, which increases the loading speed of large files and the ebook's responsiveness. It is automatically selected by HTML Executable for compressing source files larger than 1 MB. You can also enable it for any source file thanks to the new file property: "Use streaming-compatible compression method".
  • Improved loading speed and memory usage when playing large audio and video files compressed in EXE files and not in external files.
  • Fixed random thread deadlock when compiling or starting a new project on some computers.
  • Removed the anti-debugger option which triggered some antivirus false positives.
  • Increased length of the "what's new" text in Web Update and tip about inserting multiple lines.
  • Improved scanning of source files when starting a new project.
  • Changed system ID method that uses the hard disk's manufacturer serial ID. Warning: this can break existing hardware-locked keys, you will have to provide your end users with new hardware-locked registration keys.
  • New global variable "herestartwebupt" for Web Updates: now you have a way to notify users that their publication has been updated after a successful web update. Check the documentation for an example.
  • Fixed: the red cross button of the PDF viewer's toolbar was always visible in HTML viewer publications.
  • Fixed: "Could not register tab" error at startup on Windows PC tablets.
  • Fixed: the built-in HTTP server was always started at publication startup although it wasn't necessary.
  • Improved: in some cases, a simple error message box is displayed now rather than the full error report dialog box.
  • Updated virtualization engine, PDF viewer engine.

New in HTML Executable 4.9.0.1 (Oct 31, 2016)

  • Fixed "invalid registration key" random bug.
  • EXE PE header checksum now correctly updated.
  • The Cleanup utility now takes account of personalized user preference folder.
  • Added a "Copy to clipboard" button to the key generator so that only the registration key is copied.
  • Fixed: some encrypted external files could not be properly rendered.
  • Minor tweaks.

New in HTML Executable 4.9.0 (Oct 26, 2016)

  • New Web Update feature: it enables publications to check for updates, download them and automatically install them. A Web Update Wizard guides end users through the updating process. No additional software is required, but you must have a web server where to host public update files generated by HTML Executable. Watch our video tutorial about web update for ebooks
  • Publications can automatically check for updates at startup. A "What's new" text can be optionally displayed.
  • New global HEScript function to trigger a check for updates: Global.HEStartWebUpdate. This can be invoked from menu items or toolbar buttons for instance.
  • New ability to encrypt external files: if you decide to keep large source files such as audio and video files outside of the publication (as external files), you may still want to protect them against copy. HTML Executable can encrypt external files so that these files can only be opened by the publication. This is a security feature that will help avoid unwanted copying of your publication resources. It works with large files, especially media files such as HTML5 video (MP4 format) and audio.
  • New "Encrypt external files" option in the File Manager to display the "Encrypt external files" utility. The latter allows you to decide which external files you want to protect with encryption.
  • Improved behavior when reading external files.
  • HTML Executable now displays an error report when an unexpected error occurs and, after user acceptance, HTML Executable can send this error report directly to our support team for review.
  • Updated EXE overheads to remove code that could trigger false positives in some antivirus programs.
  • New option "Use virtualization for the runtime module" set off by default to minimize the risk of false positives in some antivirus programs.
  • New Table of Contents property to allow only one visible panel at a time: CloseIfSearchPanelOpens lets you mimic the default behavior of CHM files.
  • New field option to specify the PDF bookmark panel's initial width.
  • New option to disable the "View Commands" panel of the built-in PDF viewer.
  • Our code signing utility now looks for certificates both in current user and local machine stores.
  • New "Reset with default list" button to fill the forbidden programs blacklist with pre-defined items.
  • Hyphens and other non-numeric characters are ignored in short registration keys. This lets you make registration keys such as 123-456-78 instead of 12345678.
  • Fixed task dialog sizing problem in Windows 10 anniversary update.
  • Improved occurrence count of the built-in Search feature.
  • Fixed incorrect EXE version information random bug.
  • Fixed infinite loop bug that could occur when starting a new project ("creating XML structure" wait dialog box).
  • Fixed window.external.GetHEScriptCom JavaScript call bug.
  • Improved letter confusion detection in registration keys.
  • Improved invalid character detection in fields to avoid system error code 122 "The data area passed to a system call is too small".
  • HEScript event named OnWindowCloseQuery is now added to UserMain by default.
  • Fixed bug that could lead to incorrect "Runtime error 217" and "HTML Executable corrupted DLL runtime Module" error messages on some computers.
  • Fixed: some Self-Extracting publication options were not saved in the project file.
  • Fixed: Self-Extracting publications were acting weird with recent versions of FireFox.
  • Fixed: PDF bookmarks were not shown at startup even if the option was enabled.
  • Added a close button to the toolbar of the built-in PDF viewer, which lets users navigate back.
  • Fixed: some external links were not working in PDF files displayed with the built-in PDF viewer.
  • Fixed: problem to burn the Enky SL dongle on Windows 10.
  • Fixed: HTML Executable Web Update did not properly unpack 7z archives.
  • Improved loading of large MP4 video files on Windows 10.
  • Updated virtualization engine, HEScript engine, PDF viewer engine, HTML viewer engine.
  • Updated Spanish, English and French language files with several new resource strings related to the new Web Update feature.
  • Updated documentation and new topics: How to call a javascript function? and How to prompt for a password for closing ebook?

New in HTML Executable 4.8.0 (Jul 8, 2016)

  • New content protection feature: it enables publications to protect their own onscreen window content from being captured or copied through screenshot utilities. If someone tries to capture the window, the latter will appear black. The feature is only available on Windows 7 (Desktop Window Manager must be enabled) and later.
  • New "If Content Protection cannot be activated, show an error message and exit publication" option to ensure that your ebook will only work if Content Protection is active.
  • New software blacklisting feature: you can manage a list of forbidden programs (such as screenshot capture software, screen gabbers and other screencorder software). It is possible to provide process names and keywords to search in all active window titles. When a forbidden program is found, the publication exits.
  • New Main Menu button that appears in main window title in order to replace menu bars. This will give a modern look to your publications.
  • New Search box that allows users to type their search query directly. Search results are now displayed on the right side (except in RTL mode, on the left side).
  • New option to show or hide the search box.
  • New skins to give a Windows 10 look to your ebooks/publications
  • New option in the "New Publication" wizard that lets you create a modern Windows 10-like application without menu bar, with Windows 10 skin and application menu button.
  • The HTML5 video tag now works properly on Windows 10.
  • New HTML5 MP4 video demo and topic in HTML Executable Help file.
  • Improved playing of media files in general through HTML5 and/or Flash.
  • Improved behavior on Windows 10.
  • New option to use short 10-digit registration keys instead of normal ones. Be sure to upgrade your registration key generators with new versions if you use this option in your publications.
  • The Table of Contents now accepts PNG images and alpha transparency for image items.
  • New Table of Contents image editor which also imports PNG images and bitmap strips.
  • SHA2 code signing and dual SHA1-SHA256 signatures are now handled.
  • Time stamping uses "RFC 3161 compatible" timestamp server in addition to Authenticode timestamp server when possible. You can configure your own timestamp servers in the Environment Options.
  • It is now possible to use certificates available from the Windows Certificate Store (based on Subject Name or Thumbprint).
  • Links to bookmarks in PDF files are now supported.
  • The PDF Viewer sample has been upgraded to show new features (bookmark jump, external URLs...).
  • New option to remember last current page of PDF files. A menu command is also added to ebooks to let users disable the functionality if they don't want it.
  • Context menus are now always disabled in popup windows unless you set the global variable named "heenablectxmenuforpopup" to "1".
  • The status bar now bears a size grip if the main window is resizeable.
  • Online activation now handles TLS/SSL protocols, which means you can use HTTPS for your activation/deactivation URLs if your server uses a valid SSL certificate.
  • You can now type the path of the source folder in the "New Project Wizard" or drag and drop the homepage file.
  • New "Paste From Clipboard" button in Activation screens: you must reset system HTML pages in order to make it appear.
  • New DisableHTTPNegociateProtocol property for IE Browser component. It offers a possible workaround if your publication uses Flash and you have troubles: frozen or not responding application, EXE that hangs and so on.
  • Better handling of confusing-letters in registration keys (I/1, l/1, S/5, G/6, Z/2...)
  • Change: the built-in server is now enabled by default. It is recommended to reset the Special Content list (Content Filetypes) to take account of recent changes for Windows 10.
  • A new 24x24 icon image has been added for Windows 10.
  • Added support for WOFF2 fonts and SVG files.
  • "Comments" field in version information has been replaced by "LegalTrademarks".
  • New ButtonAlign property to align toolbar buttons to the left or to the right. Useful for RTL languages.
  • New main window option: "No DPI aware flag: use Windows dpi scaling". This will modify the manifest resource embedded in EXE files automatically: no need to do it yourself.
  • New "Open Destination Folder" button on the compilation log page.
  • New OnRestoreFromTray HEScript event.
  • Improved Java applet support with recent Oracle JVM security changes. The help topic tells you how to get your Java applets working.
  • Better stability when processing large publications (project creation, compilation...).
  • Zoom is also applied to popup windows, dialog boxes and HTML panels.
  • New Windows 10 notifications when a build is finished.
  • Fixed problems with large Self-Extracting publications.
  • Fixed "Data Error" for large EXE and/or HEDATA files (2 GB and more).
  • Fixed context menu in script editor.
  • Fixed: EXE does not close if Validation fails.
  • Improved High DPI and per monitor-DPI aware support.
  • Better compatibility with protection software such as Obsidium: search for Obsidium in the documentation.
  • HTML Executable activation/deactivation now uses SSL/TLS by default.
  • Updated HEScript scripting, engine skin engine, PDF viewer engine, HTML viewer engine.
  • Updated documentation and help file.
  • New resource strings: Ypaste, SErrorCopyProtectFailed, SErrorForbiddenProgramDetected.
  • Files are now signed with SHA2 signatures.
  • Updated Spanish, English and French language files.
  • Lots of internal changes and improvements.

New in HTML Executable 4.7.1 (Jan 28, 2015)

  • Fixed: main window size always increased at startup.
  • Lowered memory requirement for compressing runtimes ("Memory Error" problem).
  • New FAQ about inserting a company logo or custom image in the About box.
  • Fixed: PDF thumbnails panel was not displayed in HTML viewer publications.
  • Fixed: links with PDF bookmarks were ignored in HTML viewer publications.
  • Reduced runtime file size.
  • Minor changes.

New in HTML Executable 4.7.0 (Jan 22, 2015)

  • Optimized compression algorithms. Compression speed improved.
  • Support for new image formats for the splash screen.
  • Support for alpha-blended PNG images - non-rectangular splash screens. Use 32-bit PNG to benefit from semi-transparency.
  • Improved support for large DPI screens (for both HTML Executable and publications).
  • New "Output Format" page in HTML Executable with new option "Keep the runtime outside the EXE file".
  • "Keep publication data outside the EXE file" option: lets you create publications larger than 2 GB.
  • "Keep the search index data outside the EXE file" option : lets you create search indexes larger than 2 GB. This is a workaround for the "out of memory" compilation error.
  • Content Filetypes: new option "extract and open it in application". Useful to open PDF documents for instance if you don't use the PDF internal viewer and you want to open them in the default PDF reader such as Adobe Reader.
  • Support for Paquet Builder 3 to create Setup packages and uninstallers for your publications.
  • Trial/restricted versions: system IDs can now be based on the network Mac address.
  • Support for JBIG2 image format in PDF.
  • New Spanish language file for publications.
  • PDF viewer engine updated.
  • HTML Viewer engine updated.
  • Skin engine updated.
  • Improved compatibility with Internet Explorer 11 and incoming Windows 10.
  • Improved support for Google fonts (use WOFF files).
  • Updated Enky SL and LC dongle support. New global variables HEDongleLicCount, HEDongleTrialDay and HEDongleExpirationDate to show expiry time of SL dongles.
  • Fixed system error. code 8.
  • Fixed random AJAX errors in Webbrowser/IE publications.
  • Fixed Toc font size problem in HTML Viewer publications with large DPI.
  • Fixed: Windows won't shut-down when there's an active HTML-Executable Publication reduced to the Systray.
  • Fixed: when closing, the publication could stay in memory in XP with the PDF viewer enabled.
  • Fixed: incorrect month setting for SL dongles.
  • Removed "company logo".
  • Enhanced documentation.
  • Several documentation topics were updated to cover some problems such as Flash loading on Windows 8, out of memory error when compiling large publications...
  • Minor improvements.

New in HTML Executable 4.6.1 (Mar 27, 2013)

  • Improved support for Enky SL dongles and dongle compatibility with our Excel protection tool XLS Padlock.
  • PDF viewer engine updated: some minor problems fixed and graphics are rendered in higher quality mode.
  • HTML Viewer engine updated.
  • Fixed: disabling F5 refresh in IE publications disabled the "t" keystroke in form fields too.
  • Fixed "compression error" message when loading a corrupted state file.
  • URLs that begin with "http://heserver" are no more displayed in the main window's title bar.
  • Minor changes.

New in HTML Executable 4.6.0 (Mar 4, 2013)

  • Improved support for optical zoom in IE publications and new "Reset zoom" menu. Publications will now remember the zoom value at next start (new StoreOpticalZoomValue property for IE Browser component in Visual Controls).
  • Added support for Enky SL dongles.
  • Publications can now automatically load external resource files (not compiled into the EXE file): you can for instance have image and media files outside the EXE file (in the same folder or a subfolder). If an HTML file references image1.png, the publication will look for the image1.png file into its compiled data; if it is not found, it will try to locate it in the same folder as the EXE file (depending on the URI) and load it.
  • New option for PDF viewer: Disable Page Thumbnails panel.
  • Removed unnecessary "Internal Name" from EXE version info in stand-alone publications.
  • New versions of the script engine, HTML parser, HTML Viewer engine, skin engine, compiler.
  • Improved interface for viewing thumbnails and bookmarks of PDF files.
  • PDF engine updated (faster display of certain scanned documents, solves character spacing problem with Chinese text, solves problem with PDF which use \0 as character code...).
  • IE publications do not force IE9 / IE10 standard modes anymore, for better compatibility with websites not following standard HTML rules. If you want to do so, enable the ForceIEStandardMode property (Visual Controls => IE Browser component).
  • Fixed Windows global atom problem.
  • New resource strings: SMenuResetZoom, SPage, SDongleLicenseError and SDongleLicenseExpired
  • New HEScript functions: SetOpticalZoom and GetOpticalZoom (only for IE publications).
  • Minor improvements.

New in HTML Executable 4.5.4 (Dec 27, 2012)

  • Fixed bug when starting new projects (no valid toolbar bitmap).
  • Updated PDF viewer engine.
  • Minor changes.

New in HTML Executable 4.5.3 (Dec 12, 2012)

  • Updated built-in HTML viewer engine.
  • Updated PDF viewer engine.
  • Updated skin engine.
  • Fixed possible popup flickering problems in Webbrowser publications.
  • Fixed "Invalid Document: unexpected text in file prolog at position 1" bug when loading projects on some computers.
  • Fixed possible corruption bug when saving projects.
  • Fixed "Cannot load PDF viewer engine" problem when running publications from network drives.
  • Fixed random "Cannot change Visible in OnShow or OnHide" problem when using online validation.
  • New HEScript function: OpenFileAdv that lets you run EXE files that require administrative rights.
  • Updated documentation.
  • Minor improvements and fixes.

New in HTML Executable 4.5.2 (Nov 10, 2012)

  • You can now import ebooks in EPUB format in HTML Executable thanks to the new add-on "EPUB to App". The add-on can be installed with the Web Update utility, or download EPub to App here.
  • New splash screen options: faster display, more image formats handled such as PNG, BMP, GIF, JPEG, TIF.
  • Added proxy server support for deactivation and validation. A proxy server can be configured with the new command line argument "setproxy".
  • XHTML and XHTM files are now recognized as pages by HTML Executable.
  • Removed default "Page XX sur XX" header on printed documents (IE publications).
  • Fixed "tfwizard -1" error and other startup errors related to a corrupted "heprefer.xml" file.
  • Fixed map ID bug when passed with command line.
  • Improved popup management.
  • Improved MacroOpenFile macro command.
  • Updated PDF rendering engine.
  • Updated built-in XML engine.
  • Updated documentation.
  • Minor improvements.

New in HTML Executable 4.5.1 (Sep 27, 2012)

  • CHM To EXE add-on updated: you can now import HTML Help files as HTML Executable projects. Learn more at http://www.htmlexe.com/chm2exe
  • Improved HTML parser: HTML Executable now properly parses HTML pages with charsets such as Asian Character Sets, Cyrillic Character Sets... For HTML pages without charset meta tag, you can define the default charset that should be used.
  • Fixed popup problem in stand-alone IE publications.
  • Fixed problem with corrupted Web Update utility.
  • Updated PDF rendering engine.
  • Updated toolbar bitmap strips.
  • Minor updates.

New in HTML Executable 4.5 (Sep 27, 2012)

  • Compatibility with Windows 8 and Internet Explorer 10 improved. HTML5 and CSS 3 are now supported when IE9 or IE10 are installed (default on Windows 8).
  • New: support for dongle protection. You can now lock your publication to a dongle so that each time your publication is run, it will check for the presence of the dongle. If the right dongle is found, the publication will be opened, otherwise it will not run.
  • New security restriction "If the document is a PDF file, allow access to X pages". This option lets you limit the number of pages a user can access in PDF documents. It works with security profiles and it will be suitable for users who want to offer a limited preview of a PDF file in a Trial publication for instance.
  • New Office 2013-like skins.
  • New publication EXE format compatible with third-party software protection tools.
  • You can now disable the refresh key (F5) in IE publications (Visual Controls => IE Browser => DisableF5RefreshKey).
  • Improved search engine: speed was improved while sorting results from PDF files. It is now possible to disable search relevance for PDF files.
  • Fixed path problems with some popups in IE publications.
  • Fixed non-working Return and Backspace keys in some Flash movies.
  • Fixed possible "Incorrect folder name" error on non-English Windows versions.
  • Fixed the possible system error "not enough memory to process the command".
  • New versions of the script engine, XML engine, HTML parser, HTML Viewer engine, skin engine.
  • PDF engine updated (handle PDF files with wrong page height definitions, improved rendering...).
  • New resource strings: SDongleInvalidProductID, SDongleAPIError, SDongleNotFound, SDongleHardwareError, SDongleIncompatible, SDongleInvalidDongle, SDongleInvalidCheck
  • Minor improvements.

New in HTML Executable 4.2.1 (Apr 5, 2012)

  • Improved search engine: search results are now sorted by relevance and number of occurrences are displayed (can be disabled thanks to the new HESearchRelevanceNoDisplay global variable).
  • PDF viewer: it is now possible not to highlight hyperlinks in PDF files.
  • New remote validation method: you can now validate registration keys every X times.
  • Fixed random application hangs at startup for HTML Viewer publications + PDF selected as homepage.
  • Updated PDF engine: minor improvements.
  • Updated built-in HTML Viewer engine.
  • SFX publications: another bug at startup fixed.
  • Language files were updated.
  • New HEScript function: RandomRange. It generates a random Integer number.
  • Minor improvements.
  • New resource string: STimes

New in HTML Executable 4.2.0 (Mar 28, 2012)

  • HTML Executable is now compatible with Windows 8 Consumer Preview and Internet Explorer 10 (Preview).
  • The PDF viewer now displays the title of PDF files in the titlebar and no more the filename.
  • New option to display the PDF's navigation bookmark panel at startup.
  • Improved PDF Viewer: you can now link to specific pages by number or named locations.
  • New HEScript commands: PDFViewerCommand and PDFViewerCommandStr to send commands to the PDF viewer engine (for advanced users only).
  • New HEScript event in UserMain script: OnPDFDisplay. This event is called when the PDF viewer loads and displays the PDF whose path is given by PDFPath.
  • New: the search engine can parse PDF files even if the built-in PDF viewer is disabled.
  • Added support for TRegistry to the HEScript scripting engine.
  • Fixed random bug at startup in Self-Extracting publications.
  • Fixed: stand-alone publications did not read command line parameters properly.
  • Fixed: the global password mask field did not work.
  • Fixed: JavaScript URLs are no more displayed in status bars when AutoShowURLs is set to False.
  • Improved popup behavior: popup windows are now independent from the main window.
  • Improved French translation.
  • Updated built-in HTML Viewer engine.
  • Updated skin engine.
  • Updated PDF engine: improved handling of PDF files with corrupt font information.
  • Minor improvements.

New in HTML Executable 4.1.1 (Feb 19, 2012)

  • Full French translation available for HTML Executable's interface. The documentation and samples will be localized too in the future.
  • You can now load external PDF files directly in the publication thanks to the HEScript command named "LoadPDFFromFile".
  • The activation process displays more error messages when it fails.
  • Fixed: popup and window issues in stand-alone IE publications.
  • Fixed: words were not correctly indexed if you unchecked "Use default word delimiters based on Unicode categories".
  • Fixed shortcut problem in IE publications, especially ń in Polish (right alt + n).
  • Added SW_HIDE command for RunAProgram.
  • JavaScript URLs are no more displayed in status bars when AutoShowURLs is set to False.
  • Updated skin engine and skins.
  • New skins available: iOS4 Aero2, Win8 Aero and Android Aero.
  • Updated PDF engine:
  • printing always tried to change paper size and so scaling did not work as expected.
  • support for axial shading (solo and pattern)
  • improved support for CMYK graphics
  • some improvements for color functions
  • fixes problem with scrollbars
  • Overlay draw objects are now printed
  • Now also renders fonts which fail to load by GDI+ (i.e. "Vivaldi")
  • Minor updates and improvements.

New in HTML Executable 4.1.0 (Dec 23, 2011)

  • HTML Executable now generates real stand-alone EXE files. Previously, the runtime module was only merged into the EXE file and it was unpacked to the temporary folder at runtime. This behavior was misinterpreted by some antivirus programs.
  • Furthermore, EXE files can now be compressed with UPX or any third-party EXE compressor / EXE protector.
  • New Authenticode code signing utility: you do not have to download and install SignTool yourself anymore.
  • Improved HTML viewer engine (lots of changes and improvements).
  • Improved PDF viewer engine (lots of changes and improvements, especially for image decoding and color spaces).
  • Improved built-in XML engine.
  • You can now choose a PDF file as homepage and HTML Executable can create an adapted project ("PDF to EXE" case). See this video tutorial: PDF to ebook software tutorial.
  • EXE Version Information: version number format is no more restricted (for instance, you can enter 1.23.456.78 instead of 1.2.3.4).
  • The font size of the Table of Contents can be customized (TOC properties => set property OverrideFontSize to something different than 0).
  • Optimization when loading very large TOCs.
  • Fixed: hescript:// urls are now properly decoded when using non-friendly characters for parameters.
  • Fixed: in "Start Prompt Message", the /§ did not work as a carriage-return-line-feed.
  • New French (français) language file.
  • Added NoMultiThreading option to disable multi-threading support in IE publications. Only useful for troubleshooting purposes with some Flash movies (in Windows XP).
  • HTML Executable now displays time elapsed during compilation.
  • Several minor bug fixes and improvements.

New in HTML Executable 4.0.2 (Nov 14, 2011)

  • Full compatibility with our ebook protection service Protect Ebook .net.
  • Fixed deactivation error message when the remote server could not be reached.
  • PDF engine improvements:
  • - much improved for Type3 fonts with optimization for bitmap types.
  • - problem fixed for some PDF files which use encryption.
  • - some fixes in PDF loading.
  • Fixed problem related to PDFs with links to other PDFs.
  • Fixed popup-related problems in IE publications.
  • Minor improvements.

New in HTML Executable 4.0.1 (Nov 14, 2011)

  • Added page rotation commands to the built-in PDF viewer. Please note that this feature is not compatible with text selection. It can be disabled in the HTML Executable's "PDF Viewer" page.
  • New menu commands named "Zoom In" and "Zoom Out" for IE publications, allowing users to increase or decrease the optical zoom. You can enable or disable them with the "IE Browser" property: AllowModifyOpticalZoom.
  • As an HTML Executable customer, you can purchase a valid code signing certificate at a discounted price from our partner, K Software, a Comodo Strategic Partner. If you are interested in purchasing or renewing a certificate, please go to the HTML Executable's My Account page and choose "Purchase a code signing certificate" in order to get a coupon code for the discount.
  • New resource strings: SYes, SNo, SMenuZoomIn, SMenuZoomOut
  • Improved script runtime engine.
  • Fixed MessageDlg bug showing No instead of OK button.
  • If you edit the source code of dialog boxes, now the HTML source code is stored as UTF-8. Remember that only UTF-8 is accepted in dialog boxes.
  • Fixed CustomUserAgent problem when using %ORIGINAL% or leaving the field blank.
  • Fixed problem with the locking of the HTML Executable's main window to the screen edge.
  • Fixed "access violation" bug when an error occurred during activation or validation (for Trial publications).
  • Minor improvements.

New in HTML Executable 3.6.5 (Jun 12, 2010)

  • New protection for runtime modules to avoid false positives from some antivirus.
  • Runtime modules are now digitally signed with Authenticode.
  • Publications no longer use WMI to determine serial numbers. Consequently, unique IDs based on hard disk's manufacturer serial number will change: you may need to issue new registration keys to your customers.
  • New Disk Information utility available in HTML Executable (Tools / Disk Information): it lets you retrieve hardware information about disks and especially whether a USB stick has a manufacturer serial number or not. Remember that hardware-locked portable publications require a USB stick with a valid manufacturer serial number, however some manufacturers do not assign one.
  • New Publication Cleanup utility (in Output Filename tab): HTML Executable generates a portable cleanup program that lets you clear traces and settings saved by your publications on different computers.
  • New option for advanced users that offers scripting extension to compute the unique system ID.
  • New global variable HEPublicationDiskInfo that contains information about the USB disk.
  • Fixed a bug in SFX publications that occurred if IE8 was already running.
  • New security option for publications: Do not run if a debugger is detected.
  • New global variable HECheckDebug to determine whether a debugger is running or not.
  • New HEScript functions related to file virtualization: UnpackVirtualResource and RemoveVirtualResource.
  • New option to enable or disable the Adobe Reader's toolbar for PDF files in HTML Viewer publications (User Interface -> HTML Viewer -> AllowToolbarForPDF)
  • Fixed problem with HEScript calls in popups: function parameters were ignored.
  • Fixed problem with virtualization and external files in HTML Viewer publications.
  • Fixed random crash in the object editor (Publication Settings -> User Interface) for the Menu Bar, Status Bar...
  • Updated FAQ section and documentation.
  • Added advices in the FAQ for compiling content made with Articulate products.
  • Minor improvements.

New in HTML Executable 3.6.1 (Dec 12, 2009)

  • New file protection: virtualization for temporary files. With this option available in Security => Global Protection, resource and plug-in files like PDF, Flash SWF, Flash video FLV, MP3... are not unpacked to the hard disk but directly to memory, offering better protection. Remember that files like HTML, images, JavaScript... are never unpacked to the hard disk whether the virtualization option is enabled or not (except for Self-Extracting publications).
  • Fixed a problem on multi-core systems that was changing the system IDs based on CPU info.
  • The context menu for fields is now enabled on the activation screen too. Reset system HTML pages for applying.
  • Extended "Only one instance of the publication" option: now if you run your publication again, the second and subsequent invocation of the EXE doesn't start a new instance, but uses the one that's already running and only changes the page displayed in it according to the command line. For instance: if I create an HTML exe application myapp.exe, I can get myapp.exe to start with a certain page by using myapp.exe mapid 1024 where 1024 is the mapid for the page I want. If I then call
  • myapp.exe mapid 1025 the first instance of the app will show the page with mapid 1025.
  • New command line option for publications: ignoreuserpos. It's helpful to allow the end user to set size and move the window around, but sometimes users will move to a 2nd monitor, then run without it or forget to turn it on, and they will "loose" it. This command line option will open the publication screen-centered.
  • Buttons in some system HTML pages like Favorite Manager, Search Results... may now be modified with resource strings (SSearchHTMLNewSearchButton, SSearchHTMLHVShowFindButton,
  • SFavoriteHTMLAddFvButton...)
  • In HTML viewer publications, Adobe Reader does not show the toolbar anymore when displaying PDF files. You can still enable it with the enabletoolbar parameter. See the Main Demonstration.
  • Fixed: the "Allow resize window" option was not working in some cases.
  • Fixed: for old projects, some new system HTML pages were not listed.
  • Fixed: turning "Enable fast decompression" on caused an error at startup ("This program is corrupted").
  • Uniform sizes for registration dialog boxes. Reset system HTML pages for applying.
  • New HEScript function: ClearVirtualCache to free memory used by virtual file protection.
  • New stand-alone key generator for publications, available to registered users only (Pro/Commercial).
  • Updated Activation Kit, available to registered users only (Commercial).
  • Updated skin engine.
  • New "Edition => Key Generator" shortcut (or CTRL+K).
  • Minor improvements.
  • Compatibility:
  • New resource strings were added and language files updated.
  • Fixed problem for system IDs based on CPU info: you may need to issue new keys again if you used this option.
  • System HTML pages were updated. We recommend you to reset them when you load an old project.
  • Runtime modules still accept publications made with HTML Executable 3.3.x and 3.5.x. However, we strongly recommend you to rebuild all of your existing publications with HTML Executable 3.6, especially to fix any IE8-related problems.
  • No guaranteed support anymore for Windows Me and previous ones, as explained above.

New in HTML Executable 3.6.0 (Nov 3, 2009)

  • Global Improvements
  • Increased compatibility with Windows 7.
  • Some optimizations which improved overall speed in publications and especially loading time for large ones.
  • The main compression algorithm (LZMA) was adjusted. The Best compression mode is now really slower but it provides better compression ratio. Note: on old machines, default may be slower too: you may need to switch to Minimum.
  • If the size of a compressed file is larger than its original size, HTML Executable now stores it uncompressed.
  • In Windows 7, the HTML Executable taskbar button now displays compilation progress.
  • Fixed bug: some publications were sporadically crashing or not displaying certain images when IE8 was installed.
  • Fixed bug: XP theme manifest problem with Windows XP without any Service Pack.
  • Fixed bug: Self-Extracting publications now work property with IE8 (a problem might occur if IE8 was already started).
  • Documentation updated.
  • Several minor changes and improvements.
  • Make Portable Versions
  • HTML Executable can now create portable versions of your publications:
  • no installation is required, your publication can be stored on a removable device such as USB flash drive, enabling it to be used on multiple computers.
  • settings are stored with the software (i.e. they are written to the USB drive). No registry is used in that case.
  • no modification is made to any PC the publication is run on after being used.
  • Moreover, a portable and restricted publication can be configured to run only on a given USB drive. Thus, copying it to another disk will make it unregistered or unusable. Steps are explained in the documentation. See hardware-locked publications below too.
  • If you do not create a portable version, you may now specify the name of the folder where a publication should store its settings into.
  • Hardware-locked publications and nag screen improvements:
  • New methods to compute the unique system ID (or hardware ID): disk serial number, manufacturer-allocated serial numbers of USB drives or hard disks, CPU ID... The WMI component of Windows is used in some cases.
  • New option to create publications that are hardware-locked to a USB disk via its serial number. For instance, clients who should have the option to show the secured software on every computer but should not have the ability to copy the software to another USB-stick/computer.
  • Fixed bug: the system ID was still displayed in the nag screen though online activation was enabled.
  • Improved nag screen according to user feedback.
  • New Copy button in the nag screen to copy the unique system ID to the clipboard.
  • Fixed bug: even though the "Organization" field is optional, an invisible "space" character (or two) in that field was completely changing the resultant registration key.
  • The context menu is now enabled for fields (especially Copy / Paste).
  • New Table of Contents, Menu and Toolbar Options
  • New "Delete Entire TOC" context menu command: you can delete all nodes of the Table of Contents at once.
  • New toolbar option: you can control the height of the all the buttons as a group (be sure to set the SkinData property to "resizetoolpanel"), and the width individually thanks to the new CustomWidth property. If its value is different than -1, then the button's width is set to CustomWidth in pixels. It only works if the SkinData property of the button is set to "resizetoolbutton".
  • New feature: menu items may now have their own images (exactly as you have in HTML Executable). A new image selection property is available in the Menu Editor.
  • Improved automatic insertion of button separators in the toolbar.
  • Default transparency value is now set to 10 instead of 245.
  • New "Choose Text Size" option for Internet Explorer publications (and new AllowModifyTextSize property in User Interface): you can let your users increase or decrease the default font size in pages.
  • Custom dialogs and system HTML pages
  • User custom HTML dialog boxes are now allowed: you can create and invoke your own dialog boxes.
  • Two new dialog boxes are available: a License Agreement dialog displayed at startup and a Dummy dialog. You can find them in the "CustomDialogs" subfolder: be sure to read the associated Readme.txt before using them.
  • The context menu is now enabled for fields in System HTML pages: for instance, you can now input the registration key in the nag screen with the "Right-Click"->"Paste" facility.
  • New skin, pop-up and window options
  • New skin window effects: layered borders and new associated skin options.
  • New skins: SnowLeopard, VisionEx, Office 2010 Blue.
  • Updated skin engine and existing skins.
  • New HEScript and window.external JavaScript functions related to pop-up windows: ShowPopupEx, SetPopupProp and new parameters for window.external.ShowPopup. You can set the focus to a popup, bring a popup to front, control the z-order for each popup...
  • Search engine
  • New option: up to 3 wildcards (*) can now be used in a search query.
  • New HEScript event in UserMain called OnModifySearchRequest: it lets you modify the search query. For example, you want to find all product codes that begin with "DWT-DW". The search works if you enter "DWT-DW*". With the OnModifySearchRequest event, you can add the "*" to the query automatically.
  • HEScript improvements
  • New MD5OfAFile function to compute MD5 hash sum of a file.
  • New SetMenuProp function to set a property of a menu item.
  • New GetManualHardwareID function to retrieve a unique serial number.
  • New HEPublicationOnUSB global variable: tells you whether the publication is on a USB drive or not. In order to be used, GetManualHardwareID(1) must be invoked first. For example, using this global variable lets you decide whether a publication may be run or not.
  • New runtime module version references: 1.5.0.
  • Compatibility
  • New resource strings were added and language files updated.
  • New options are now available for computing the unique system ID.
  • System HTML pages like the nag screen were updated. Be sure to reset them when you load an old project, especially for restricted publications.
  • Runtime modules still accept publications made with HTML Executable 3.3.x and 3.5.x.
  • No guaranteed support anymore for Windows Me and previous ones, as explained above.

New in HTML Executable 3.5.0 (May 15, 2009)

  • New skin options and support for semi-transparent toolbar images
  • Improved skin engine and new skins (Windows7, Charm...)
  • Some skins come with new visual effects like the Vista glow effect for buttons
  • New PNG support for the toolbar. Create toolbar buttons featuring semi-transparency (32-bit images with alpha channel are now handled)
  • You can set the height of the toolbar in the User Interface tab and its buttons (provided that the skinname property is set to resizetoolbutton for any button and resizetoolbar for the toolbar)
  • New image strips with alpha channel for toolbars are provided
  • Fixed: the Toolbar's Align property did not work properly
  • Improved pop-up windows and new tray icon feature
  • Improved display of several popup windows in the same time
  • Fixed problems when opening a popup window from another popup window: while the second popup shows up, the first popup hides behind the main application window (which was highly undesirable)
  • A new popup tab with options is now available in HTML Executable: change the default popup window size
  • New menu bars in pop-up windows: you can have a customized menu bar for pop-up windows. It is however the same for all pop-ups
  • New useful commands in the Global default script that can be invoked from pop-up windows or the tray menu like printing the contents of a pop-up, closing the pop-up... HEExitPublication, HERestoreFromTray, HECloseCurrentPopup, HEPopupPrintPreview
  • New Tray Icon option to show an icon in the system tray related to the publication. The Tray Icon can get its own customized menu in addition to some default commands like Restore and Exit
  • New HEScript Tray Icon Functions: TrayShowMainForm, TrayHideMainForm, ShowBalloonHint, HideBalloonHint
  • When the Tray Icon option is active, the publication can be minimized in the system tray instead of the taskbar
  • New target option for menu and toolbar button items
  • Better search feature
  • Improved search panel (search hints are displayed, better display of search results)
  • New wild card operator * for searching in publications
  • Fixed problems with word highlighting in IE publications
  • Improved HTML parser, more word delimiters were added. Words with less than 2 characters are ignored
  • Fixed: words in the exclude list are no more highlighted
  • New Find button in the Search panel
  • Security enhancements, new options for trial ebooks, online activation
  • New online activation method for registering publications. It requires the HTML Executable Activation Kit (see the documentation)
  • New Deactivation feature to uninstall a registration key definitively from a computer
  • New blacklist option for stolen or refunded registration keys
  • Improved the Global Password feature: in order to create a set of 'acceptable' passwords that can be unique, when distributing to a set of customers, wild card characters are accepted: Allowed: # digit (0..9), _ character a..z and A..Z, * any character
  • So, you can set up the following global password: 123-4**-A** (and so any character can be input for the wildcard place holder)
  • Security profiles were extended to SWF files (for instance, you can configure whether some slides in a Flash-powered presentation can be displayed or not if the user is not registered)
  • New OnExpiredPublication event in UserMain that lets you define what should happen when a publication expires. For instance, once the global expiry date has been reached an alert box tells the user that the program has expired and the program terminates. Now you can trap this process in script and navigate to an information page instead
  • Improved security for publications
  • New OnInvalidPasswordAtStartup event in UserMain that lets you define what should happen when the user enters an invalid password at startup
  • The key generator for publications was updated so the 0 character is replaced by H: it was difficult for the end-user to tell the difference between the number 0 and the letter O. Please upgrade your existing implementations of the key generator
  • Updated trial and registration dialog boxes
  • Better support for third-party plug-ins
  • Publications now optionally run an internal HTTP server. This should definitively fix problems like both playing MP3, MP4, and FLV resources in Flash movies, reading Windows Media files (WMA, WMV) with no Internet connection, displaying Java applets... Take a look at the documentation about how to configure it
  • Added a topic about how to use Microsoft Silverlight applications in compiled publications
  • New HEScript-related functions
  • New global variable HEInternetCachePath that contains the TEMPORARY INTERNET FILES path
  • New OnStartMainWindow event in UserMain
  • New HEScript functions and objects: file open & save dialog boxes OpenFileDialog and SaveFileDialog, FileExists, strExtract, SetClipboardText and GetClipboardText (copy/retrieve text to/from the clipboard), ClearIECacheOrHistory (to clear the cache or history in IE), LoadHTMLFromMemory lets you display a HTML page from memory, TMemoryStream encapsulates a memory stream to store data easily, NavigateCommand supports the Cut operation (IE only), Optical Zoom IN / OUT functions (IE7 and IE8 only), ActivePopupName to get the name of the pop-up which is focused
  • New help topic about how to call external DLL functions
  • Miscellaneous
  • New Reset button for System HTML pages
  • Now the TOC has a DefaultTarget property (in User Interface) and each TOC entry can have its own target (special targets also work)
  • New Expand property for each TOC item to show some open topics at startup
  • Fixed a problem with OnWindowCloseQuery
  • Improved HTML Engine for HTML Viewer Publications
  • Fixed: HTML Publications did not load images whose filenames had spaces
  • Allow background: none; to suppress background color
  • Fix problem where caret could not be found in text to left of floating object
  • In stylesheets, accomodate comments like /*****/
  • Fix problem with underlining some Chinese and Japanese characters for some fonts
  • Fix problem with 3 or more nested s in a table when the end tags were missing
  • Fix clip region error when printing with high dpi resolution
  • Fix problem stretching small (like 1 pixel) png images
  • Updated documentation
  • New samples
  • New runtime module version references: 1.4.0.1
  • Compatibility
  • WARNING: The key generator for publications was updated. Please upgrade your existing implementations of the key generator. PHP, C# codes were updated
  • Several new resource and system strings were added
  • You should use PNG images for the toolbar buttons now. BMP images are still supported though
  • System HTML pages were updated. Be sure to reset them when you load an old project
  • SSearchResHTMLCellFormat has updated contents
  • Runtime modules accept publications made with HTML Executable 3.3.x

New in HTML Executable 3.3.2 (Jul 25, 2008)

  • you can now edit the right-click context menu (User Interface => Context Menu): disable default items (such as Home, Back, Add To Favorite...) and/or add your own items (like for the Menu bar).
  • new option "only one instance of the publication can be run at a time" to avoid multiple instances of a publication (Security => Global Protection, available for all publication types).
  • fixed: some FLV players were not working in HTML Viewer publications (see the "Dependencies" feature in the documentation or Main Demonstration).
  • improved support for Flash objects in HTML Viewer publications.
  • the "Query" field in the search panel is now focused by default so users can immediately type their query. Note: you need to update the system HTML page named "Search panel" manually for older existing projects.
  • new faster HTML parser for the search engine.
  • HTML Executable now tells the number of pages and unique words that were found while indexing pages.
  • added a workaround for some users who get an "out of memory" error when compressing search engine data.
  • map IDs: you can now add your own page IDs (like HTML anchors, HEScript commands) if you want to work with map IDs or the HTML Executable API SDK (available upon request) for users who want to integrate publications with their applications (as help files for instance).
  • common error messages when loading publications can now be localized.
  • new resource strings related to error messages; they are automatically added to older existing projects.
  • change: URLs are no longer displayed in popup titles (unless you set the HEURLShowInPopupTitle global variable to 1).
  • new option to disable popup windows in IE publications: NoAutomaticPopup (User interface => IE browser). It mimics the behavior of version 3.2.
  • popup windows, HTML dialogs and the Main Window now share the same icon (if "Show publication icon...." is turned on).
  • new optional meta tag WindowNoResize for System HTML pages. Set its content to 1 to disable resize of the about box and other dialog boxes by the end user.
  • new HEScript function (see NavigateCommand) to display the "Tools > Internet Options" dialog box in IE publications.
  • new HEScript function: MessageDlg to display skinnable message boxes.
  • change: all default message boxes were converted to skinnable ones (when it was possible).
  • fixed: Clicking a /- button in the TOC causes the topic pane to refresh under certain circumstances. When this behavior occurs it causes the topics pane to flicker, which could be somewhat annoying to viewers.
  • change: persistent global variables are now saved even if the publication has to exit immediately (Result := True in the "OnPubLoaded" script).
  • fixed: default Internet Explorer security settings are now correctly applied for online pages in IE publications.
  • change: text files are no longer considered as HTML pages by publications (compatibility with Flash objects that require external text files).
  • updated skin engine, HEScript runtime engine, HTML editor, software protections.
  • fixed remaining problems with Windows 2000.
  • updated skins new skin: Magnificient.
  • updated documentation (new topic about Flash objects and external files) & Main Demonstration.

New in HTML Executable 3.3.1 (May 14, 2008)

  • now you can change all images of the toolbar buttons in one click (feature available in the Toolbar editor).
  • new toolbar image sets available.
  • new browse sequence option: you can configure the Back & Forward buttons to display HTML pages in a specific order (browse sequence) instead of the standard History mode.
  • added a global compatibility option for some Flash object problems (for instance if you have a main Flash movie that loads another SWF).
  • fixed some problems with Windows 2000.
  • popup windows can now open new popup windows too.
  • small changes.