# browse proc

Source: https://ref.dm-lang.org/proc/browse

### Format
> `usr << browse(Body,Options)`

### Args
- `Body`: html text, file, or null to close the browser.
- `Options`: optional parameters


This sends the html text or file to the user and optionally displays it in the web browser. The default action is to use the embedded browser panel in the Dream Seeker window; specifying an alternate window name (see below) causes it to appear in a popup window. Passing in 'null' for the html text causes the browser panel or named window to be closed.

The option parameters should either be omitted or they should be in a text string of the following format: ` "window=name;file=name;display=1;   
size=300x300;border=0;can_close=1;   
can_resize=1;can_minimize=1;titlebar=1" `

You may use commas (,), ampersands (&), or semicolons (;) as the delimiter. Any or all of the parameters may be specified and they may be included in any order.

## General options

These control how to handle the text or file.



**window**

> This is the name used to identify the popup window. It is not visible to the user. Multiple calls to browse() with the same window name overwrite previous contents of the same popup window. If window is not specified, the embedded browser panel will be used.

**file**

> When this is unspecified, the client will store the generated html file in the user's byond "cache" directory with an appropriate name. If Body is a text string, the client will generate a unique name. If it is a file, it will use the name of the file. You can override this by setting this parameter. This is only useful when you need to reference the file later, typically in tandem with the display setting below.

**display**

> This controls whether the browser actually displays Body in the web browser or not. If it is turned off (display=0), the text or file is simply sent to the user and expected to be referenced later. This might be useful, for instance, to first send an image to a user and then display a web page that uses that image:
>
> ```dm /browse/
> usr << browse('monster.png',"display=0")
> usr << browse("<img src=monster.png>A scary monster appears from the mist!")
> ```
>
> Note that this performs the same function as the [browse_rsc](https://ref.dm-lang.org/proc/browse_rsc.md) proc (preserved for legacy reasons). It is a little more powerful because you can use it to send html text as well as files. In that case, you'll have to also supply the file=name argument so that you can reference the html text from within a later browse().
>
> When display=0, all of the other arguments besides file are ignored.

## Popup options

These control how the popup window initially appears. Setting these parameters for an existing popup window or the embedded browser has no effect.



**border**

> This is the width of the border between the edges of the dialogue and the window content. The default value is 0, meaning that the entire window is filled with html content.

**size**

> This is the size of the popup window in pixels. The format is `WIDTHxHEIGHT`.

**can_close**

> This specifies whether the window should be closable. The default value is 1, which enables the standard "X" button for closing.

**can_resize**

> This controls whether the window is resizable. The default value is 1, enabling resizing and maximizing.

**can_minimize**

> This controls whether the window is minimizable. The default value is 1, enabling the standard minimization button.

**titlebar**

> The default titlebar=1 enables the standard bar at the top of the window. Turning it off disables can_close and can_minimize.

Note also that many display options can be controlled through the html itself. For instance, to turn off the scrollbars, you can do: `<body scroll=no>`; to add a title, you can do: `<head><title>My Title</title></head>`; and so forth.

The following example displays a help page in a popup window.

```dm /browse/
var/const/help = {"
<html>
<head><title>Help!</title></head>
<body>

You are beyond help!

</body>
</html>
"}
client/verb/help()
   usr << browse(help,"window=help")
```

You can use commands like [output()](https://ref.dm-lang.org/proc/output.md) and [winset()](https://ref.dm-lang.org/proc/winset.md) to interact with popups. The name of the window is the same name you gave the popup, and the browser is "[windowname].browser".

```dm /browse/
client/verb/more_help()
   usr << output("You are still beyond help!", "help.browser")
```

### See also
- [\<\< output operator](https://ref.dm-lang.org/operator/lessless/output.md)
- [browse_rsc proc](https://ref.dm-lang.org/proc/browse_rsc.md)
- [file proc](https://ref.dm-lang.org/proc/file.md)
- [link proc](https://ref.dm-lang.org/proc/link.md)
- [run proc](https://ref.dm-lang.org/proc/run.md)
- [output proc](https://ref.dm-lang.org/proc/output.md)