How to run VB.Net software as a web application from any browser

Have a VB.Net application and want to run it on the web? Thinfinity VirtualUI is a Windows software virtualization solution. By adding a piece of code to your VB.Net application’s source you can then run it within a web browser and access it from any OS. Run your regular desktop applications from your browser, without even having to install them on the computer! Let’s learn more about this HTML5 solution for VB.Net applications.

How to run VB.Net development as web app

Ready to start? First, check that you’re running the latest version of Thinfinity® VirtualUI. Then download an example for web-enabling VB.Net and in the download link below:

https://www.cybelesoft.com/support/files/DemosVUI/VBNet.zip

Bear in mind in this example we’ve already added Thinfinity.VirtualUI.vb. You can find this in “C:\Program Files\Thinfinity\VirtualUI\dev\dotNET” so you can include it in your app.
To ensure your application loads fine with VirtualUI on the web, we recommend starting VirtualUI right at the begging. In the example, you’ll see that we’ve created a module called ‘Startup.vb’ that makes the virtualui.start():

Module Startup
''<stathread()>
Dim virtualui As New Cybele.Thinfinity.VirtualUI()
Sub Main()</stathread()>
virtualui.Start()
''// virtualui.ClientSettings.MouseMoveGestureAction = MouseMoveGestureAction.MM_ACTION_WHEEL
Application.EnableVisualStyles()
Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(False)
Application.Run(New Form1())
End Sub
End Module

And this is the startup object:

If you start the app in the IDE now, you should get a pop-up to start the web browser:

And finally be able to see the app in the browser, like this:

Keep in mind, this is running in the ‘Development environment’, based on the screenshot above you can see it is calling port 6080, which is the default port of the development server. You will have to port the .exe to the “production” server, which listens on port 6580.
Adding the app to the server environment is very simple the Application tab add a new profile:

In this window, we will configure the VB.Net app. Here is an example:

“Name”: The name you want the Web Application to display.
“Program path and file name”: Click open and select the .exe compiled with the Startup for VirtualUI
“Arguments”: Add any argument your app might need.
Under the “Credentials” tab, configure a user that has read and write permission where your app is located:

And under the Permissions tab, for testing purposes, click on “Allow anonymous access”:

Click “OK”, and then click “Apply”.

Open a new browser window and navigate to http://127.0.0.1:6580

You will find the Thinfinity VirtualUI landing page, and your application published on it. Congrats!

If you’re a GitHub user, you may want to check our VirtualUI GitHub project.