windows

The windows module provides easy access to browser windows, their tabs, and open/close related functions and events.

This module currently only supports browser windows and does not provide access to non-browser windows such as the Bookmarks Library, preferences or other non-browser windows created via add-ons.

API Reference

Classes

BrowserWindow

A BrowserWindow instance represents a single open window. They can be retrieved from the browserWindows property exported by this module.

var windows = require("windows").browserWindows;

//Print how many tabs the current window has
console.log("The active window has " +
            windows.activeWindow.tabs.length +
            " tabs.");

// Print the title of all browser windows
for each (var window in windows) {
  console.log(window.title);
}

// close the active window
windows.activeWindow.close();

windows.activeWindow.close(function() {
  console.log("The active window was closed");
});
Methods
activate()

Makes window active, which will focus that window and bring it to the foreground.

close(callback)

Close the window.

[ callback : function ]

A function to be called when the window finishes its closing process. This is an optional argument.

Properties
title : string

The current title of the window. Usually the title of the active tab, plus an app identifier. This property is read-only.

tabs : TabList

A live list of tabs in this window. This object has the same interface as the tabs API, except it contains only the tabs in this window, not all tabs in all windows. This property is read-only.

Functions

open(options)

Open a new window.

var windows = require("windows").browserWindows;

// Open a new window.
windows.open("http://www.example.com");

// Open a new window and set a listener for "open" event.
windows.open({
  url: "http://www.example.com",
  onOpen: function(window) {
    // do stuff like listen for content
    // loading.
  }
});

Returns the window that was opened:

var widgets = require("widget");
var windows = require("windows").browserWindows;

var example = windows.open("http://www.example.com");

var widget = widgets.Widget({
  id: "close-window",
  label: "Close window",
  contentURL: "http://www.mozilla.org/favicon.ico",
  onClick: function() {
    example.close();
  }
});
options : object

An object containing configurable options for how this window will be opened, as well as a callback for being notified when the window has fully opened.

If the only option being used is url, then a bare string URL can be passed to open instead of specifying it as a property of the options object.

url : string

String URL to be opened in the new window. This is a required property.

[ onOpen : function ]

A callback function that is called when the window has opened. This does not mean that the URL content has loaded, only that the window itself is fully functional and its properties can be accessed. This is an optional property.

[ onClose : function ]

A callback function that is called when the window will be called. This is an optional property.

[ onActivate : function ]

A callback function that is called when the window is made active. This is an optional property.

[ onDeactivate : function ]

A callback function that is called when the window is made inactive. This is an optional property.

Returns: BrowserWindow

Properties

browserWindows : List

An object that contains various properties and methods to access functionality from browser windows, such as opening new windows, accessing their tabs or switching the current active window.

browserWindows provides access to all the currently open browser windows:

var windows = require("windows");
for each (var window in windows.browserWindows) {
  console.log(window.title);
}

console.log(windows.browserWindows.length);

Object emits all the events listed under "Events" section.

Examples

var windows = require("windows").browserWindows;

// add a listener to the 'open' event
windows.on('open', function(window) {
  myOpenWindows.push(window);
});

// add a listener to the 'close' event
windows.on('close', function(window) {
  console.log("A window was closed.");
});

// add a listener to the 'activate' event
windows.on('activate', function(window) {
  console.log("A window was activated.");
});

// add a listener to the 'deactivate' event
windows.on('deactivate', function(window) {
  console.log("A window was deactivated.");
});
Properties
activeWindow : BrowserWindow

The currently active window. This property is read-only.

Example

// get
var windows = require("windows");
console.log("title of active window is " +
            windows.browserWindows.activeWindow.title);

anotherWindow.activate();
// set
windows.activeWindow == anotherWindow // true

Events

open

Event emitted when a new window is open. This does not mean that the content has loaded, only that the browser window itself is fully visible to the user.

Window

Listeners are passed the window object that triggered the event.

close

Event emitted when a window is closed.

Window

Listeners are passed the window object that triggered the event.

activate

Event emitted when an inactive window is made active.

Window

Listeners are passed the window object that has become active.

deactivate

Event emitted when the active window is made inactive.

Window

Listeners are passed the window object that has become inactive.