Pre-release - ExeOutput for PHP 2025 - A Major Update is on the Horizon

Get ready for our incoming upgrade! We are thrilled to announce that ExeOutput for PHP 2025 is in the final stages of development and is expected to be released by the end of this month. This is one of our biggest updates yet, packed with features you've been asking for and significant performance enhancements.

WebView2 Support is Finally Here!

The most requested feature is now becoming a reality. ExeOutput for PHP 2025 will introduce support for the Microsoft Edge WebView2 rendering engine.


Why is this a game-changer?

• Dramatically Reduced EXE File Size: By leveraging the WebView2 runtime already present on modern Windows systems, your compiled application's file size will be significantly smaller. Say goodbye to bundling the entire Chromium engine with every application.
• Seamless Integration: You can now choose your preferred rendering engine directly in your project settings. Effortlessly switch between the updated Chromium Embedded Framework (CEF) and the new WebView2 at any time during development.
• And yes, we still offer CEF support because it lets you make stand-alone EXE apps.

Windows 7 Compatibility

We know many of you still support users on older systems. We've ensured that applications compiled with WebView2 will still run on Windows 7. However, please note that this is likely to be the last generation with full Windows 7 support. We will gradually phase out support for Windows 7, especially as we move towards our upcoming 64-bit versions of ExeOutput for PHP.

Performance and Speed Boost

ExeOutput for PHP 2025 is not just about new rendering options. We've also focused on boosting your application's performance:

• Updated CEF Engine: For those who prefer the self-contained CEF engine, it has also been updated to a more recent version, bringing its own set of improvements and security enhancements.
• New ZStandard Compression: We've integrated the lightning-fast ZStandard compression algorithm. This means your application data will be compressed more efficiently.
• Enhanced Multi-threaded Compression: We've improved our multi-threaded compression, leading to faster data handling and ultimately, more responsive applications with quicker startup times.

And that's not all! We have several other improvements and tweaks under the hood to make Windows PHP app development experience smoother and your Windows PHP applications more robust.

We are working tirelessly to get this major and long-awaited update into your hands. If all goes according to plan, you can expect ExeOutput for PHP 2025 to launch by the end of the month.

Stay tuned for the official release!

Really looking forward to this - and even more so the 64bit versions that will follow at some point after - the biggest issue I'm having at preesnt is excessive memory use, so the ability to build 64bit apps would be great - usually caused when serializing/unserializing unnavoidably large arrays.

Can I assume the upcoming 2025 version here will still allow us to the same Win7 compatible version CEF as the last 2024 release?

So excited, got me checking in here every day

kim said:

Really looking forward to this - and even more so the 64bit versions that will follow at some point after - the biggest issue I'm having at preesnt is excessive memory use, so the ability to build 64bit apps would be great - usually caused when serializing/unserializing unnavoidably large arrays.

Can I assume the upcoming 2025 version here will still allow us to the same Win7 compatible version CEF as the last 2024 release?

Click to expand...

Yes, we still want to keep Windows 7 CEF files in that release. But it may be the last one to handle Windows 7, we'll see.
Especially with additional 64-bit support, it becomes time-consuming to keep compatibility with CEF, WebView2 32-bit and 64-bit down to Windows 7.

oldteacher said:

So excited, got me checking in here every day

Click to expand...

Thanks Susan. Note that there is still a lot of work. We want to polish the release before it goes live.

gdgsupport said:

Thanks Susan. Note that there is still a lot of work. We want to polish the release before it goes live.

Click to expand...

Totally understand. You guys always put a lot of working into these new releases and it aways shows!

gdgsupport said:

Get ready for our incoming upgrade! We are thrilled to announce that ExeOutput for PHP 2025 is in the final stages of development and is expected to be released by the end of this month. This is one of our biggest updates yet, packed with features you've been asking for and significant performance enhancements.

WebView2 Support is Finally Here!

The most requested feature is now becoming a reality. ExeOutput for PHP 2025 will introduce support for the Microsoft Edge WebView2 rendering engine.

​

Click to expand...

Out of curiosity and some advance planning for a new software we are working on, is this still on track? Like to use ExeOutput for the project but if not ready will move forward with our original plan.

Before the final release, here is a pre-release of ExeOutput for PHP 2025 with WebView2 support, for those who are interested.
Before releasing the final installer, we still need to fix a few minor bugs and finalize our documentation.
However, due to demand, we are publishing this version as promised for those who would like to test it.
Please note: version 2025 will overwrite version 2024. Remember to back up your projects before loading them.

Download the pre-release of ExeOutput for PHP 2025

When running a compiled application.
Error when using the chromium engine, on Microsoft an error that the external web server is not running.

Which version of CEF have you selected in your project?
And make sure to run the Web Update utility to replace old remaining versions that were not deleted by the installer.

Make also sure that you have the latest Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable version.

Doesn't work...

https://aka.ms/vs/17/release/vc_redist.x86.exe - install.

Are you getting this error if you start the General Demo that ships with ExeOutput? (shortcut in the Start Menu or in the Menu of ExeOutput)

The demo project is operational. Our project works on version 2024, but does not work on version 2025.
It does not work on Chromium, but it works on Web View 2.

Thanks for the test results. It looks like there may be some setting in your project causing this unexpected error, or maybe some interference (have you other DLL files into your project directory?).
If possible, it would be great if you provide us with your EXOP project file (you can zip it to attach it in a Direct Message).

I was unable to find an option to attach the file, so I have sent you a download link in a private message.

Received and tested. But the app starts for us.
So it looks like a local problem on your PC with the latest CEF files (139).
Some ideas to troubleshoot:
a) try to unckeck this:


b) in "Rendering Engine" of ExeOutput, try to change to a lower CEF version, such as the last one for Windows 7, to see if this is due to CEF 139 or there is another problem.

Thank you.

Yes, without the checkbox you specified, the application starts without an error.

But how can I run the application as administrator without it?

It is not possible to install an earlier version (screenshot attached).

The packages were not made public. This is fixed, please try the web update again.

It looks like there is a known problem in the last CEF versions regarding administrator privileges:

So you'll have to use a lower CEF or switch to WebView2. Since you said WebView2 works for you, is there any special reason why you don't want to switch to?