Electron: How to Detect Quick Look Window Close After previewFile Called?
Tags: javascript, macos, electron
Published: 2023-08-21 12:06:33

Electron: How to Detect Quick Look Window Close After previewFile Called?
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Have you ever used Electron's `previewFile` function to display a Quick Look window for file previews? It's a handy feature that allows users to get a glimpse of a file's content without having to open a separate application. However, one common challenge developers face is detecting when the Quick Look window is closed after calling `previewFile`. In this article, we will explore a solution to this problem and help you handle the window close event.

When you call `previewFile`, Electron creates a new BrowserWindow to display the Quick Look window. However, there is no built-in event or callback to detect when this window is closed. To overcome this limitation, we can leverage Electron's inter-process communication (IPC) mechanism to communicate between the main process and the Quick Look window.

First, let's modify the code where you call `previewFile` to pass a unique identifier for the window:

 

    
      const { ipcMain, BrowserWindow } = require('electron');
    
      ipcMain.on('windowClosed', (event, windowId) => {
        // Handle Quick Look window close event
        console.log(`Quick Look window with ID ${windowId} closed.`);
      });
    
      const windowId = 'uniqueWindowId'; // Generate a unique ID for each preview window
      const filePath = '/path/to/file.ext';
    
      const quickLookWindow = new BrowserWindow({ show: false });
      quickLookWindow.loadURL(`file://${filePath}`);
      quickLookWindow.on('closed', () => {
        // Communicate the window close event to the main process
        mainWindow.webContents.send('windowClosed', windowId);
      });
    
      quickLookWindow.show();
      

 

In the code snippet above, we have added an event listener in the main process to handle the window close event. We also pass the unique window ID to the Quick Look window via the `loadURL` function. When the Quick Look window is closed, we use Electron's IPC mechanism to send a message back to the main process, indicating the window close event along with the window ID.

Back in the main process, we listen for this message using `ipcMain.on` and handle the window close event accordingly. In our example, we simply log a message to the console, but you can perform any necessary actions.

By implementing this approach, you can now detect when the Quick Look window is closed after calling `previewFile`. Remember to generate a unique window ID for each preview window, so you can differentiate between them in the main process.

### Conclusion

Handling the Quick Look window close event in Electron can be challenging, but with the help of Electron's IPC mechanism, we can overcome this limitation. By passing a unique window ID and using IPC to communicate the window close event, developers can effectively detect when the Quick Look window is closed after calling `previewFile`. So go ahead, give it a try, and never miss a Quick Look window close event again!

### References

*   Electron Documentation: [https://www.electronjs.org/docs](https://www.electronjs.org/docs)
*   Electron IPC Documentation: [https://www.electronjs.org/docs/api/ipc-main](https://www.electronjs.org/docs/api/ipc-main)

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