What is the difference between ILiteView2Ctrl and IBrowserPool?

ILiteView2Ctrl is the design-time OCX interface — you place it on a form in the Visual Basic editor and it manages a single embedded WebView2 browser. IBrowserPool is the registration-free pattern — no COM registration needed, no admin rights, supports multiple browser instances. Every IBrowserPool method takes a browserIndex As Long as its first parameter.

What is the first VBA event I should handle in LiteView2?

Handle the WebViewReady event — it fires when the Chromium WebView2 engine has fully initialised. This is the correct point to call SetLocalContentRoot and Navigate. Do not call navigation methods before WebViewReady fires.

LiteView2 Object Model Reference

Complete API reference for the LiteView2 WebView2 ActiveX control

LiteView2 API Architecture

LiteView2Lib
  |
  +-- IBrowserPool          (Multi-browser, reg-free pattern)
  |     coclass: BrowserPool
  |     All methods take browserIndex As Long
  |
  +-- ILiteView2Ctrl        (Single-browser, design-time OCX)
  |     coclass: LiteView2Ctrl
  |     No browserIndex — operates on embedded WebView
  |
  +-- ILV2Json              (Standalone JSON engine — no WebView2 required)
  |     coclass: LiteView2Json
  |     CreateObject("LiteView2.Json") — works in any VBA host
  |
  +-- _DLiteView2CtrlEvents (Event dispinterface)
  |     Source of all OCX events
  |
  +-- _LiteView2Ctrl        (Pure dispatch mirror)
        Default interface for Access IntelliSense

Choosing the Right Interface for Your VBA Project

Pattern	Interface	When
Design-Time OCX	ILiteView2Ctrl	Drop OCX on Access/Excel/VB6 form. Single browser per control. Events via `LiteView2Ctrl1_EventName`.
BrowserPool	IBrowserPool	Multiple browsers, reg-free, Access Frame embedding. Events via `SetWebMessageCallback`.
JSON Engine	ILV2Json	Standalone JSON parsing and manipulation. No browser or WebView2 required. Three performance tiers: stateless, DOM handle, compiled path.

Key difference: IBrowserPool methods all take browserIndex (Long) as first parameter. ILiteView2Ctrl methods omit it. ILV2Json requires no browser at all — activate with CreateObject("LiteView2.Json").

E Enums 12 enumerations with 60+ constants 12 Enums I ILiteView2Ctrl 270+ methods and properties across 32 categories 270+ Members E Events 60+ events across 15 categories 60+ Events B IBrowserPool Multi-browser pool with 17 additional lifecycle methods 17+ Methods J ILV2Json Standalone JSON engine — no WebView2 required 36 Members

Important VBA Integration Rules

Tip

ILV2Json works without WebView2 in any VBA host — use CreateObject("LiteView2.Json"). JSON helper methods on ILiteView2Ctrl and IBrowserPool are also safe to call from any event handler, including WebMessageReceived.

Warning

Always use late binding (Private m_lv As Object) for design-time OCX to avoid Err 91 on first form open.

Tip

Primary readiness signal is the WebViewReady event. IsReady is a polling fallback only.

Getting Started with WebView2 in VBA (5-Line Pattern)

The basic design-time OCX pattern used across all production demos — works in Access, Excel, and VB6:

' Late-bound pattern — avoids type library dependency
Private m_lv As Object

Private Sub Form_Load()
    On Error Resume Next
    Set m_lv = Me.Controls("LiteView2Ctrl1").Object
    On Error GoTo 0
End Sub

Private Sub LiteView2Ctrl1_WebViewReady()
    m_lv.SetLocalContentRoot CurrentProject.Path & "\html"
    m_lv.Navigate "https://lv2.local/index.html"
End Sub

Source: Proven pattern from production demos

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Core API | Events | JSON | Browser Pool | Enumerations