FAQ

Web2Executable says the export is completed, but there's nothing in the output folder.

This is an issue with the app's error reporting. It will sometimes fail silently and I'm currently working to address the issue. However, from issues filed about this problem, it's likely you have some node_modules that were inproperly removed. Be sure to remove node modules installed with npm using npm uninstall <package-name>.

The export button is greyed out, what do I do?

There are a couple things you can do. The first is to make sure all starred fields are filled out. The second is to make sure all of the files in the filled out fields actually exist. The third is to check out the error.log file located in the same directory as the Web2Exe executable for Windows and Linux, and for Mac, in the Web2Exe.app/Contents/Resources/ folder.

How do I include external files?

You must provide support for this yourself using javascript and nodejs. You can get the path of the current executable with path.dirname( process.execPath ); and then load files relative to that path.

When exporting to Linux, I get an error about libudev.so.0

This is an known issue with nw.js/node-webkit. See here for information on how to work around this issue.

How do I use option X?

All of the options for node-webkit are documented in node-webkit's manifest file specification. It is located here.

What is the downloads folder for and where should I keep it?

The downloads folder is where Web2Exe stores the node-webkit versions in zip or tar format. This location should be chosen as a central location, because Web2Exe will reuse the files to create executables every time the export button is pressed. It will also save time by not having to redownload the node-webkit files over and over.

The Web2Executable/files/downloads folder is a good place to keep your downloads or any place that isn't your project's directory.

Where is the default downloads location and how can I change it back?

For right now, the default location is in Web2Executable/files/downloads (Web2Executable.app/Contents/MacOS/files/downloads for Mac OSX).

This location is stored on a by project basis, so it will load what you have set for a particular project from the package.json file. Right now, the only way to change it back to the default is to open the package.json file with a text editor and remove the download_dir option from it.

How do I use the icon replacement?

The icon replacement works by filling out the fields "Window Icon", "Exe Icon", or "Mac Icon". If "Window Icon" is filled out and the others aren't, Web2Exe will automatically use this field instead of "Exe Icon" or "Mac Icon" depending on if you export to Mac or Windows.

If you fill "Exe Icon" out, this will be used to replace the icon inside the node-webkit exe from the default compass icon if you export to Windows. Only pngs and jpegs are supported right now.

If you fill out "Mac Icon", this will convert the icon from png or jpeg to icns and copy it into the Mac app folder (or just copy if the icon is already in icns format). Of course, this is only when exporting to Mac.

Why don't you replace icons for Linux?

Linux executables don't use icons, so there's nothing to replace. If you want to set an icon for when the app is running for Linux, simply fill out the "Window Icon" field.