EdgeWebView2 / libcef.dll issue

Solved!

The problem with the Microsoft Edge WebView2 component that caused the TARGIT client to crash under certain circumstances during the period 1st February 2024 to 14th February 2024, has now been solved.

Microsoft released a new version of the EdgeWebView2 component that no longer clashes with the libcef.dll used by TARGIT.

The WebView2 component should automatically update via the Microsoft Edge Update Service. You can verify that you are running the new and bug-fixed version by opening your Control Panel and go to 'Programs' and 'Programs and Features'.

If your 'Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime' is version 121.0.2277.112 or later, you are safe and your TARGIT client should no longer be affected by the previously detected issue.

Reverting the previous workaround

If you implemented the previous workaround, you should now revert the regedit settings.

1. Open the Registry Editor on your PC.
2. Go to the folder HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Edge\WebView2\BrowserExecutableFolder and delete the TARGIT.exe registration key.
   
3. You should also remove the WebView2.120.0.2210.114 folder that was placed in the C:\Program Files (x86)\TARGIT folder.
   

Original Article Content below

Note: For reference, you can read the original article content below. You should not implement the described workaround as the issue has now been solved by the updated version of the Microsoft component.

This issue affects TARGIT versions 2022 Winter and later versions.

The EdgeWebView2 component is a central component in any modern Windows OS. It is used by many applications, including Edge and Chrome browsers, but also by the TARGIT Windows client.

Around the 1st of February 2024, the EdgeWebView2 component was updated. These updates are executed automatically by the Microsoft Edge Update Service.

Unfortunately, this update caused a number of TARGIT Windows client features to fail, e.g.,:

• In the Scheduled Jobs list, if you click the document link in the 'Source' column, the client will crash. Normally, it should open the linked document in the client.
• Some times, when working with properties for Text Boxes or the Border Styling dialog, the client will crash.
• Other features, especially in the Scheduled Jobs list, may be affected as well, causing the client to crash or hang. 

In the Event Viewer's Application log, the issue will be logged as an error in the libcef.dll module.

Workaround

If your TARGIT Windows client, and the way your users work with the client, is affected by this issue, you can now implement a workaround. The workaround should be implemented only on PCs where the TARGIT client is installed.

Note: The workaround makes sure that the TARGIT.exe file uses an EdgeWebView2 version that is compliant with TARGIT. All other applications on your PC that depends on the EdgeWebView2 component will still be using the latest EdgeWebView2 component provided from Microsoft. The workaround is meant as a temporarily solution only, until a better solution is provided by either TARGIT or by Microsoft. We recommend that you 'Follow' this article to stay up to date with developments on this issue.

1. Zip file: The zip file contains an older, TARGIT compliant version of the EdgeWebView2 component.
   https://download.targit.com/Apps/EdgeWebView2/WebView2.120.0.2210.144.zip
   Unzip the contained folder (WebView2.120.0.2210.144) to the C:\Program Files (x86)\TARGIT folder.
   
2. Registry file: The reg file will insert a 'TARGIT.exe' key in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Edge\WebView2\BrowserExecutableFolder with a value set to the path of the unzipped WebView2.120.0.2210.144 folder.
   https://download.targit.com/Apps/EdgeWebView2/webview2regkey.zip
   Download the zip file, unpack the reg file and double click (Open) it to insert the registry key.
   
3. Start your TARGIT Windows client and check that the issue has been fixed.

Note: On the first start of the TARGIT Windows client after applying this workaround, you may experience an error: 'The group or resource is not in the correct state to perform the requested operation.' This error can be ignored (click OK) - it will only appear once.

Remove previous workaround

In case you already implemented the previous workaround that suggested to set an Environment Variable, you should now remove this. To remove it, follow these steps:

1. System Properties: Press Windows + R to open the Run dialog. Type sysdm.cpl to start the System Properties dialog.
2. Go to the 'Advanced' tab and select 'Environment variables'.
   
3. Delete the WEBVIEW2_BROWSER_EXECUTABLE_FOLDER variable: