On Sunday 9 January 2000 Owen Carter wrote:
> Actually this makes me wonder -how- the browser is invoked? Is it via
> a 'com' call or some other Windows jiggerypokery, or is it a
> command-line style invocation?
There are basically four ways to launch the browser. The first is
directly via the command line:
You can call ShellExecute("iexplore.exe -nohome http://mylink.com/")
and a new window opens with the document in it.
If you know that IE is already running, you can connect to it using
DDE, with the names [IExplore][WWW_OpenURL][http://mylink.com/]. Then
IE will choose an already open window and open the link there. If IE
is not already running then you can still do this but first you must
launch IE by calling ShellExecute("iexplore.exe -nohome").
You can use COM. By calling CoCreateInstance on the web-browser
control, you are connected to IE and can get it to do various funky
things. I imagine that links will open in the same window with this,
but you may get a choice of either result.
The last method involves executing the link directly. Mostly this is
what happens when you double click on a .html file on your hard disk.
In this case Windows itself decides how to proceed based on
information in the registry. In IE's case, the registry by default
tells it to use the second method (launch IE then connect via DDE to
open in an existing window). I usually modify this registry entry to
force it to use the first method.
The fact that The Bat! still opens up in an existing window even after
my registry change implies that it uses the second or third methods
directly. I dislike this - if I leave browser windows open, it's
usually because I have some important document in there that I'm going
to need to refer to again soon. Having random browser windows suddenly
jump to different locations is *BAD*! And hitting Back does not always
work - sometimes the existing contents are the result of a form
submission and once the window has moved on they are lost for good.
This is *VERY BAD*!
AM>>>> It is IE and Netscape that should provide you the ability to do
AM>>>> this and not TB!.
IE certainly does provide the *ability* to do either, but the calling
application must select which one it wants.
AM>> Both Netscape and IE should have in their options, a switch to open links
AM>> from external applications in the same or a new window.
But I might want to do either based on the link (actually I personally
only ever want it opened in a different window, but some might want
the choice and I myself would like the choice of having the choice
;-).
One thing which would be neat is if The Bat! supported drag and drop
on links it has highlighted. That way, if I want to load the link into
a particular open IE window (and my main bugbear with opening in
existing windows is you don't get the choice of which window, and the
system nearly always selects the least convenient one) I can just drag
the link over the target IE window.
John
--
you gave me something that i could touch in a world where i'd had too much
something i could feel with my broken hands full of lost ideals but soon i'm
returning to you my friend and we'll go where the rivers end in the silver sea
and i'll carry you if you carry me
--
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