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Specify browser for Rainmeter

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ajeffery
Posts: 2
Joined: January 24th, 2016, 4:22 am

Specify browser for Rainmeter

Post by ajeffery »

Is it possible to configure Rainmeter to use a specified web browser other than the default? For example, have all URLs open in Chrome even though Internet Explorer is the default browser on the system?
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jsmorley
Developer
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Joined: April 19th, 2009, 11:02 pm
Location: Fort Hunt, Virginia, USA

Re: Specify browser for Rainmeter

Post by jsmorley »

While you can manually change links you create from something like

LeftMouseUpAction=["http://SomeSite.com"]

to

LeftMouseUpAction=["C:\PathToBrowser\Browser.exe" "http://SomeSite.com"]

You can't really change the default behavior when a link, that you for instance get from an RSS feed, is clicked in Rainmeter. It will use your default browser.
ajeffery
Posts: 2
Joined: January 24th, 2016, 4:22 am

Re: Specify browser for Rainmeter

Post by ajeffery »

I thought that was the case after searching the forums but couldn't be sure as searching for combinations of "default" and "browser" produces many results.

Thank you for the response! You are correct in the assumption that I want RSS feed, weather, etc. links to open in a specified browser.

Maybe in a future version? We can specify a text editor, why not a browser? :confused:
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jsmorley
Developer
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Joined: April 19th, 2009, 11:02 pm
Location: Fort Hunt, Virginia, USA

Re: Specify browser for Rainmeter

Post by jsmorley »

Code: Select all

[Rainmeter]
Update=1000
DynamicWindowSize=1
AccurateText=1

[Variables]
Browser=C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe

[MeasureLink]
Measure=String
String=http://cnn.com

[MeterLink]
Meter=String
MeasureName=MeasureLink
FontSize=12
FontColor=255,255,255,255
SolidColor=47,47,47,255
Padding=5,5,5,5
AntiAlias=1
DynamicVariables=1
LeftMouseUpAction=["#Browser#" "[MeasureLink]"]
Note that Microsoft Edge, which is a Windows 10 "app" and not a normal desktop executable, must be formatted a bit differently:

Code: Select all

[Variables]
Browser=microsoft-edge:

...

LeftMouseUpAction=["#Browser#[MeasureLink]"]
Since the format for Edge is "microsoft-edge:http://www.cnn.com" and not "C:\PathToBrowser\Browser.exe" "http://cnn.com".
It is really not possible to set a "default" browser for Rainmeter that is different than the one associated with URL's in Windows. A "link" in Rainmeter is nothing more or less than any other command to Windows, so

LeftMouseUpAction=["Calc.exe"]

and

LeftMouseUpAction=["http://cnn.com"]

Are treated exactly the same. They are passed to Windows "as is" and Windows does with them what the appropriate associations tells it to do.

You mentioned the ConfigEditor option in Rainmeter.ini, but understand that that is strictly to define what editor to open skin and Rainmeter settings files in. It is only used in the context of your interaction with skins in the Rainmeter user-interface; Manage and context menus.

If on the other hand you specify a text file in a mouse action:

LeftMouseUpAction=["C:\SomePath\SomeFile.txt"]

That will open in the text editor associated with ".txt" in Windows. Whatever you have that set as. ConfigEditor has no role in that.

Bangs, like !SetOption or !UpdateMeter, that generally start with "!" are recognized and parsed in the "action" option and have their own syntax rules. Anything in an action that is not recognized as a bang, or another internal Rainmeter command like "PLAY", will always just be passed to the Windows operating system "as is", and acted upon by Windows.

So to get what you are suggesting, we would need to create a new bang, something like !Browse that would either accept a path to a browser at the end, use some DefaultBrowser setting in Rainmeter.ini if found, or fall-through to using the default Windows browser. I can't see that happening to be honest. It is just such a rare use-case, and can be handled as in the code above instead.
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balala
Rainmeter Sage
Posts: 16110
Joined: October 11th, 2010, 6:27 pm
Location: Gheorgheni, Romania

Re: Specify browser for Rainmeter

Post by balala »

In this connection, I also have a somehow similar question: the
jsmorley wrote:LeftMouseUpAction=["C:\PathToBrowser\Browser.exe" "http://SomeSite.com"]
option is working for a whatever browser, but how could be some similar thing achieved for Microsoft Edge? Because entering its path

Code: Select all

LeftMouseUpAction=["c:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe\MicrosoftEdge.exe" "https://www.rainmeter.net/"]
don't help, as neither the

Code: Select all

LeftMouseUpAction=["%windir%\explorer.exe shell:Appsfolder\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe!MicrosoftEdge" "https://www.rainmeter.net/"]
are not working (although creating a shortcut for Edge is possible with the last path - details). So can be determined similarly a skin to open an URL with MS Edge?
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jsmorley
Developer
Posts: 22628
Joined: April 19th, 2009, 11:02 pm
Location: Fort Hunt, Virginia, USA

Re: Specify browser for Rainmeter

Post by jsmorley »

Note that Microsoft Edge, which is a Windows 10 "app" and not a normal desktop executable, must be formatted a bit differently:

Code: Select all

[Variables]
Browser=microsoft-edge:

...

LeftMouseUpAction=["#Browser#[MeasureLink]"]
Since the format for Edge is "microsoft-edge:http://www.cnn.com" and not "C:\PathToBrowser\Browser.exe" "http://cnn.com".
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balala
Rainmeter Sage
Posts: 16110
Joined: October 11th, 2010, 6:27 pm
Location: Gheorgheni, Romania

Re: Specify browser for Rainmeter

Post by balala »

Thanks, indeed you're right (again!) and was extremely quick. Edge is behaving interestingly.
Thanks again.
louis_ngare
Posts: 1
Joined: January 19th, 2017, 12:39 pm

Re: Specify browser for Rainmeter

Post by louis_ngare »

In case you were still trying to figure this out, I found a way that works:
LeftMouseUpAction=["URL:microsoft-edge:http://www.reddit.com"]
Basically, I specified the protocol Windows defines for Microsoft Edge (You can find this in your System Settings in Windows 10).
I was trying to get an icon to open Reddit in Microsoft Edge since I use the RES extension on Edge.
This means for whatever browser you want your link to open with, the protocol must be set to open with that browser in the System settings.
However for Edge, you just have to define it as above since Edge has its own protocol.

Cheers :D