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Question

How can I open a link in the default web browser from an HTA?

Answer 1

A:

Nope, sadly I believe this is a browser specific implementation that will open new links with target="_blank" within the same browser.

If you wanted to open it in the default browser, then you would need to interact with the OS, which JavaScript cannot do.

Mark 2008-10-09 00:52:58

JScript inside an HTA gets to run in the "Local" security zone, so it can access a lot more of the OS, including ActiveX.

ephemient 2008-10-09 01:20:53

Thanks! I did not consider ActiveX...

Mark 2008-10-09 01:28:48

Answer 2

+4 A:

Create a shell and attempt to run a URL.

This works for me (save as whatever.hta and execute it) on my system. Clicking on the button opens Google in Firefox:

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/strict.dtd"&gt;
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <title>HTA Test</title>
  <hta:application applicationname="HTA Test" scroll="yes" singleinstance="yes">
  <script type="text/javascript">
  function openURL()
  {
      var shell = new ActiveXObject("WScript.Shell");
      shell.run("http://www.google.com");
  }
  </script>
</head>
<body>

<input type="button" onclick="openURL()" value="Open Google">

</body>
</html>

insin 2008-10-09 01:18:51

Thanks. That's perfect.

Joel Anair 2008-10-09 19:19:43

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How can I open a link in the default web browser from an HTA?

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