When I create a Chrome App Shortcut using ... > More Tools > Create Shortcut...
it creates a Shortcut that I can pin to Start, to Taskbar or to Desktop.
When I install a Desktop Progressive Web App (PWA) it does the same.
I know that PWA have some special features like Notifications, Offline Support, etc..
My question is: regarding Windows System, are they both just shortcuts?
For creating Chrome App Shortcuts after following the steps, this does indeed create a shortcut on the desktop. But it no longer uses the favicon and it opens in a regular chrome window alongside all other chrome windows. Shortcuts aren't the same as PWAs. A shortcut opens it in a Chrome window, in a new tab. A PWA opens in it's own window, as a separate app. They are more like Chrome Web Apps when they had those in the app store, except now you don't have to go to the app store to get them. Check this blog for more details.
Related
I have PWA and I can run it as standalone (if user clicks icon on a device) or I can run as normal website (if user enter URL directly into web browser).
Is it possible to redirect page (open as standalone) if user open it as non standalone?
My manifest file already contain standalone parameter:
"display": "standalone"
I need something to start with.
As far as I know you need to "install" the pwa on the user device first.
By clicking the icon on the device (meaning you already installed the app there) you open the PWA that will be rendered as described in the web manifest (standalone in your case).
If you wouldn't have already installed the pwa on the device, you would have the same behaviour you are getting on your desktop by accessing the web site with the browser.
Let me know if I misunderstood your question.
UPDATE
The answer to your question (in the comment) is no (from a desktop browser). Chrome on an Android device uses/opens directly the PWA version, if installed of course. This is due to the Android Intent Filters that enable this.
But this is not the case from a desktop browser, where the user accesses the web site by entering the url manually. Maybe in the future it might change, but at the moment it is not possible.
In Chrome on desktop, if the PWA is installed and the user opens the app in the browser, there's a "To open this link, choose an app" link at top right on the address bar, between the password manager key and the bookmarks star - you could point that out to the user. Clicking that link offers a button to open the PWA and close the browser tab.
Information:
I'm developing Web App in chrome I can make shortcut in desktop to open my app in App Mode through More tools >> add to desktop.
The problem is when I try to open any Link in new window with hot key Shift. It opens in normal mode full features with address bar and tabs bar.
Question Is:
Is there a way to make the links open in new window with the same App Mode in Chrome ?
Regards,
Is it possible to create a Chrome shortcut that will launch a web app in such a way that users will not be able to view or access the URL of the web app via Chrome, e.g., via the address bar, status bar, developer tools, etc. If not, would it be possible if I packaged the web app as a Chrome app? I should note that I am not concerned about the shortcut itself containing the URL, e.g., in its "Properties", because I already have an executable will which launch the shortcut. All I care about is the user not being able to view the app from within Chrome itself once the app has been launched, at least not easily.
I have tried adding Chrome flags/switches, namely, kiosk mode, fullscreen mode, and app mode, but none of them work 100% as needed. Kiosk and fullscreen modes will launch as such only if no other instances of Chrome are open; if another instance of Chrome is already open, both modes will launch in a regular view mode in which users can see the URL in the address bar. App mode (I added "--app=http://www.example.com" to the end of the "Target" property of the shortcut) is promising because it launches with no browser chrome, but I notice that if I refresh the page while in app mode, I can see the URL both in the top window bar and the bottom-left status bar. Also, app mode doesn't prevent the user from opening Developer Tools, which makes viewing the URL trivial.
Any ideas welcome!
I want to create an app and that opens only on new window.
This tells that we cannot open tab by a chrome apps. But when I access
this gmail app, and this kind of apps opens in the same tab.
How can I get this resolved.
It seems that you are confusing Chrome Hosted Apps with Chrome Apps.
Hosted apps are more or less bookmarks. Chrome Apps are similar to native apps in that they are much more powerful but have no special access to the browser. You can open normal web content using window.open(). But you can't put your own Chrome App content inside that tab.
Can I create a plugin or an extension for Google Chrome MOBILE (Android Google Chrome)?
If not, can I create an extension for Google Chrome (desktop), which will add a button in Google Chrome bar. This button will open the page in another web browser (in my own web browser), so, this button should launch my own web browser.
Extensions are not supported, see: https://developers.google.com/chrome/mobile/docs/faq .
Specifically:
Does Chrome for Android now support the embedded WebView for a hybrid native/web app?
A Chrome-based WebView is included in Android 4.4 (KitKat) and later. See the WebView overview for details.
Does Chrome for Android support apps and extensions?
Chrome apps and extensions are currently not supported on Chrome for
Android. We have no plans to announce at this time.
Can I write and deploy web apps on Chrome for Android?
Though Chrome apps are not currently supported, we would love to see great interactive web sites accessible by URL.
You can use bookmarklets (javascript code in a bookmark) - this also means they sync across devices.
I have loads - I prefix the name with zzz, so they are eazy to type in to the address bar and show in drop down predictions.
To get them to operate on a page you need to go to the page and then in the address bar type the bookmarklet name - this will cause the bookmarklet to execute in the context of the page.
edit
Just to highlight - for this to work, the bookmarklet name must be typed into the address bar while the page you want to operate in is being displayed - if you go off to select the bookmarklet in some other way the page context gets lost, and the bookmarklet operates on a new empty page.
I use
zzzpocket - send to pocket.
zzztwitter tweet this page
zzzmail email this page
zzzpressthis send this page to wordpress
zzztrello send this page to trello
and more...
and it works in chrome whatever platform I am currently logged on to.
Some extensions like blocksite use the accessibility service API to deploy extension like features to Chrome on Android. Might be worth a look through the play store. Otherwise, Firefox is your best bet, though many extensions don't work on mobile for some reason.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=co.blocksite&hl=en_US
Just use a different browser.
Follow the steps given below to install Chrome extensions on your Android device.
Step 1: Open Google Play Store and download Yandex Browser. Install the browser on your phone.
Step 2: In the URL box of your new browser, open 'chrome.google.com/webstore’ by entering the same in the URL address.
Step 3: Look for the Chrome extension that you want and once you have it, tap on 'Add to Chrome.’
The added Chrome extension will now be automatically added to the Yandex browser.
I imagine that there are not many browsers supporting extension. Indeed, I have been interested in this question for the last year and I only found Dolphin supporting add-ons and other cool features announced few days ago. I want to test it soon.