How can we start an external application(exe) from a chrome browser?
I have gone through this link which says we can open it from a chrome extension:
Start an external application from a Google Chrome Extension? as I have found few extensions which when installed starts my external exe(application).
However, I would like to open the application directly from chrome without any extension.
Is it possible? Is Native Messaging something to look in that case?
Related
I am developing a chrome extension which needs to append to a file in local directory.
This extension is for internal purpose only.
Using chrome app is not a feasible solution as they are getting deprecated.
Background:
I manage an offline network of workstations.
I have written a chrome extension that needs to be in the browser for our webapp to function
I have published it through the chrome store (but not made it public)
Question:
How do I install this extension without the internet
What I've tried:
Windows GPO: Requires the update URL to be http://clients2.google.com/service/update2/crx
Windows Registry: same URL problem
Unpacked extensions: prompts users, requires developer tools, and disables the extension when chrome is restarted.
install crx: disables the extension when chrome is restarted.
Any other ideas, or ways around this?
Chrome version 48.
I was able to do this on a regular chrome installation by doing the following:
Download the extension in crx format - how to download a crx file from the chrome web store for a given id
Unzip the crx file
I had to rename the _metadata folder to metadata
Open the chrome extensions page
Enable Developer mode
Click "Load unpacked extension..."
Select the unzipped folder
This worked for me when I needed to install Advanced REST client.
I have just:
Downloaded the add-on CRX file using http://crxextractor.com/
Opened the "extensions" page on Chrome.
Drag-and-dropped the CRX file onto the "extensions" page.
I got it to work actually, sadly forgot about this post until now.
I had the Business version installed as #gerardnimo suggested.
What I wound up doing is
1) setup and IIS server to serve both the CRX and the update xml. based on this guide. https://developer.chrome.com/extensions/autoupdate
2) Then i was able to install the extension via group policy.
Here is a thread that I've found. He suggests that you can use Google Chrome for Business.
Since September 3, 2015, Installing Chrome extensions off-line no longer work (and here ) due to Google trying to prevent malicious extensions being downloaded and installed. To install an extension off-line today, require you to install a signed pre-packaged full Chrome install, using Googles Chrome for Business. This functionality is controlled by a policy list. Or according to this post, you can use their Dev or Canary channels to run any extension. Their latest builds can be found here
If I want to install the Chrome App Launcher and navigate to https://chrome.google.com/webstore/launcher , then click the only button over there, that page will install Chrome App Launcher shortcut to my Windows taskbar without any confirmation from the operating system whatsoever.
If I use a different browser, other than Chrome, I get redirected to the Chrome Webstore, with a message "You will need Google Chrome to install most apps, extensions and themes." showing. I guess, Chrome is able to place a shortcut from within a web page to my Desktop/Taskbar via its inner methods, as it's a general executable and may do "a lot" on its own.
How can I add my (any) shortcut from within a web page rendered in Chrome the same (or another) way the Chrome App Launcher has been installed?
Sorry, the webstore has special powers in chrome which regular web sites don't get. This is how it can also install extensions and apps, see whether you have particular extensions and apps installed, etc. You can see API by which it gets these special privileges here.
This API is made available by chrome just to the webstore.
I found that the chrome webbrowser recently disabled the ability to deploy extensions that are not from the chrome webstore. I tried opening my extension.crx directly intro chrome and it wont work anymore, it just download the file.
I know I could use the "load unpacked extension", but I need to do it in about 50 computers, so it's not a very practical way.
Does anyone knows any other ways to deploy an extension that is not in the webstore?
Maybe "loading an unpacked extension" programmatically from an .exe or something like that.
Have you tried dragging it over to Chrome, either from the download bar or the file browser on your operating system? I seem to remember this has been an issue earlier...
There is more information about how to complete this on the Chrome Dev site:
https://developer.chrome.com/extensions/crx
It looks as if you need to create a zip file, then add additional headers to the beginning of that file, then change the file extension from ".zip" to ".crx"
If serving this file from a web-server, you should use the header "application/x-chrome-extension" to make the Chrome browser understand this is an installable theme/app/extension.
I'd like to self host a chrome extension on my own site but would like the install experience to be the same as on the chrome web store. Specifically, I'd like to have a "add to chrome" button which asks the user to install the extension with one more click. Currently on self hosted extensions you have to confirm the download and then confirm the install.
Here's an example of the web store: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/olnconaknblgbkfgknkfmmfhhbebkekd
The only reason I'd like to self host is so that they can stay on my site while installing the extension.
I'd be perfectly fine hosting on the chrome webstore as well if that helped with the experience (i.e. a special link from my site to the chrome webstore that would start the download immediately).
Any ideas?
Chrome webstore has special treatment, you can't reproduce it.
To save you trouble of self hosting, you can provide a direct link to crx file hosted on webstore which has the following format:
http://clients2.google.com/service/update2/crx?response=redirect&x=id%3D<EXTENSION_ID_HERE>%26uc%26lang%3Den-US&prod=chrome
Users would still need to confirm 2 times, but at least you don't have to host it and users won't leave your site.
UPDATE
Chrome 15, that was just released into stable branch, has Inline Installation, which seems like exactly what you are looking for.
Chrome now has inline install that enables a one-click install on your site but downloading from the store.
See here for more details.
Add something like this to your meta-data
<link rel="chrome-webstore-item" href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/you-chrome-id">
Add this any where:
onclick="javascript:chrome.webstore.install()"
Chrome no longer supports in-line installation of extensions.
https://developer.chrome.com/extensions/inline_faq
When your site calls chrome.webstore.install(), Chrome will no longer trigger a dialog immediately but will instead open a new foreground tab to the details page of the Chrome WebStore