We have an internal company utility that can open our internal sites through various browsers using the various browser drivers (iexplore, geckodriver, chromedriver).
One of the options for the chromedriver is to use the profile of logged-in Google users. However, it doesn't work if the profile is already in use from another instance of Chrome.
Anyone know of a way to detect if the profile of the currently logged-in user is in use? Then the utility can just skip adding that option into the list of arguments when we launch a browser.
I know there's a workaround for an individual computer, but as not everyone in the company will know how to set that up, it's okay if the instance doesn't automatically load the Google profile.
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I want to create a web app(for practicing my skills) that will help in conducting online exams. So I want to ask that is there any way to find out the following things---
Is there another page opened in the chrome (if yes then which)
Is there is another application running in the background (if yes then which)
Is user switching between tabs/applications/desktops etc.
Basically, I just want to create an app that just keeps track of users' activity when the user is giving an exam.
And if you have any of the solutions to the above problems then please tell.
Since most things you want to access are considered private data, it is not directly possible in a Web App, except the page visibility. But you can write a browser extension, which is at least allowed to access data within the browser. For information beyond the browser you should consider a native application or some embedded solution like React Native, Xamarin, or Electron, to name a few.
To get the info if the user is currently using the tab your Web App is running in, use the Page Visibility API:
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Page_Visibility_API
For accessing information about other tabs and browser internal stuff, write an extension:
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Mozilla/Add-ons/WebExtensions/API
I tried to lookup many answers from stackoverflow but couldnt find anything specific to this, I am implementing payment app and I want to display custom-tab in my app to record user visit by storing user-id, either by setting a cookie or using localstorage or by installing a service worker for the domain that custom tabs opens.
Can a https page loaded in custom-tab write cookies that are also
available when visiting the same page from Chrome?
Is localstorage API available for my domain in custom-tab? if yes,
is stored value available from Chrome?
Is installing service worker allowed from Custom-tab? So I have
access to S/W from Chrome browser?
If none of this possible, how could I record the visit from custom-tab and have it available in Chrome when user opens the domain from chrome browser?
Thanks in advance
Chrome Custom Tabs uses the same Cookie jar as Chrome. So, if a Cookie is created when a user accesses the page from a Custom Tab and Chrome is the Custom Tabs provider, it is also available when the user goes to the same domain from Chrome (outside Custom Tabs).
Same as above.
Yes, it is possible to install a service-worker from a Chrome Custom Tab.
You can check all the above by opening the URL that adds the cookie, install the service-worker or writes to the local store inside a Custom Tab, setup the device for debugging, connecting it to your computer and navigating to chrome://inspect/#devices in Chrome. Then choose the device and inspect the cookies, local storage, service-workers, etc.
Please I developed my mobile app and is primarily using localStorage for storing account info and some other info. The app has mobile and browser version.
For the browser version, I expect a user that is logged in to not be redirected to an auth page on browser restart. This works fine as my info are stored in localStorage. On the other hand, my mobile doesn't. User have to log in whenever he restart the app.
Please what option do I have? What option do developers use for the mobile storage? Do I have to use database? If so which one should use and where can I find a better documentation on this topic?
Note: I am using Cordova for my mobile app development framework.
For some reason, localStorage is tied to browser history. Some mobile browsers have an option to erase browser history on exit. If that box has a checkmark in it, then localStorage gets purged along with browser history everytime the browser is closed! So, you can ask the user to go into Settings and uncheck that box. Note: localStorage is not supported by older IE browsers, Opera Mini, and some Blackberry devices.
If cookies are enabled, you could use a one-time cookie code to log the user in automatically, but that cookie must expire after first use. Once the user is logged in, the server must issue a new cookie code to the client. And the client can use that new cookie to log in once again or keep alive the session. Using the same cookie twice should not work for security reasons. And the server must make sure never to issue the same code to two different users!
I remember, about 10 yrs ago, I went online to check my emails, and immediately the site had me logged into another user's account! I could have read that person's private emails and stuff, but I decided not to. I reported the incident to the admin. The problem was probably their server issued a random quick-login access code to me, and another user somehow got the same access code that I got. And when I opened the website, it thought that I was that other person. If your site deals with money and credit cards, you should avoid this technique! Any kind of auto login is a bad idea for a bank!
There is a plug-in to store data in an SQLite database using Cordova in this link
. You can find more details about storage with Cordova in the doc.
Save your data by using the following:
localStorage.setItem("variable", value);
Retrieve it from localstorage by using the following:
localStorage.getItem("variable");
It is as simple as it is.
Reference here.
I'm building a Chrome kiosk app that will be in a public space. Users can interact with the app, but there are a variety of settings (server addresses, timeouts, etc.) that need to be set. I'm looking for a strategy on how to allow access to that administration config.
On first run - This is straightforward, but I want administrators to be able to pull it up again.
Detect if the app ran as a kiosk app or manually - This would kind of work, not sure if it's the greatest
Detect some key combination - Ctrl + Alt + Something switches over to the settings page, this feels like people could stumble on it accidentally.
Is there another approach I'm missing?
If your Chrome device(s) is managed you have a further option which is to use the Chrome App Management area within the Google Apps admin interface.
To do this you code your app to use the storage.managed API and this should allow a Configure section for your app within Chrome App Management.
I haven't tried this myself yet but this appears to be the way the Chrome Sign Builder app is configured with its schedule.
Another approach would be to have an administrator login button in a corner of the app. You can set a default password for administrators, which could then be changed in the settings dialog.
You can also think of combining suggestions you have made, first run and then a key combination, and this could bring up a password prompt as also suggested. For an example of this see the Zebradog Kiosk app which is in GitHub so you can see code of how this could be done.
I use ctrl-alt-S at boot. This allows me to login and make changes. I know you have to do a couple of reboots, but it is out of service during admin time anyway.
I have several accounts for a website and currently I want to write an extension that I can open all the accounts simultaneously in chrome, each tab for one account.
So that means I want each tab with a separate cookie system, is it doable? If so please suggest the API I should use, thanks!
Go to Chrome Preferences. There is a Users section where you can add users. Each new user will have its own cookie jar, so you can log in to a site as many different users at once. It makes new chrome windows, but it seems you cannot drag a tab onto a window of another user.
According to Chrome documentation, you can modify HTTP headers (including cookies) in the onBeforeSendHeaders event handler. So, you need to store new cookies for every account by means of the onHeadersReceived event handler, and then substitute them for every tab in outgoing requests.
There even exists an extension which seems doing almost the thing you want - Chrome Cookie Switcher.
Also I have found an answer that may be helpful for your task: Associate a custom user agent to a specific Google Chrome page/tab.
I really don't think Chrome allows extensions to do this. If I recall correctly, extensions can inspect and block requests, but they can't modify them, such as changing cookies on the fly for each tab.
I suggest you use the --user-data-dir command-line option of Chrome. It allows you to keep several separate profiles, each in its own directory, and then you only need to start chrome with the proper option:
# run this command to use the first profile
google-chrome --user-data-dir=/home/binchen/my_chrome_profiles/my_profile_1
# run this command to use the second profile
google-chrome --user-data-dir=/home/binchen/my_chrome_profiles/my_profile_2
...
Each profile will be in its own Chrome window, with its own cookie store, instead of its own tab, but it's easier than writing an extension.
Lastly, if the website you're mentioning is Google, you can keep several Google accounts open at the same time.