I am making a chrome extension, and for the purposes of my Chrome Extension, I am wanting users to be able to sign in to their Google account so they can send information to a server. I have been reading about user authentication and whatnot from the Google documents, but this is for apps that are being published into the store, and mine is in development. This is brand new territory for me, and I am lost. I feel like there's something that I must be missing, but I don't know how to get started.
Thanks.
Check this documentation about the quick way of loading up your working directory for testing. Extensions that you download from the Chrome Web Store are packaged up as .crx files, which is great for distribution, but not so great for development.
Related
I have written a simple Chrome extension and tested it using developer mode to load the unpacked extension. It works as expected this way.
Because the extension uses storage.sync API, I would like to undertake further testing with installations of the extension as published in the Chrome Web Store.
The Developer Dashboard for Chrome Web Store provides an option to publish to trusted users only:
Only trusted testers from your developer dashboard can see it.
You can also include members of a Google Group that you own or manage.
When I publish this way the trusted testers listed for my dashboard can reach the extension and install it from the Chrome Web Store. However, the extension is always disabled upon starting Chrome:
This extension is not listed in the Chrome Web Store and may have been added without your knowledge. Learn more
We, my testers and I, have not been able to find any way to enable an extension disabled by Chrome. Is there one? If not, the entire exercise of an "unlisted" publication mode for testing seems pointless.
The only work around I've found to this situation so far is to set the extension to "unlisted" rather than "published to testers" from the Chrome developer dashboard.
This is not at all satisfying, but did allow some real world testing in an unobtrusive way.
I searched all over and couldn't find my specific issue here so please excuse me if my search-fu has failed me.
My issue:
I am currently trying to create a kiosk app for my company's chromeboxes. I have the application packaged and published privately on the chrome web store. I get the app to load but once I launch the kiosk app and enter in my company's url I am presented with, "Unsupported Chrome App Origin Detected". The only thing I can find so far about this is to run the flag --disable-web-security. I can only find examples for Windows/Mac/Linux plus that isn't secure. Am I missing something in my Default.cr or manifest.json files? Is this even possible? This is on a vanilla chromebox that isn't part of a Google Apps domain. Do I need to have it added to a Google Apps for Work domain to get this to work? Any help would be appreciated.
Please add your generated chrome extension app id to storefront web.config file. Please have a look at http://docs.citrix.com/en-us/receiver/chrome/1-7/receiver-chrome-deploy.html point 8 at the end on how to do it.
Also please use 1.7 as it supports better Kiosk mode integration.
I am a developer looking for the best way to set up different schools with their own custom, private extensions (ie School A should be the only one with access to Extension A). Theoretically, I am aware that there are a few ways to get a custom, private extension pushed out on a domain:
Host the .crx on a server and click "Specify a Custom App" in the management console.
Create a Domain App by uploading a zip to the Chrome Web Store
Upload the extension from my developer account to the Chrome Web Store and publish to a single "trusted tester," or make it unlisted
Option (1), hosting the .crx, has not been working. I am not sure why, but the extension is simply not pushing out. I link directly to the crx file, which has the right ID and MIME type, still, no dice. If anyone has any tips or suggestions for getting this to work, I would love to hear them!
Option (2), having the school create a domain app, seems a bit inefficient because it requires all schools to upload their own zip. So essentially I would have to email a zip file to the school, and have them publish it. All updates to the extension will also require a similar process, so this doesn't seem ideal.
I doubt that option (3) would work. If I published to the admin as a "trusted tester", I don't think that the other people in the domain would be able to access it. If it is unlisted, I do not know how an admin could find it in the Chrome Web Store dialog. Also, I would rather avoid security through obscurity.
Has anyone had success with hosting the extension and using the Specify a Custom App feature? Any other suggestions for getting a Custom Extension pushed out by the management console? Thanks so much!
To get option (1) working from the management console, it is important to specify the correct extension id and a valid update xml url (not a crx).
One useful feature Google offers that you can use is getting the extension id and the version from the update request.
For instance, you can create a update.php file that outputs an xml file specific to each extension and version. See http://developer.chrome.com/extensions/autoupdate.html under "Advanced Usage".
For more info on packaging an app or extension for managed chromebooks, see https://support.google.com/chrome/a/answer/2714278?hl=en.
I would like to create an extension or app for the Chrome browser which would require access to a user's Google Calender (for creating new appointments).
I am unsure of which technology to better research and use, Chrome extensions or apps. My "app" wouldn't need much of a GUI, so I'm leaning towards extension — but I don't know if this would pose any difficulties for accessing a user's Google Calender to add an event.
Anyone one have any idea which technology is best for this situation, and why? Thanks!
Either, or... Go with an extension if you'd like.
I assume you've looked at the API reference?
https://developers.google.com/google-apps/calendar/
From there, I'd imagine you'd just need OAuth to authenticate the user. Here's the JS library:
https://code.google.com/p/google-api-javascript-client/
There are pros/cons of each types, apps or extensions.
Apps
If you would like to create a client application of Google Calendar which has many rich GUI components, this type will become a better solution.
In addition, Chrome apps can communicate with many hardware devices and other servers. Of course, your Chrome app can become as a server (that is, your app can open a server socket and accept a request from other client apps).
Chrome apps can be executed not depending on your Chrome Web browser. That is, Chrome apps cannot access to a context of your Chrome Web browser.
Probably, you don't want to get the pros above, I guess...
Extensions
If you would like to create a small UI for posting your schedule to Google Calendar, this type will become a better solution.
In addition, Chrome extensions can access to a context of your Chrome Web browser. That is, your extension can get page contents of each tab and inject your CSS and/or JS code. For example, your extension will get a URL of some opened tab and include it in a body of the posted schedule.
Chrome extensions completely depend on your Chrome Web browser. That is, your extension cannot execute independently.
Also, generally, high cost will be needed to develop Chrome apps than Chrome extensions. As the result, you should choose Chrome extensions, I believe.
I need some light on the matter of Chrome Webstore registration.
I'm still confused despite searching through the web: the "app" will be only private for the site (we're trying to develop a Elgg plugin for our website that will allow users to access their drives).
1) for testing, do I need to register it (I did a search but some say yes like in the Google Drive SDK documentation, some say no in the google-drive-sdk tags)?
2) when the plugin is finished, tested and ready to go live for our users, do I still need to register it and pay 5$?
Thanks you for the answer you can provide us.
You don't need to register your app on the Chrome Web Store if you don't want to integrate with the Google Drive web UI: having the option to create a new file or open a file with your app directly from Google Drive.
Also, it might be easier for you not to create a Chrome Web Store listing while developing.
If you do need to integrate with the Google Drive web UI, but don't want your app to be public, you can publish your app to Trusted Testers only.