Getting a browser page address

[gyroscope]

Hi, one of my future projects is a browser-external bookmarking prog, so I have two questions concerning this please:

• How do I get a copy of the web address showing in the browser address window (i.e via script in a button perhaps, rather than the user having to copy and paste it). Or might this not be possible from Rev?

• Is it possible, when launching a web URL from Rev to script for it to open into a new tab in the Browser and/or new window in the Browser?

Any help appreciated, thanks.

[gyroscope]

Hi, for my first question above, might it be done using revBrowserGet, does anyone know please, or is this function used only for the Rev-made browser?

I tried

Code: Select all

on mouseUp pMouseBtnNo
    put revBrowserGet(url) into field "Field"
end mouseUp

and it doesn't like that. I suppose I have to indicate what the current open browser is (in my case, Safari), possibly?

[Mark Smith]

If you're talking about getting the current url from Safari, you'll need to use Applescript.

The 'revBrowser' handlers are only to do with rev's built in browser.

[gyroscope]

The 'revBrowser' handlers are only to do with rev's built in browser.

Thanks for confirming my suspicion there and your answer, Mark.

I guess if I wanted similar behaviour on a PC as well, I'd have to use the PC's equivalent of AppleScript, whatever that is; and both also for opening web pages in a new or tabbed window.

[SparkOut]

Hi gyro,
this isn't going to be easy...
The only way I know to get the current url from the browser to be returned to Rev is as per Ken Ray's post here: http://lists.runrev.com/pipermail/use-r ... 20513.html

Code: Select all

Set objApps = CreateObject("Shell.Application")
For Each objApp in objApps.Windows
    If (objApp.Name = "Windows Internet Explorer") or _
       (objApp.Name = "Microsoft Internet Explorer") Then
        If objApp.LocationURL <> "" Then
            WScript.Echo objApp.LocationURL
        End If
    End If
Next

I'm not aware of how vbscript or such could retrieve the url from any other browser.

To open a browser in a new tab is possible, but you'd have to test for the browsers...
On the Windows platform you can interrogate the registry key

Code: Select all

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\http\shell\open\command\

and return the default browser path.

If that is IE then you can run the following vbscript

Code: Select all

On Error resume next
  result = "OK"
  destinationURL = "http://www.runrev.com"
  Set objShell = CreateObject("Shell.Application")
  If Err <> 0 Then
    result = "Error creating shell application"
  End If

  If result = "OK" Then
    Set objShellWindows = objShell.Windows
    If Err <> 0 Then
      result = "Error getting windows collection"
    End If
  End If

  If result = "OK" Then
    Set objIE = objShellWindows.Item
    If Err <> 0 Then
      result = "Error getting windows item"
    End If
  End If

  If result = "OK" Then
    objIE.Navigate2 destinationURL
  End If

  If Err <> 0 Then
    Set objIE = CreateObject("InternetExplorer.Application")
    If Err <> 0 Then
      result = "Error creating IE Application object"
    Else
      objIE.Visible = True
      objIE.Navigate2 destinationURL
    End If
  End If

 Set objIE = Nothing
 Set objShellWindows = Nothing
 Set objShell = Nothing

which should open the destinationURL in a new tab if IE7 is already open. If IE7 is not open then it will cause an error which is then handled by the second part of the code to create an IE instance and navigate to it.
I don't know what happens in any version other than IE7.

If the default browser is Firefox, then you can

Code: Select all

   put "http://www.runrev.com" into tURL
   put "start '' '<path to firefox.exe from registry>' '-new-tab' '" & tURL & "'" into tFirefox
   replace "'" with quote in tFirefox
   set the hideConsoleWindows to true
   get shell (tFirefox)

Firefox has the -new-tab switch to open a destination in a new tab. (The extra pair of quotes between "start" and the path is to be a blank title for the (hidden) console window, otherwise it won't start).

Opera seems to have this behaviour by default, so if it's open it will go to a new tab on launching your url, or open itself with the url in the first tab if it's not already opened.

Code: Select all

   put "http://www.runrev.com" into tURL
   put "start '' '<Path to Opera from registry>' '" & tURL & "'" into tOpera
   replace "'" with quote in tOpera
   set the hideConsoleWindows to true
   get shell (tOpera)

I don't know about any other browsers.
HTH

[gyroscope]

Hi SparkOut

HTH

Only by 10 miles! Seriously, that's excellent all of that info and will be most useful when I finish the cross-platform version of the particular prog I have in mind, thank you muchly.

With the possibility of generating a reply similar to "What do you want, jam on it?!" if there is any leads that you or someone else could provide concerning the alternate Appletalk scripts for Mac, that'd be brilliant. (Being a member of computer-sheltered-life.com I haven't had any dealings with Applescript).

[SparkOut]

If I could help I would, but I don't have jam, sorry. I'm clueless about Macs and applescript.

[gyroscope]

Aww, no jam, but thanks again for the bread and butter! (I think I might be overdoing this metaphor now...)

[Philhold]

I use Yojimbo and have a "Bookmarklet" in my browser bookmarks toolbar, this is a Javascript. When I click on it a dialogue opens asking me to give it a name. I name it, click OK and it is put into Yojimbo.

http://anoved.net/bookmark_in_yojimbo.html

I just thought this might give you some ideas.

Cheers

Phil

[gyroscope]

Thank you Phil, that looks interesting; I'm going to check it out in more detail now. It looks to be what I need.

[gyroscope]

Unfortunately the script seems locked somehow; but I found a script from another Forum member:

http://forums.runrev.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=5713

So I put

Code: Select all

tell application "Safari" 
URL of window 1 
set myURL to the result 
end tell 

into a Field called "A" and

Code: Select all

on mouseUp
 do cd fld "A" as appleScript 
put result() into field "B"
end mouseUp

into a button script. But the result in field "B" says "execution error" so I've obviously done something wrong.

So two questions please:

1) Can anyone help to correct the above code so that it works and
2) Is putting AppleScript in a field and calling the script up via code the only way to use AppleScript in Rev, or might there be other methods?

Any help appreciated, thanks.

[SparkOut]

It looks to me like the error is line :

do cd fld "A" as appleScript

which should be

do field "A" as appleScript

the "cd" you have in there looks like someone was editing out a reference to a card and left a bit of rubbish in. [edit]On the other hand, perhaps I'm just talking absolute garbage. It works as "a card field" - but I've never seen that syntax used before myself! Live and learn![/edit]

You can put the script into a variable, or mostly I think people tend to put it into a custom property, particularly a button.
Then you can

Code: Select all

on mouseUp
    do the cThirdPartyScript of me as "scriptType"
    put the result into field "fldResult"
end mouseUp

With strict compilation mode on I've got used to putting the third party script type (in my case vbscript) in quotes. Even without strict compilation mode it seems not always to run successfully if I don't (on Windows).

[gyroscope]

Thank you SparkOut (I thought you said you didn't have any jam )

Unfortunately though it still doesn't work for me, as I get "alternate language not found".

Getting closer to a solution though, I'm certain...

[bn]

Hi gyroscope,
put

Code: Select all

tell application "Safari"
	set myURL to URL of document 1
	return myURL
end tell

into field A. If you then do field A as in your script. If Safari is open and has an active window it will return the URL.

"cd field" is an old Hypercard remnant for compatibility reasons (hypercard used card field and background field. If you just said field Hypercard assumed a background field, so you had to explicitly tell it if you meant a card field) and does not hurt in this case but I would not use it, just use field as SparkOut suggested.

I like to listen to the local traffic news of the two of you

If you need help with applescript I can be of service to a certain degree.
regards
Bernd

[gyroscope]

Hi Bernd, absolutely spot-on. It works just right, exactly what's needed. Thanks!

Interesting reading concerning an old Hypercard remnant. For interest, I was clearing out my garage the other day and found a water-damaged copy of Danny Goodman's The Complete Hypercard 2.2. I remember buying this in the early nineties (that'll be last century ) and kicked myself for not actually making much use of it (I was still trying to find my way around Lingo and suppose thought I'd confuse my little old brain by trying to learn a second Basic-type language, however similar).

I like to listen to the local traffic news of the two of you

A bit of jolly banter now and then always helps entertain the thread readers, I think!

If you need help with applescript I can be of service to a certain degree.

Thank you, Bernd. It'll be a while possibly though; I don't know if you've gathered from some of my posts that I have five (well, more than that now actually) definite app ideas on the go at the same time. My first project is 80% there, and the others range from 30 to 10%. I tend to jump from one to the other depending on... the weather, I suppose! So when appleScript is on the menu again for me, it'll be appreciated for your advice and help.