Browser Launch Revisited

[Scott Rossi]

Hi List Folks:

Here's some more on launching URLs in Web browsers...

You may recall a post recently that mentioned the use of shell command in
MC/Rev to launch a URL.  After tracking down a formatting issue (with help
from Scott Raney and Michael Kahn), it appears the handler below could be a
reliable option for launching URLs on Windows.
 
 on launchBrowser theURL
   set the hideConsoleWindows to true
   put empty into theTitle
   if "NT" is in the systemVersion then
     set the shellCommand to "cmd.exe"
     put quote & quote into theTitle
   end if
   get shell("start" && theTitle && theURL)
 end launchBrowser
     
Passing a URL to this handler should launch the URL in the default browser
on any system from Win95 to XP, even with parameters included in the URL
string.  If the handler fails for you, let me know off list what your
findings are.  Testing here on Win95/98/2K/XP appeared to work in all cases.

Assuming the above works, I'll post a Primer at some point about various
Mac/Win URL launch methods.

Regards,

Scott Rossi
Creative Director
Tactile Media, Multimedia & Design
-----
E: scott at tactilemedia.com
W: http://www.tactilemedia.com