How to run desktop app from browser? - javascript

I need to launch program from browser(like battlefield when you see dialog with confirmation of starting app). Should I make an extension or there is native way to do it with javascript?

If the basic idea is to launch a desktop app from the web browser, the first step is to create a new Registry in Windows and path a URL Custom protocol. And if you need it you can also send parameters by changing console arguments in your app and append the parameters in your html file.
You can check here:
https://weblogs.asp.net/morteza/How-to-run-a-desktop-application-from-a-web-page

check out: Running .exe from Javascript
There are cross-browser compatibility issues with executing a .EXE on a clients machine. i would suggest you look into alternative languages such as Java or even Flash. But it can be done in Javascript.
-normally i wouldn't answer a question like this, but i saw someone say it's not possible. ANYTHING is possible.

Related

How to convert Angular JavaScript code into a native Windows application?

I want to convert an Angular JavaScript app into a native Windows application but I don't know how to do it. I heard that electron could be used for this but I don't know how to use electron.
Despite electron there is another solution called nativefier. It is actually quite simple and you don't have to learn a new framework like electron.
As the comments pointed out already, this is not possible.
Why?
JavaScript can't run directly on the machine, neither do HTML and CSS. You need a browser that can understand those languages and turn them into commands your computer can understand.
So your only way to run an Angular App without using chrome or Firefox or whatever browser, is Electron. It's basically a chrome browser plus your custom Angular app packed into an exe. So under the hood, it really just runs your code in a browser environment, but you have more control over it and no address bar etc.

Injecting a JavaScript script using Selenium Driver + PhantomJS and handling the redirection correctly in Python

My problem is:
I have being developing a Python script that connects to an URL, and using the selenium driver I manage to inject a Javascript file, after this file executes the currently page is redirected. This's all done using selenium to handle Firefox:
driver = webdriver.Firefox();
, but when I try to use PhantomJS as the browser, since it doesn't have any graphical interface:
driver = webdriver.PhantomJS();
I can't handle the response properly. Still haven't found out if the driver is not injecting the script correctly or if it's an response handling problem. If someone has any ideas it'll be great to hear.
I posted this on another question, but I think this will help:
After dealing with this same dilemma myself, I can wholeheartedly recommend using your preferred Selenium webkit (mine is Chrome) in conjunction with XVFB.
XVFB allows you to heedlessly run a browser like Firefox, Chrome, etc. which basically eradicates all of the bugginess that inherently comes with using PhantomJS. While it’s definitely an awesome piece, it’s inner workings tend to have different interactions at times (I ran into issues for instance with not being able to TAB from one element to another like one can in any browser). If you are using Jenkins, there is an incredibly awesome Plugin which literally takes one click of a button. Otherwise, I’d definitely recommend checking this out.
Phantom is a real pain in the ass, so it's definitely worth circumventing it :)
Hope this helps!

Open Windows application using javascript/jQuery

As per requirement we need to open desktop application using javascript/jquery.
Please help me out to resolve this issue
Refer to this: how to start up a desktop application in client side
It's not reaaly possible. You must either:
Use ActiveX
Install a browser plugin
Find another solution to your problem
If you could execute a file from client code you'll be facing an important security issue.
Imagine accessing a webpage that could, through javascript, start/stop windows services and launch common applications.
I think you can use Windows Scripting Host to launch some command line actions, however it will probably only work on IE.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/98591fh7%28v=vs.84%29.aspx

how to start up a desktop application in client side

In my web page, I have to start a desktop application on the client's computer if it's installed. Any idea how I can do this?
If the application is MS Office or Adobe Reader, I know how to start them, but the application I want to start is a custom application. You can not find it on the internet.
How can I open the application?
Basically it's not possible to achieve unless an application registers a protocol that will trigger it. If it does that all you need to do is to provide a link using this protocol
yourcustomapp://some.parameters
Another way the 3rd party app can integrate with the browser is if it hooks to it as a plugin. This is how flash apps work etc.
If the app you are trying to launch does not support something like that it's going to be close to impossible to achieve what you want.
The browser sandbox prohibits you from executing local resources, for good reason - to thwart a website destroying your box with malicious code. I've been researching the same functionality.
The only solution I've found is to build an extension in Mozilla Firefox which can launch your app. Extensions live outside the sandbox so they can execute local resources. See this page for how to do that. You may be able to do it cross-browser using crossrider, though I haven't had success with that yet.
You could alternatively build a thick client populated from a web service, and launched from the browser through an extension as mentioned above. This is what I'm doing to get around the sandbox. I'm using local XUL for this.
See my question for additional discussion.
First off - you can't do it using javascript in any sort of a portable mechanism.
If the application is ms office or adobe reader,I know how to startup them
No you don't - you know how to send a document, which the browser associates with these applications and invokes them supplying the name of the local copy of the response. You can't just start the programs.
You just need to do the same for your app - invent a new mime type (the major type would be 'application' and by convention, non-standard minor types are prefixed with 'x-', so you might use application/x-hguser) then associate that mimetype with the relevant program browser side.
i.e: You need to explicitly configure each browser
I already encouter that problem in some complex production environnements.
I do the trick using the following code :
function launch(p_app_path)
{
var oShell = new ActiveXObject("WScript.Shell");
oShell.Run('"' + p_app_path + '"', 1);
}
In IE options > Security > Customize the level > ActiveX controls and plugins > Initialization and script ActiveX controls not marked as safe for scripting, set the value to Ask or Active.
It isn't a security problem when your website is enclosed into a specific security context.
And as they say, it's not worth it to build a gas plant.
JavaScript alone can't do this. (No, not even with MS Office or Adobe Reader.) Thankfully.
There are a number of old ways, including using ActiveX, which may work for your needs. As others have pointed out while typing this, you can customize responses based on the mime type or the protocol, etc.
Any way you look at it, you're going to need control over the end users' browser. If you're in a close environment where you can dictate policy (users must use a specific browser, with a specific configuration), then you're going to need to do that. For an open environment with no control over the end users, you're out of luck.
I'm actually having a lot of success right now with SiteFusion. It's a PHP client/server application framework that serves out XUL/JavaScript applications from a server deamon running in Apache. You access applications from a very thin client in XULRunner, or potentially off a web page using extensions. Clients can execute on any platform, and they're outside of the browser sandbox so you can access local resources such as executables. It'a a fairly elegant solution, their website provides great examples and documentation, and their forum is very responsive. I actually found a minor bug in passing arguments to local executables, posted a question about the forum, and it was fixed by the chief developer in under 15 minutes. Very impressive, overall!

How are windows executables [.exe] launched out of browsers?

I'm not talking about browser exploits. I'm talking about real applications used in real companies, like Ijji and Nexon.
Basically, from their websites you can click a "Start Game" button, which will launch an executable located at c:\ijji\english or c\nexon[gamename] respectively. These applications are real desktop applications, meaning that they can take advantage of the filesystem, direct3d, and OS [in the form of executing other applications]. The applications can also be launched through command line [as opposed to going to the game host's website].
I figured this would be possible if the application created an ActiveX object to call for the creation of a new process. However, the websites are able to launch applications from multiple browsers other than Internet Explorer, including chrome, which, to my knowledge, does not implement ActiveX.
Obviously the people developing these applications use their own means to do this.
From looking at the services list as well as currently running applications list, I have no indication that they're running something like "gameLaunchingServer.exe" which listens to some obscure port for an incoming connection [to be accessed using iframe - HTTP Protocol] and responds by launching an application...
I'm stumped, and this is sort of stuck in my mind. Obviously, they're not using some random browser exploit, otherwise people at http://www.[insertMaliciousWebsiteHere].com would have jumped on the opportunity already to install random crap. Regardless, it seems pretty cool, and I wanted to know how it worked.
Just curious, hehe.
I believe what they're doing is setting up their own protocol handler on install - when a browser is asked to access an address with a protocol that it doesn't know how to handle (for instance, a steam:// address), it looks at all the installed protocol handlers to find a match.
So you can register your application as a myApplication:// protocol handler, and then your web page can link to a myApplication:// address and launch your application.
I didn't quite find the button you are talking about, but I'm thinking it works only after you installed the application once, isn't it?
In that case, the application probably created its own protocol, just as skype, msn and a bunch of clients.
Having a protocol is the easiest way (and very easy indeed to implement - a simple registry key).
Another way which is used is an extension or plugin.
I thought they were run through plug-ins or like applets.
For example, MS SilverLight

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