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Re: IDL help in alternate browser [message #73916] Sun, 12 December 2010 03:10 Go to next message
Gordon Farquharson is currently offline  Gordon Farquharson
Messages: 48
Registered: December 2010
Member
Hi Paulo

On Dec 11, 9:17 am, Paulo Penteado <pp.pente...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Dec 11, 4:04 am, Gordon Farquharson <gordonfarquhar...@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Thanks for the suggestion. However, what I really want is to type "?
>> plot" in IDL, and have the help page appear in a browser that is not
>> my system browser. The spawn idea was interesting, but apart from not
>> achieving what I wanted, the NOWAIT keyword is a Windows only keyword,
>> and I'm running Linux.
>
> Go to Preferences->General->Web browser in the Window menu.

I tried that, but the help pages still open in Firefox regardless of
what options (internal/external) I select.

Gordon
Re: IDL help in alternate browser [message #73924 is a reply to message #73916] Sat, 11 December 2010 09:17 Go to previous messageGo to next message
penteado is currently offline  penteado
Messages: 866
Registered: February 2018
Senior Member
Administrator
On Dec 11, 4:04 am, Gordon Farquharson <gordonfarquhar...@gmail.com>
wrote:
> Thanks for the suggestion. However, what I really want is to type "?
> plot" in IDL, and have the help page appear in a browser that is not
> my system browser. The spawn idea was interesting, but apart from not
> achieving what I wanted, the NOWAIT keyword is a Windows only keyword,
> and I'm running Linux.

Go to Preferences->General->Web browser in the Window menu.
Re: IDL help in alternate browser [message #73925 is a reply to message #73924] Fri, 10 December 2010 22:04 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Gordon Farquharson is currently offline  Gordon Farquharson
Messages: 48
Registered: December 2010
Member
Hi Heinz

On Dec 10, 5:55 pm, Heinz Stege <public.215....@arcor.de> wrote:

> spawn,'"C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe" '+ $
> 'file:///"'+!dir+'/help/online_help/IDL/idl.html"',/noshell,/nowait

Thanks for the suggestion. However, what I really want is to type "?
plot" in IDL, and have the help page appear in a browser that is not
my system browser. The spawn idea was interesting, but apart from not
achieving what I wanted, the NOWAIT keyword is a Windows only keyword,
and I'm running Linux.

Gordon
Re: IDL help in alternate browser [message #73926 is a reply to message #73925] Fri, 10 December 2010 17:55 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Heinz Stege is currently offline  Heinz Stege
Messages: 189
Registered: January 2003
Senior Member
On Fri, 10 Dec 2010 14:21:44 -0800 (PST), Gordon Farquharson wrote:

> Hi All
>
> Is there a way to change the browser in which the IDL help is
> displayed? My system browser is Firefox, but I'd like the IDL help
> system to use a lighter-weight browser (e.g. Epiphany) if possible. I
> really thought that IDL 8 was supposed to not use the system browser,
> but maybe I'm remembering incorrectly.
>
> Gordon

I think, the answer depends on the OS and on the browser. For Windows
I can say the following: I can start the IDL 8 Help with Firefox,
which is not my default browser, by the following Command from the
IDL 8 Workbench or Console:

spawn,'"C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe" '+ $
'file:///"'+!dir+'/help/online_help/IDL/idl.html"',/noshell,/nowait

HTH, Heinz

P.S.: May be, other browsers prefer a different Syntax:
spawn,'"C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe" '+ $
'"file:///'+!dir+'/help/online_help/IDL/idl.html"',/noshell,/nowait
Firefox does the job with both of them. I don't know what is "right".
Re: IDL help in alternate browser [message #74007 is a reply to message #73916] Sun, 12 December 2010 11:37 Go to previous messageGo to next message
penteado is currently offline  penteado
Messages: 866
Registered: February 2018
Senior Member
Administrator
On Dec 12, 9:10 am, Gordon Farquharson <gordonfarquhar...@gmail.com>
wrote:
>> Go to Preferences->General->Web browser in the Window menu.
>
> I tried that, but the help pages still open in Firefox regardless of
> what options (internal/external) I select.

One option is to set it by an environment variable. For instance, in
bash syntax:

export IDL_ONLINE_HELP_HTML_BROWSER=opera
Re: IDL help in alternate browser [message #74045 is a reply to message #74007] Wed, 15 December 2010 16:18 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Gordon Farquharson is currently offline  Gordon Farquharson
Messages: 48
Registered: December 2010
Member
On Dec 12, 11:37 am, Paulo Penteado <pp.pente...@gmail.com> wrote:
> One option is to set it by an environment variable. For instance, in
> bash syntax:
>
> export IDL_ONLINE_HELP_HTML_BROWSER=opera

It works! Thanks for the tip.

Gordon
Re: IDL help in alternate browser [message #88627 is a reply to message #74007] Wed, 21 May 2014 00:42 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Helder Marchetto is currently offline  Helder Marchetto
Messages: 520
Registered: November 2011
Senior Member
On Sunday, December 12, 2010 8:37:44 PM UTC+1, Paulo Penteado wrote:
> On Dec 12, 9:10 am, Gordon Farquharson <gordonfarquhar...@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>>> Go to Preferences->General->Web browser in the Window menu.
>>
>> I tried that, but the help pages still open in Firefox regardless of
>> what options (internal/external) I select.
>
> One option is to set it by an environment variable. For instance, in
> bash syntax:
>
> export IDL_ONLINE_HELP_HTML_BROWSER=opera

Sorry for picking up an old post, but I've tried changing preferred browser in IDL under Window->Preferences->General->Web Browser and setting Chrome (instead of Firefox). I also tried activating Use internal/external web browser with no change in the behaviour.
I also tried using the "windows" option for export and typed in the command line:

set IDL_ONLINE_HELP_HTML_BROWSER=chrome
or
set IDL_ONLINE_HELP_HTML_BROWSER="C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe"

neither worked. Pressing F1 on a command will always result in firefox opening.

Has anybody else tried this?

Thanks,
Helder

PS:
IDL> !version
{
ARCH: "x86_64",
OS: "Win32",
OS_FAMILY: "Windows",
OS_NAME: "Microsoft Windows",
RELEASE: "8.3",
BUILD_DATE: "Nov 15 2013",
MEMORY_BITS: 64,
FILE_OFFSET_BITS: 64
}
Re: IDL help in alternate browser [message #88630 is a reply to message #88627] Wed, 21 May 2014 05:39 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Very Old IDL User is currently offline  Very Old IDL User
Messages: 3
Registered: May 2012
Junior Member
On Wednesday, May 21, 2014 3:42:36 AM UTC-4, Helder wrote:
> On Sunday, December 12, 2010 8:37:44 PM UTC+1, Paulo Penteado wrote:
>
>> On Dec 12, 9:10 am, Gordon Farquharson <gordonfarquhar...@gmail.com>
>
>> wrote:
>
>>>> Go to Preferences->General->Web browser in the Window menu.
>
>>>
>
>>> I tried that, but the help pages still open in Firefox regardless of
>
>>> what options (internal/external) I select.
>
>>
>
>> One option is to set it by an environment variable. For instance, in
>
>> bash syntax:
>
>>
>
>> export IDL_ONLINE_HELP_HTML_BROWSER=opera
>
>
>
> Sorry for picking up an old post, but I've tried changing preferred browser in IDL under Window->Preferences->General->Web Browser and setting Chrome (instead of Firefox). I also tried activating Use internal/external web browser with no change in the behaviour.
>
> I also tried using the "windows" option for export and typed in the command line:
>
>
>
> set IDL_ONLINE_HELP_HTML_BROWSER=chrome
>
> or
>
> set IDL_ONLINE_HELP_HTML_BROWSER="C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe"
>
>
>
> neither worked. Pressing F1 on a command will always result in firefox opening.
>
>
>
> Has anybody else tried this?
>
>
>
> Thanks,
>
> Helder
>
>
>
> PS:
>
> IDL> !version
>
> {
>
> ARCH: "x86_64",
>
> OS: "Win32",
>
> OS_FAMILY: "Windows",
>
> OS_NAME: "Microsoft Windows",
>
> RELEASE: "8.3",
>
> BUILD_DATE: "Nov 15 2013",
>
> MEMORY_BITS: 64,
>
> FILE_OFFSET_BITS: 64
>
> }

I seem to recall that chrome is a special case. For security reasons, the chrome browser does not let you open files on your computer. There is a way to change that, but I can't recall it.
Re: IDL help in alternate browser [message #88631 is a reply to message #88627] Wed, 21 May 2014 06:54 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Haje Korth is currently offline  Haje Korth
Messages: 651
Registered: May 1997
Senior Member
The functionality is broken. Below is what I received from tech support five months ago.

Me: I have tried to change the web browser to Firefox in the settings, but apparently the changes are ignored. No matter what the settings are, the help goes to chrome instead of firefox. Is this just me or is this a bug?

Support: This is occurring because IDL will always use the default browser to open the IDL help. I think one should be able to change the browser in which it is open using Window> Preferences > General > "Web Browser".
However, this doesn't seem to work with IDL 8.3. Therefore, I have filed another bug report about this issue (IDL-69010).

If you want to switch the Help to use Firefox, there are two options:

1) Make Firefox the default browser on your system.

2) Do the following suggestion:

FWIW, if you would like to open the IDL 8.3 help in a non-default web browser application, you might consider creating a workbench macro to spawn that browser with an argument that cause the an IDL help page to search for a selected string in your IDL editor window. For example:

SPAWN, 'START "" "C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe" -url " file:///C:/Program%%20Files/Exelis/IDL83/help/online_help/ID L/idl.htm#s
earch-%S"', /NOWAIT






On Wednesday, May 21, 2014 3:42:36 AM UTC-4, Helder wrote:
> On Sunday, December 12, 2010 8:37:44 PM UTC+1, Paulo Penteado wrote:
>
>> On Dec 12, 9:10 am, Gordon Farquharson <gordonfarquhar...@gmail.com>
>
>> wrote:
>
>>>> Go to Preferences->General->Web browser in the Window menu.
>
>>>
>
>>> I tried that, but the help pages still open in Firefox regardless of
>
>>> what options (internal/external) I select.
>
>>
>
>> One option is to set it by an environment variable. For instance, in
>
>> bash syntax:
>
>>
>
>> export IDL_ONLINE_HELP_HTML_BROWSER=opera
>
>
>
> Sorry for picking up an old post, but I've tried changing preferred browser in IDL under Window->Preferences->General->Web Browser and setting Chrome (instead of Firefox). I also tried activating Use internal/external web browser with no change in the behaviour.
>
> I also tried using the "windows" option for export and typed in the command line:
>
>
>
> set IDL_ONLINE_HELP_HTML_BROWSER=chrome
>
> or
>
> set IDL_ONLINE_HELP_HTML_BROWSER="C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe"
>
>
>
> neither worked. Pressing F1 on a command will always result in firefox opening.
>
>
>
> Has anybody else tried this?
>
>
>
> Thanks,
>
> Helder
>
>
>
> PS:
>
> IDL> !version
>
> {
>
> ARCH: "x86_64",
>
> OS: "Win32",
>
> OS_FAMILY: "Windows",
>
> OS_NAME: "Microsoft Windows",
>
> RELEASE: "8.3",
>
> BUILD_DATE: "Nov 15 2013",
>
> MEMORY_BITS: 64,
>
> FILE_OFFSET_BITS: 64
>
> }
Re: IDL help in alternate browser [message #88643 is a reply to message #88631] Thu, 22 May 2014 20:35 Go to previous message
timothyja123 is currently offline  timothyja123
Messages: 57
Registered: February 2013
Member
On Wednesday, May 21, 2014 11:54:50 PM UTC+10, Haje Korth wrote:
> The functionality is broken. Below is what I received from tech support five months ago.
>
>
>
> Me: I have tried to change the web browser to Firefox in the settings, but apparently the changes are ignored. No matter what the settings are, the help goes to chrome instead of firefox. Is this just me or is this a bug?
>
>
>
> Support: This is occurring because IDL will always use the default browser to open the IDL help. I think one should be able to change the browser in which it is open using Window> Preferences > General > "Web Browser".
>
> However, this doesn't seem to work with IDL 8.3. Therefore, I have filed another bug report about this issue (IDL-69010).
>
>
>
> If you want to switch the Help to use Firefox, there are two options:
>
>
>
> 1) Make Firefox the default browser on your system.
>
>
>
> 2) Do the following suggestion:
>
>
>
> FWIW, if you would like to open the IDL 8.3 help in a non-default web browser application, you might consider creating a workbench macro to spawn that browser with an argument that cause the an IDL help page to search for a selected string in your IDL editor window. For example:
>
>
>
> SPAWN, 'START "" "C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe" -url " file:///C:/Program%%20Files/Exelis/IDL83/help/online_help/ID L/idl.htm#s
>
> earch-%S"', /NOWAIT
>

Interesting I might also file a bug. I have .html file type associated with an editor as I do web development. Its really driving me nuts trying to load help only to have it open in a text editor.

This is what I end up seeing:

<!--
This file was created by IDL to work around limitations of
the Microsoft Windows ShellExecute() function:

- If you pass ShellExecute() a URL containing an HTML
anchor, it strips the anchor off the URL and the browser
never sees it.
- There are hacks involving the FindExecutable() function
that can trick ShellExecute() into not stripping the anchor,
but they have the unwanted side effect of starting a new
browser instance for each such call.
- You can just skip ShellExecute() and talk to InternetExplorer
directly, but that locks out other browsers and is fairly
difficult as well. Plus, it won't track changes Microsoft may
make to the browser.

In addition, it is used to work around a similar problem on Unix
systems where a URL containing a pipe symbol '|' is interpreted by the
shell and cannot be passed through to the Javascript interpreting the
URL. The help symbol uses the string '|Firstpick' to indicate that the
first topic found in the query should be loaded but this URL cannot
be sent directly to the browser because the shell treats it as a
pipe symbol to control i/o.

Alternatively, you can generate a temporary HTML file containing a
refresh META tag, and pass the URL for that file to ShellExecute().
This is that file.

You can remove this file if you wish. IDL will recreate it whenever it
needs it. The specific situation where that occurs is a call to
ONLINE_HELP that specifies a non-NULL topic and which sets the
BOOK keyword to the name of an HTML file.
-->
<html>
<!-- saved from url=(0014)about:internet -->
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Refresh" content="0; URL='file:///C:/Program Files/Exelis/IDL83/help/online_help/IDL/idl_CSH.htm#HELP_CON TENTS' ">
</head>
</html>
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