Open URL in default browser changed in 2014?

[Mellroth]

In previous versions of LabVIEW we have used the "Open URL in default browser" (with path input) to open folders, files etc, using the program associated with the file extension.

LabVIEW 2014 seemed to have changed this behavior so that documents are really opened inside the default browser. Folders are treated differently depending on the default browser: with IE as the default browser a folder path opens a windows explorer window, with Chrome the folder content is listed in a new Tab.

 

The llb containing the Open URL... VI (<LabVIEW>\vi.lib\Platform\browser.llb) also contains "Open Acrobat Document.vi", but since this is using the "Open URL..." it also opens in the default browser

 

Is there any specific switch that can be used to tell LabVIEW to still use the default program instead of the browser? 

 

/J

 

 

[hooovahh]

I have no incite on this function changing or not.  But what I do have is the function I use for opening files, or opening explorer windows with that file selected.  It just uses a command line call to explorer.

Open File Or Windows Explorer.vi

[Mellroth]

Thanks,

I guess I might have to do something like this, but I really liked the old way since that was platform independent (NI handled the different platforms).

 

/J

 

[Darren]

From what I can tell, we changed the VI to really open all files and URLs in the default browser in 2014. The change was made to support file-based URLs with "#" tags in them...prior to 2014, this part of the URL would be ignored, which was filed as CAR 420007. Fixing this CAR meant making the VI actually do what its name implies, always opening a file or URL in the default browser.

[Mellroth]

Thanks for the clarification Darren.

I agree that the name now matches the action, but the VI has acted like this at least since LabVIEW 2009 so I would suspect that a number of users will end up with the same result as me. Especially since I also know that a this "trick" has been suggested by people at NI, referring to two VIs that are in the same llb as this one, namely:

• vi.lib\Platform\browser.llb\Open Acrobat Document.vi
• vi.lib\Platform\browser.llb\Open a Document on Disk.vi

 

Any plans for a new platform independent VI to do the action this VI used to do?

 

/J

 

[hooovahh]

Any plans for a new platform independent VI to do the action this VI used to do?

Is it possible to copy the VI from a previous version, rename it to "Open File in Default Program" and then use it in 2014?

[Darren]

Is it possible to copy the VI from a previous version, rename it to "Open File in Default Program" and then use it in 2014?

 

I don't think so, because I think the internal LV callback is what changed, I don't think the VI changed at all.

[Mellroth]

Is it possible to copy the VI from a previous version, rename it to "Open File in Default Program" and then use it in 2014?

 

On a specific platform - Maybe, but to get the platform independence NI has to maintain different versions for different platforms.

Different versions of OS'es could have different commands to open files/folders and I really prefer to have NI to do the work ;-)

[Darren]

Any plans for a new platform independent VI to do the action this VI used to do?

 

No plans at this time. I think your best bet is to have a VI that calls Open URL in Default Browser.vi on non-Windows, and makes a call to System Exec.vi (like in hooovahh's VI) on Windows.