On Browser-Particular URL Schemes
A URL Scheme is like “http://…” or “ftp://…”. These look like a really low-level idea that you simply don’t have a lot management over, however really, you do!
I’d name it non-trivial, however developers can register new URL schemes in apps that customers set up. Again in 2017, Microsoft Edge did this:
microsoft-edge://
For those who use that, the conduct is to open the URL in Microsoft Edge — even in the event you’ve chosen a unique default browser. So if I, as a blogger, wished to basically drive you to make use of Edge for this website, I may, by beginning each single URL with this URL scheme. I received’t, however I may. And so may Microsoft.
On the time, Daniel Aleksandersen wrote a program known as EdgeDefelector to bypass that conduct and explained:
I don’t hate Microsoft Edge — possibly you do! — however I do consider customers who’ve bothered to configure a unique default web browser ought to be allowed to maintain utilizing that default web browser.
This has come again into the general public eye a bit because the Courageous browser now helps the microsoft-edge://
URL scheme. Apparently, not solely does an app must register a URL scheme, however different apps that help clicks-on-links must honor it too. Firefox can also be thinking of adding it. I believe the danger of not supporting the URL scheme is that clicks on hyperlinks like that would do nothing as an alternative of truly opening the URL.
A number of the discuss is about Home windows 11. However right here on my Mac, I see this URL scheme do what it intends throughout all these browsers.




Daniel goes additional:
So, how did we get right here? Till the discharge of iOS model 14 in September 2020, you couldn’t change the default web browser on iPhones and iPads. Google has many apps for iOS, together with a shell for its Chrome browser. To tie all its apps collectively, Google launched a
googlechrome:
URL scheme in February 2014. It may use these hyperlinks to direct you from its Search or Mail app and over to Chrome as an alternative of Apple’s Safari browser.
Right here’s my iPhone 13 opening googlechrome://css-tricks.com
with and with out Google Chrome put in.


Looks as if that may be Google’s sin, however it’s apparently Apple that allowed it on iOS. Daniel as soon as extra:
The unique sin was Apple’s, however Microsoft is gulping the juice of the apple with gusto.
I’m not as boned up on all this as I ought to be, however I believe if I made software program that was concerned right here, I’d be tempted to intercept these URL schemes and have them open within the browser the person is already in. The web is the web, there ought to be no motive any given URL has to open in any particular browser.
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