invoke-private-html-browser

Arguments: url-or-pathname &key box waiting-title

Displays a web page or file in a "private instance" of the user's default HTML browser. The first call to this function in a given Lisp (or standalone application) session will start up a new instance of the user's default browser (or a new window of a running instance of the default browser program). Successive calls will reuse that particular browser window as long as it is still open. (If it has been closed, then a new one is created again.)

Unlike invoke-html-browser, this function will never use a browser window that was not created by Lisp. This avoids covering unrelated browser content to which the user may want to return.

HTML browsers generally do not provide a standard way to invoke them that is guarranteed not to create a new browser window each time. The way that this function handles that is controlled by the invoke-web-browsers-with-keystrokes configuration option.

If this function believes that it successfully displayed the requested page, then true is returned, and otherwise nil is returned.

The box argument may be either nil or a box object (see make-box) that specifies the area on the screen that the browser window should occupy on this call. If nil, then either a new browser is created at its default position and size, or a running browser is used where it is already. If a box, then the browser window is resized and positioned at the requested box; the box should be in screen coordinates and is measured in pixels.

The waiting-title keyword argument may be either nil (the default) or a string to display in the title-bar of the browser window until it has finished displaying the requested page.

It is possible that this function will not work with a future version of one of the supported browsers if the the keystrokes that invoke a URL or filename change. In this situation, we will likely be able to make a patch to handle that situation.

See also private-html-browser-handle.

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This page was not revised from the 8.2 page.
Created 2012.5.30.