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Opening the Internet Browser Programmatically

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17 Aug 2011CPOL 12.3K   1   3
If I remember correctly, then I had some issues with the above method some years ago. It would not always work on some systems.I personally use the following method to get the EXE path to the system's default browser:public static string GetDefaultBrowser(){ string browser =...
If I remember correctly, then I had some issues with the above method some years ago. It would not always work on some systems.

I personally use the following method to get the EXE path to the system's default browser:

C#
public static string GetDefaultBrowser()
{
    string browser = string.Empty;
    Microsoft.Win32.RegistryKey key = null;
    try
    {
	object obj = null;
	key = Microsoft.Win32.Registry.ClassesRoot.OpenSubKey(@"HTTP\shell\open\command", false);
	if (key != null)
	{
	    obj = key.GetValue(null);
	    if (obj != null)
	    {
		browser = Convert.ToString(obj);
	    }
	}

	if(string.IsNullOrEmpty(browser))
	{
	    key = Microsoft.Win32.Registry.LocalMachine.OpenSubKey(@"SOFTWARE\Classes\Applications\iexplore.exe\shell\open\command", false);

	    obj = key.GetValue(null);
	    if (obj != null)
	    {
		browser = Convert.ToString(obj);
	    }
	}

	if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(browser))
	{
	    //trim off quotes
	    browser = key.GetValue(null).ToString().ToLower().Replace("\"", "");
	    if (!browser.EndsWith("exe"))
	    {
		//get rid of everything after the ".exe"
		browser = browser.Substring(0, browser.LastIndexOf(".exe") + 4);
	    }

	    //Enable quotes again
	    browser = '"' + browser + '"';

	    return browser;
	}
    }
    catch
    {
	//noop
    }
    finally
    {
	if (key != null) key.Close();
    }

    return string.Empty;
}

License

This article, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Code Project Open License (CPOL)


Written By
Founder CWAIN
Denmark Denmark
I have a MCPD .NET 3.5 EAD and a Bsc in computer science, organizational theory and economics.
After more than 24 years working as professional system engineer, I founded the independent consultant agency CWAIN.

Comments and Discussions

 
GeneralIt is a good way for c#. My way is for beginners :) Pin
Caner Korkmaz18-Aug-11 21:17
Caner Korkmaz18-Aug-11 21:17 
GeneralGood point. I don't normally bother with this that much, as ... Pin
Michael B. Hansen17-Aug-11 23:08
Michael B. Hansen17-Aug-11 23:08 
GeneralThis approach would require you to have permissions to read ... Pin
Reiss17-Aug-11 22:44
professionalReiss17-Aug-11 22:44 

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