Thorium

[Dave-H]

I'm not sure how to get that 'open with' context menu available on a link, but it certainly works fine with files in Windows Explorer.
However, if there is a link to a file (or a web address) in an e-mail in my e-mail program, clicking on that opens Thorium incorrectly.
The same happens with a link in a Word document or PDF file.

The environment variable doesn't need to be there in the INI file of course, I was just slavishly copying the original file!
The User Data folder path is of course in the switches.
I will remove the [Environment] section.

 

[AstroSkipper]

1 hour ago, Dave-H said:

I'm not sure how to get that 'open with' context menu available on a link

That's very simple. Perform a right-click on a link to be opened, click on the item "Select a programme" from the "Open with" context menu and point to your 360Loader! When done, an entry is automatically created and stored in the registry under the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Applications\360Loader.exe key. From now on, you have an entry in the "Open with" context menu for taking up links by the 360Loader. 

Edited August 6, 2024 by AstroSkipper
Update of content

[AstroSkipper]

17 minutes ago, Dave-H said:

The environment variable doesn't need to be there in the INI file of course, I was just slavishly copying the original file!
The User Data folder path is of course in the switches.
I will remove the [Environment] section.

Do not remove the [Environment] section! Simply set there your current profile path and replace the path D:\Program Files\Thorium\Chrome\User Data under the [FileToRun] section by your enviroment variable $Profile$. 

[AstroSkipper]

[Setup]
AppName=Thorium

[FileToRun]
PathToExe=.\Chrome\Application\$AppName$.exe
Parameters=--user-data-dir="$Profile$" --no-proxy-server /high-dpi-support=1 /force-device-scale-factor=1 --disable-component-update --use-angle=d3d9 --ignore-gpu-blocklist --single-argument

[Environment]
Profile=".\Chrome\User Data"

This is what I actually meant. 

PS: Think of the Space Bug! Can you still remember? 

Edited August 6, 2024 by AstroSkipper
Update of content

[AstroSkipper]

1 hour ago, AstroSkipper said:

That's very simple. Perform a right-click on a link to be opened, click on the item "Select a programme" from the "Open with" context menu and point to your 360Loader! When done, an entry is automatically created and stored in the registry under the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Applications\360Loader.exe key. From now on, you have an entry in the "Open with" context menu for taking up links by the 360Loader. 

1 hour ago, AstroSkipper said:

[Setup]
AppName=Thorium

[FileToRun]
PathToExe=.\Chrome\Application\$AppName$.exe
Parameters=--user-data-dir="$Profile$" --no-proxy-server /high-dpi-support=1 /force-device-scale-factor=1 --disable-component-update --use-angle=d3d9 --ignore-gpu-blocklist --single-argument

[Environment]
Profile=".\Chrome\User Data"

This is what I actually meant. 

I already modified the 360Loader.ini. I changed the name of both files to ThoriumLoader.exe and ThoriumLoader.ini and replaced the Icon Group of the ThoriumLoader.exe by the one from the thorium.exe. This modified loader works well to call up Thorium. And due to its separate ini file, the command line flags set by the user can be easily changed at any time.  Here is a screenshot taken from my current "Open with" context menu in Windows XP:

Everything I have written so far proves that Thorium can successfully take up and load a link via a command line call, initiated from the registry, when using a loader such as ThoriumLoader.

Cheers, AstroSkipper

Edited August 6, 2024 by AstroSkipper
Update of content

[Dave-H]

Thanks!
I am about to go away for a few days, so I will have to take this further when I get back on Thursday evening.
Cheers,
Dave.

[NotHereToPlayGames]

47 minutes ago, AstroSkipper said:

Think of the Space Bug!

[Dixel]

On 8/5/2024 at 11:01 AM, Dave-H said:

Done (I hope!)

Thank you! Very good.

On 8/5/2024 at 7:02 AM, AstroSkipper said:

Getting a BOSD without a minidump is very rare. Do you really have the creation of minidumps enabled in your system?  If so, maybe, the crash was so fast that the minidump couldn't be saved. But that's just an assumption. Besides this issue, we shouldn't forget that Thorium is still under development. I'm not surprised at all that BSODs happen, I'm literally expecting them.  That's why Thorium wouldn't become a default browser in my Windows XP system at the moment.  There are better alternatives for this purpose.

Yes, I do have them enabled. Windows made a MEMORY.DMP about 400mb, also it was able to create Report.wer, from this report I found out that Thorium has a conflict with Vista's generic KB driver!

For some reason Thorium uninstalls it! Then Windows reinstall sit with the error code 24, resulting in BSOD.

AppCrashView.exe by nirSoft was useless, it couldn't even open my Report.wer. I was shocked to discover an app from 2015 doesn't support drag-n-drop. Ridiculous since it's basically a txt file!

With the good ol' WinHex, suggested by @D.Draker, I got the job done.

AppName=Standard PS//2 Keyboard

AppPath=C:\Windows\System32\drvinst.exe

ReportDescription=Windows was able to successfully install device driver software, but the driver software encountered a problem when it tried to run. The problem code is 24.

 

[Dixel]

Update: trying to run with the flag --disable-usb-keyboard-detect. No issues, so far. The browser has been opened for two hours.

In all, I suggest to apply this flag anyways.

[Dave-H]

OK, I'm back again, and would like to solve this annoying problem with running Thorium from links in documents.
This is what I'm using in the loader INI file at the moment,

[Setup]
AppName=Thorium

[FileToRun]
PathToExe=.\Chrome\Application\$AppName$.exe
Parameters=--user-data-dir="D:\Program Files\Thorium\Chrome\User Data" --no-proxy-server /high-dpi-support=1 /force-device-scale-factor=1 --disable-component-update--use-angle=d3d9 --ignore-gpu-blocklist

[Environment]
Profile=.\Chrome\User Data

That works fine to run the browser with the correct parameters from a shortcut or command line, but not from a link in a document.

I remember @AstroSkipper you were saying something about using a different method of defining the User Data folder location?
I'm sorry, but I didn't really follow what you were suggesting.

[Dixel]

For all Chrome 100 and up, pretty standard.

--user-data-dir="..\data"

This will place the data in the root folder (The folder named Thorium, in this case)

Edit. The name data can be changed to whatever. User Data, if you want to.

Edited August 9, 2024 by Dixel

[AstroSkipper]

@Dave-H This is what you seem to be using in the loader INI file at the moment:

8 hours ago, Dave-H said:

[Setup]
AppName=Thorium

[FileToRun]
PathToExe=.\Chrome\Application\$AppName$.exe
Parameters=--user-data-dir="D:\Program Files\Thorium\Chrome\User Data" --no-proxy-server /high-dpi-support=1 /force-device-scale-factor=1 --disable-component-update--use-angle=d3d9 --ignore-gpu-blocklist

[Environment]
Profile=.\Chrome\User Data

Edit: There is a space in the string of your user data folder but the syntax of this INI file seems to allow that. BTW, I asked you:

On 8/6/2024 at 1:17 PM, AstroSkipper said:

PS: Think of the Space Bug! Can you still remember? 

You can first try this code if wanted:

[Setup]
AppName=Thorium

[FileToRun]
PathToExe=.\Chrome\Application\$AppName$.exe
Parameters=--user-data-dir="$Profile$" --no-proxy-server /high-dpi-support=1 /force-device-scale-factor=1 --disable-component-update --use-angle=d3d9 --ignore-gpu-blocklist --single-argument

[Environment]
Profile=.\Chrome\User Data

Edit: You defined the environment variable $Profile$, which you didn't use at all, though.  Generally, a better approach is to use a string without spaces as, for example, @Dixel suggested:

8 hours ago, Dixel said:

For all Chrome 100 and up, pretty standard.

--user-data-dir="..\data"

This will place the data in the root folder.

The string ..\data creates this folder in the root folder. If you want to create it relative to the folder where the loader is located, you have to replace that by .\data or in your case by .\chrome\data.
But all that is not the solution for opening a link in your browser from a document successfully. For this issue, you have to check all registry values that you've set for the Thorium browser. All of them should point to your loader. Check all file type associations in terms of browsers such as .htm, .html and so on! You can do that from the Control Panel via the app "Folder options". Did you use the two REG files inside the programme folder for registering Thorium?  Can you open a link from a PDF file in Thorium by left-clicking? 

Edited August 9, 2024 by AstroSkipper
Correction

[Dave-H]

Now I'm even more puzzled.

The reason why the Profile= line entry didn't have quotes around it was because it didn't have quotes around it in the original 360Loader INI file.

I've tried using your corrected code, and it doesn't work, Thorium runs but does not use the correct User Data folder, and creates a new one in D:\Program Files\Thorium\Chrome\Application\Default. It should be in D:\Program Files\Thorium\Chrome\User Data.

And I'm sorry but I have no idea what the 'Space Bug' refers to!
Sorry to be so thick.

[AstroSkipper]

1 hour ago, Dave-H said:

Now I'm even more puzzled.

The reason why the Profile= line entry didn't have quotes around it was because it didn't have quotes around it in the original 360Loader INI file.

I've tried using your corrected code, and it doesn't work, Thorium runs but does not use the correct User Data folder, and creates a new one in D:\Program Files\Thorium\Chrome\Application\Default. It should be in D:\Program Files\Thorium\Chrome\User Data.

And I'm sorry but I have no idea what the 'Space Bug' refers to!
Sorry to be so thick.

You are not thick. If at all, a little forgetful.  We had the problem back then in the beta test of my ProxHTTPSProxy package. I called the problem the "space bug". Search my proxy thread for "space bug"! Normally, if a space is inside a path, the string needs quotation marks when it comes to coding. Especially when using command line commands or programming batch files. Maybe, this loader allows such spaces when defining variables. Personally, I have no spaces in my user folder for Thorium. So, I have no problems with that. Long story short. Just remove the quotation marks in the line where the $Profile$ variable is defined! But what about my questions? 

Edited August 9, 2024 by AstroSkipper
Update of content

[Dave-H]

Ah, now I remember from the ProxHTTPSProxy testing!

I tend to always put quotes around paths if they have spaces in them simply out of habit as you have to in Windows Explorer command lines.
I've always assumed it's some ancient compatibility bug dating from DOS file names!
I have found cases before where putting quotes around things actually stops them working though, especially in INI files.

I've checked all the registry entries, and compared them with those in HKLM.reg and HKCR.reg supplied with Thorium, and all seems to match, other than the fact that I'm calling the loader, not Thorium.exe of course. All the file associations seem to be correct, and run Thorium correctly when used.

What is not working is running Thorium from embedded links in documents.
I can launch a PDF file, for instance, absolutely fine from the right click 'open with' dialogue, and it opens correctly in Thorium instead of my default PDF reader.

However, if I launch a PDF document in the PDF reader, containing links, and then click on one of the links in the document, which worked fine in 360Chrome, it opens Thorium incorrectly.
I get this -

And if I try to open a page, even an internal one like the settings page, I get this -

The registry entries which seem to determine what runs when a web link is licked, seem to be HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\http and HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\https.
If I put the 360Chrome run command in the shell\open\command entry, 360Chrome opens links fine.
If I put the Thorium loader command in the same place, it doesn't open Thorium properly.
I really cannot understand why.
I don't know how important the --single-argument switch is BTW.
I tried adding it, and it made no difference.