Win95 - How to get programs to open your default web browser

[BenoitRen]

There's one side-effect to having an IE-free installation: programs don't open your default browser anymore. At least, not all of them.

To open desktop shortcuts, SHLWAPI.DLL is needed. I copied that from a cabinet file. The default web browser is specified in HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT, under the HTTP entry. SeaMonkey has set it correctly. I've done some research, and I find references to the ShellExecute API, which looks at the HTTP entry for web addresses. It's in shell32.dll. Okay.

The two programs that won't open my default web browser are AIM 4.8 and aMSN.

When clicking a link in AIM, it says that it can't find the application for tthe "http" protocol. I've run Dependancy Walker on it. It also uses an IE file called mswebapi.dll. I copied that over, but I still have the same issue.

Of course, you can specify the application in that dialog box. But that doesn't help at all. Clicking a link doesn't do anything after I do that.

aMSN plain doesn't do anything, and its configuration options for applications are weird. It works with a variable that holds the URL, placed after an application name. That didn't work. I placed the full path before the application. That didn't work either.

Does anyone have a clue as to what might be wrong, or what strange methods some programs use to open a link in your default web browser?

[eidenk]

Try to use Regmon to see what it does not find.

[BenoitRen]

Good suggestion! Okay, did that, and it looks like it didn't find a string called "URL Protocol" under the http key in HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT, and then closed it.

I added that key, and then it presents me with this:

2.45521045	Aim:FFF34515	OpenKey	HKCR\http	SUCCESS	hKey: 0xC1191630	
2.45526409	Aim:FFF34515	QueryValueEx	HKCR\http\URL Protocol	SUCCESS	""	
2.45530319	Aim:FFF34515	OpenKey	HKCR\http\shell\open\ddeexec\Application	NOTFOUND		
2.45541286	Aim:FFF34515	OpenKey	HKCR\http\shell\open\command	SUCCESS	hKey: 0xC11CF16C	
2.45546484	Aim:FFF34515	EnumValue	HKCR\http\shell\open\command	SUCCESS	: "C:\PROGRA~1\MOZILLA\SEAMON~1.EXE -url "%1""	
2.45667362	Aim:FFF34515	CloseKey	HKCR\http	SUCCESS		
2.45670724	Aim:FFF34515	CloseKey	HKCR\http\shell\open\command	SUCCESS		
2.45685291	Aim:FFF34515	OpenKey	HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\ShellExecuteHooks	NOTFOUND		
2.45953274	Aim:FFF34515	OpenKey	HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion	SUCCESS	hKey: 0xC11CF16C	
2.45958400	Aim:FFF34515	QueryValueEx	HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\SubVersionNumber	SUCCESS	20 43 0 	
2.45961452	Aim:FFF34515	CloseKey	HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion	SUCCESS

I tried to fill in the ddeexec keys it asked for, but with no success. I searched the Internet for documentation on it, without much luck. I found one file from the browser wars that presented a registry registration file to make IE the default browser, but in the end it didn't help.

Does anyone know the required structure? What I find the most interesting is this ShellExecuteHooks thing, I'll be looking for info on that. It might be the key.

[BenoitRen]

I found the required structure in HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT. Somehow SeaMonkey added the values there under strings that had the name of what the path should have been. So, the ddeexec stuff is covered. AIM is still looking for ShellExecuteHooks, though. I found out that usually shell32.dll is listed there along with a CLSID, but I need to have specific info.

Output is now:

2.60768318	Aim:FFF34515	OpenKey	HKCR\http	SUCCESS	hKey: 0xC11D8240	
2.60773754	Aim:FFF34515	QueryValueEx	HKCR\http\URL Protocol	SUCCESS	""	
2.60780811	Aim:FFF34515	OpenKey	HKCR\http\shell\open\ddeexec\Application	SUCCESS	hKey: 0xC11EE194	
2.60785437	Aim:FFF34515	EnumValue	HKCR\http\shell\open\ddeexec\Application	SUCCESS	: "SeaMonkey"	
2.60791612	Aim:FFF34515	OpenKey	HKCR\http\shell\open\command	SUCCESS	hKey: 0xC11EE53C	
2.60794878	Aim:FFF34515	EnumValue	HKCR\http\shell\open\command	MOREDATA		
2.60897517	Aim:FFF34515	CloseKey	HKCR\http	SUCCESS		
2.60900474	Aim:FFF34515	CloseKey	HKCR\http\shell\open\command	SUCCESS		
2.60903358	Aim:FFF34515	CloseKey	HKCR\http\shell\open\ddeexec\Application	SUCCESS		
2.60921764	Aim:FFF34515	OpenKey	HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\ShellExecuteHooks	SUCCESS	hKey: 0xC11EE194	
2.60925293	Aim:FFF34515	EnumValue	HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\ShellExecuteHooks	NOMORE		
2.60928488	Aim:FFF34515	CloseKey	HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\ShellExecuteHooks	SUCCESS		
2.61210728	Aim:FFF34515	OpenKey	HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion	SUCCESS	hKey: 0xC11EE194	
2.61215854	Aim:FFF34515	QueryValueEx	HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\SubVersionNumber	SUCCESS	20 43 0 	
2.61218882	Aim:FFF34515	CloseKey	HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion	SUCCESS

[BenoitRen]

I DID IT!

I read Nathan Lineback's couple of lines about this again, and saw that I needed URL.DLL. Then I learned through this page that URL.DLL is what should be listed in ShellExecuteHooks, and has to be registered as well: http://www.club.cc.cmu.edu/pub/gnu/windows...todo/browse-url

The problem then was finding out how to create a CLSID for URL.DLL, and any other values needed. But I didn't find information anywhere. I only found a reference to the fact that Netscape installs the ShellExecuteHooks value in the wrong places, that was already mentioned on the page I linked.

So, I installed Netscape 3, copied the ShellExecuteHooks reference to the proper one under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, and then it worked!

Now to clean all the mess Netscape 3 left in the registry after uninstallation...