Re: html browser preview help

[ken <gebser@mousecar.com>]

Hey, it looks like you're almost there.

Go to the command prompt ("Start | Run | cmd"... something like that)
and try to get explorer to open a local html file.  From what you're
telling me something like:

> start iexplore.exe filename.html

should work.  I don't know... don't use explorer much.  There might be
an option to tell it to pop a new window and/or not to.

Seems to me that since your function is getting through to explorer but
it doesn't know it's supposed to open a particular file, you need to
change something in that "(concat ..." line.  For one thing, since
explorer doesn't use tabs (or does it?), take out the "-new-tab" stuff;
that's a firefox option.  You also have that string in the final "(setq
..." line.

Once you figure out how to get explorer to pop a window and load the
file you designate-- *from the command line*-- then you'll be closer to
getting a working emacs function.


hth,
ken


On 09/03/2009 04:42 PM rpd wrote:
> Hi ken-93
> 
> Thanks again for your helpful reply.
> I have tried to follow your advice & code but I still need some help.
> (BTW O/S=Vista & browser=InternetExplorer8)
> 
> To open internet explorer from the shell> start iexplore.exe
> 
> From this I edited your .emacs defun code to:
> 
> (defun browse-file-url-ie-new-tab (url &optional new-window) 
>   "Open the current file, the file associated with the current buffer, 
>  in a new IE tab." 
>   (interactive "i") 
>   (unless 
>       (string= "" 
>                (shell-command-to-string 
>                 (concat "start iexplore.exe" buffer-file-name 
> ", new-tab)'"))) 
>     (message "Opening in IE new tab: " buffer-file-name))) 
> (setq browse-url-browser-function 'browse-file-url-ie-new-tab) 
> 
> When I try this I get a browser to open at my homepage. 
> (I have tried to edit this in other ways but again with no success).
> 
> The code I have which opens my IE browser normally is:
> 
> (setq 
>  browse-url-browser-function 'browse-url-generic
>  browse-url-generic-program "C:\\Program Files\\Internet
> Explorer\\iexplore.exe")
> 
>  (setq gnus-button-url 'browse-url-generic
>  browse-url-generic-program "C:\\Program Files\\Internet
> Explorer\\iexplore.exe"
>  browse-url-browser-function gnus-button-url)
> 
> Any idea how I should proceed/what I can try to fix this please?
> Many thanks & best wishes
> 
> 
> 
> ken-93 wrote:
>>
>> I've been doing this for a long time in html-helper-mode so, yes, it can
>> be done.  I created my own function though... actually two of them: one
>> to open the current (html) buffer in a new tab (for displaying the html
>> file the first time) and another function to open that same current
>> buffer in the same tab (for displaying the html file subsequent times).
>>
>> You don't say which browser you want to do this with and, of course, the
>> emacs function is going to need to know this (unless you use an
>> environmental variable to designate it, in which case you'll need to
>> determine what that is).  In addition, you'll need to know which version
>> of that browser (whichever it is) you have.  I've been using firefox for
>> quite a time and often, when I upgrade it, the command for loading a url
>> into an existing tab or into a new tab changes; of course this means I
>> have to alter my emacs/html-helper-mode function.
>>
>> In short, the first thing to do is to find out what the commands work
>> from your shell to open a new- or a current-tab (or window, if that's
>> what you prefer) in your browser and give it a url.  Then, after you've
>> successfully done these from the cli, then plug these into an emacs
>> function.  The cli input which works for me to open a file in a new tab
>> is:
>>
>> /usr/bin/firefox -new-tab [url]
>>
>> Other commands work also.  Much depends on what your firefox defaults
>> are.  One configuration I have is to "open new urls in a new tab"; this
>> (for some silly reason) prevents me from opening a url in the current
>> firefox tab.  It didn't always do this; earlier Firefox versions had an
>> option to open a url in a current tab.  The lesson from this is that
>> what cli command you use is going to depend upon, not just which browser
>> you use, but also which *version* of that browser as well as what
>> preferences you've set for that browser/version.
>>
>> You also didn't say which OS you're using and that can of course play a
>> role in which command you'll plug into your emacs function.
>>
>> Anyway, once you figure out what command(s) do(es) what you want, plug
>> it into:
>>
>> ;;Works for opening a file in a new firefox tab
>> (defun browse-file-url-firefox-new-tab (url &optional new-window)
>>   "Open the current file, the file associated with the current buffer,
>>  in a new Firefox tab."
>>   (interactive "i")
>>   (unless
>>       (string= ""
>> 	       (shell-command-to-string
>> 		(concat "firefox -a firefox -remote 'openURL(file://" buffer-file-name
>> ", new-tab)'")))
>>     (message "Opening in Firefox new tab: " buffer-file-name)))
>> (setq browse-url-browser-function 'browse-file-url-firefox-new-tab)
>>
>> Just change the "(concat ..." line to reflect the cli command which
>> works for you.
>>
>> Since firefox (nonsensically) did away with a command-line option for
>> opening a url in a current tab, I now have to change focus to firefox
>> and reload the tab to show any editing I've done (in emacs) since
>> previously displaying it in firefox.
>>
>> (If anyone here has the ear of a firefox developer, tell them to gives
>> us back the "-current-tab" option.)
>>
>> hth,
>> ken
>>
>>
>> -- 
>> War is a failure of the imagination.
>>         --William Blake
>>
>>
>>
>> On 09/03/2009 06:47 AM rpd wrote:
>>> Hi
>>> Just encountered this problem previewing html editing in emacs.
>>> When I edit html (I have html-helper-mode file loaded) I want to preview
>>> it
>>> in my browser but cannot yet do so. If I use the 'html' menu item (load
>>> this
>>> buffer in browser) or C-c C-z v I just get browser opening at my homepage
>>> &
>>> not showing the html edit preview I want.
>>>
>>> Does anyone know why this is & can help me get my html emacs edit to
>>> preview
>>> in my browser?
>>>
>>> Again I am most grateful for helpful replies (Emacs is good isn't it?! -I
>>> just wish I could do what I want with it-but I will do it! LOL), many
>>> thanks
>>
>>
>>
>