open Browser iexplore

[holger_sanchez]

Hi @ all
I want to open iexplorer from Jacva Runtime. I have tried to do Runtime.getRuntime().exec("iexplore.exe -k") but that does not work
Exception: Could not invoke browser, command=iexplore.exe -k
what can i do because i need to show an web site in fullscreen but i have to start the browser from a java programm
Please help me

[Dan Maples1]

hi, I had a similar problem a while ago, check this thread out, be sure to check out what Dirk posted, his solution was very helpfull.
[ May 23, 2005: Message edited by: Dan Maples1 ]

[holger_sanchez]

Thanks for your answer
but i could not Download chapter 2
could you post the sourcecode please
I'm very thankful

[Deepak Shah]

Following works for me:

  
 
Runtime rt = Runtime.getRuntime();
Process p = rt.exec("C:/Program Files/Internet Explorer/IEXPLORE.EXE");
System.out.println("P:"+p);
p.waitFor();
 
System.out.println("P Now:"+p); 

This piece of code is what I have saved for a while ( I needed it for something). You can get the process id in return. Please check documentation what p.waitfor() does ( I don't recall it now)

Hope this helps

www.indianuncle.com

[holger_sanchez]

I get an Exception

Could not invoke browser, command=iexplore.exe
Are there other posibilities ??
Thanks for your support

[fred rosenberger]

Dear question1,

You will probably be asked soon by a moderator to change your display name to ahere to the naming policy of the ranch. You can change your name here.

Now, if you post your code and the exact text of the error message, we'll try to help you more. Please be sure to surround your code with the code tags - you can get them from that nifty button just below the 'add post' button.

thanks!
[ May 23, 2005: Message edited by: fred rosenberger ]

[Dan Maples]

This is what I used. This opens the default browser of the system instead of a specific instance of internet explorer. If you ever plan to run your code on another machine, I would highly recomend using this.

-Dan

package edu.stanford.ejalbert;
 
import java.io.File;
import java.io.FileNotFoundException;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.lang.reflect.Constructor;
import java.lang.reflect.Field;
import java.lang.reflect.InvocationTargetException;
import java.lang.reflect.Method;
 
/**
 * BrowserLauncher is a class that provides one static method, openURL, which opens the default
 * web browser for the current user of the system to the given URL.  It may support other
 * protocols depending on the system -- mailto, ftp, etc. -- but that has not been rigorously
 * tested and is not guaranteed to work.
 * <p>
 * Yes, this is platform-specific code, and yes, it may rely on classes on certain platforms
 * that are not part of the standard JDK.  What we're trying to do, though, is to take something
 * that's frequently desirable but inherently platform-specific -- opening a default browser --
 * and allow programmers (you, for example) to do so without worrying about dropping into native
 * code or doing anything else similarly evil.
 * <p>
 * Anyway, this code is completely in Java and will run on all JDK 1.1-compliant systems without
 * modification or a need for additional libraries.  All classes that are required on certain
 * platforms to allow this to run are dynamically loaded at runtime via reflection and, if not
 * found, will not cause this to do anything other than returning an error when opening the
 * browser.
 * <p>
 * There are certain system requirements for this class, as it's running through Runtime.exec(),
 * which is Java's way of making a native system call.  Currently, this requires that a Macintosh
 * have a Finder which supports the GURL event, which is true for Mac OS 8.0 and 8.1 systems that
 * have the Internet Scripting AppleScript dictionary installed in the Scripting Additions folder
 * in the Extensions folder (which is installed by default as far as I know under Mac OS 8.0 and
 * 8.1), and for all Mac OS 8.5 and later systems.  On Windows, it only runs under Win32 systems
 * (Windows 95, 98, and NT 4.0, as well as later versions of all).  On other systems, this drops
 * back from the inherently platform-sensitive concept of a default browser and simply attempts
 * to launch Netscape via a shell command.
 * <p>
 * This code is Copyright 1999-2001 by Eric Albert ([e-mail]) and may be
 * redistributed or modified in any form without restrictions as long as the portion of this
 * comment from this paragraph through the end of the comment is not removed.  The author
 * requests that he be notified of any application, applet, or other binary that makes use of
 * this code, but that's more out of curiosity than anything and is not required.  This software
 * includes no warranty.  The author is not repsonsible for any loss of data or functionality
 * or any adverse or unexpected effects of using this software.
 * <p>
 * Credits:
 * <br>Steven Spencer, JavaWorld magazine (<a href="http://www.javaworld.com/javaworld/javatips/jw-javatip66.html">Java Tip 66</a> :wink: 
 * <br>Thanks also to Ron B. Yeh, Eric Shapiro, Ben Engber, Paul Teitlebaum, Andrea Cantatore,
 * Larry Barowski, Trevor Bedzek, Frank Miedrich, and Ron Rabakukk
 *
 * @author Eric Albert (<a href="mailto:[e-mail]">[e-mail]</a> :wink: 
 * @version 1.4b1 (Released June 20, 2001)
 */
public class BrowserLauncher {
 
/**
 * The Java virtual machine that we are running on.  Actually, in most cases we only care
 * about the operating system, but some operating systems require us to switch on the VM. */
private static int jvm;
 
/** The browser for the system */
private static Object browser;
 
/**
 * Caches whether any classes, methods, and fields that are not part of the JDK and need to
 * be dynamically loaded at runtime loaded successfully.
 * <p>
 * Note that if this is <code>false</code>, <code>openURL()</code> will always return an
 * IOException.
 */
private static boolean loadedWithoutErrors;
 
/** The com.apple.mrj.MRJFileUtils class */
private static Class mrjFileUtilsClass;
 
/** The com.apple.mrj.MRJOSType class */
private static Class mrjOSTypeClass;
 
/** The com.apple.MacOS.AEDesc class */
private static Class aeDescClass;

/** The <init>(int) method of com.apple.MacOS.AETarget */
private static Constructor aeTargetConstructor;

/** The <init>(int, int, int) method of com.apple.MacOS.AppleEvent */
private static Constructor appleEventConstructor;

/** The <init>(String) method of com.apple.MacOS.AEDesc */
private static Constructor aeDescConstructor;

/** The findFolder method of com.apple.mrj.MRJFileUtils */
private static Method findFolder;
 
/** The getFileCreator method of com.apple.mrj.MRJFileUtils */
private static Method getFileCreator;

/** The getFileType method of com.apple.mrj.MRJFileUtils */
private static Method getFileType;

/** The openURL method of com.apple.mrj.MRJFileUtils */
private static Method openURL;

/** The makeOSType method of com.apple.MacOS.OSUtils */
private static Method makeOSType;

/** The putParameter method of com.apple.MacOS.AppleEvent */
private static Method putParameter;

/** The sendNoReply method of com.apple.MacOS.AppleEvent */
private static Method sendNoReply;

/** Actually an MRJOSType pointing to the System Folder on a Macintosh */
private static Object kSystemFolderType;
 
/** The keyDirectObject AppleEvent parameter type */
private static Integer keyDirectObject;
 
/** The kAutoGenerateReturnID AppleEvent code */
private static Integer kAutoGenerateReturnID;

/** The kAnyTransactionID AppleEvent code */
private static Integer kAnyTransactionID;
 
/** The linkage object required for JDirect 3 on Mac OS X. */
private static Object linkage;

/** The framework to reference on Mac OS X */
private static final String JDirect_MacOSX = "/System/Library/Frameworks/Carbon.framework/Frameworks/HIToolbox.framework/HIToolbox";
 
/** JVM constant for MRJ 2.0 */
private static final int MRJ_2_0 = 0;

/** JVM constant for MRJ 2.1 or later */
private static final int MRJ_2_1 = 1;
 
/** JVM constant for Java on Mac OS X 10.0 (MRJ 3.0) */
private static final int MRJ_3_0 = 3;

/** JVM constant for MRJ 3.1 */
private static final int MRJ_3_1 = 4;
 
/** JVM constant for any Windows NT JVM */
private static final int WINDOWS_NT = 5;

/** JVM constant for any Windows 9x JVM */
private static final int WINDOWS_9x = 6;
 
/** JVM constant for any other platform */
private static final int OTHER = -1;
 
/**
 * The file type of the Finder on a Macintosh.  Hardcoding "Finder" would keep non-U.S. English
 * systems from working properly.
 */
private static final String FINDER_TYPE = "FNDR";
 
/**
 * The creator code of the Finder on a Macintosh, which is needed to send AppleEvents to the
 * application.
 */
private static final String FINDER_CREATOR = "MACS";
 
/** The name for the AppleEvent type corresponding to a GetURL event. */
private static final String GURL_EVENT = "GURL";
 
/**
 * The first parameter that needs to be passed into Runtime.exec() to open the default web
 * browser on Windows.
 */
    private static final String FIRST_WINDOWS_PARAMETER = "/c";
    
    /** The second parameter for Runtime.exec() on Windows. */
    private static final String SECOND_WINDOWS_PARAMETER = "start";
    
    /**
     * The third parameter for Runtime.exec() on Windows.  This is a "title"
     * parameter that the command line expects.  Setting this parameter allows
     * URLs containing spaces to work.
     */
    private static final String THIRD_WINDOWS_PARAMETER = "\"\"";

/**
 * The shell parameters for Netscape that opens a given URL in an already-open copy of Netscape
 * on many command-line systems.
 */
private static final String NETSCAPE_REMOTE_PARAMETER = "-remote";
private static final String NETSCAPE_OPEN_PARAMETER_START = "'openURL(";
private static final String NETSCAPE_OPEN_PARAMETER_END = ")'";

/**
 * The message from any exception thrown throughout the initialization process.
 */
private static String errorMessage;
 
/**
 * An initialization block that determines the operating system and loads the necessary
 * runtime data.
 */
static {
loadedWithoutErrors = true;
String osName = System.getProperty("os.name");
if (osName.startsWith("Mac OS")) {
String mrjVersion = System.getProperty("mrj.version");
String majorMRJVersion = mrjVersion.substring(0, 3);
try {
double version = Double.valueOf(majorMRJVersion).doubleValue();
if (version == 2) {
jvm = MRJ_2_0;
} else if (version >= 2.1 && version < 3) {
// Assume that all 2.x versions of MRJ work the same.  MRJ 2.1 actually
// works via Runtime.exec() and 2.2 supports that but has an openURL() method
// as well that we currently ignore.
jvm = MRJ_2_1;
} else if (version == 3.0) {
jvm = MRJ_3_0;
} else if (version >= 3.1) {
// Assume that all 3.1 and later versions of MRJ work the same.
jvm = MRJ_3_1;
} else {
loadedWithoutErrors = false;
errorMessage = "Unsupported MRJ version: " + version;
}
} catch (NumberFormatException nfe) {
loadedWithoutErrors = false;
errorMessage = "Invalid MRJ version: " + mrjVersion;
}
} else if (osName.startsWith("Windows")) {
if (osName.indexOf("9") != -1) {
jvm = WINDOWS_9x;
} else {
jvm = WINDOWS_NT;
}
} else {
jvm = OTHER;
}

if (loadedWithoutErrors) {// if we haven't hit any errors yet
loadedWithoutErrors = loadClasses();
}
}
 
/**
 * This class should be never be instantiated; this just ensures so.
 */
private BrowserLauncher() { }

/**
 * Called by a static initializer to load any classes, fields, and methods required at runtime
 * to locate the user's web browser.
 * @return <code>true</code> if all intialization succeeded
 *<code>false</code> if any portion of the initialization failed
 */
private static boolean loadClasses() {
switch (jvm) {
case MRJ_2_0:
try {
Class aeTargetClass = Class.forName("com.apple.MacOS.AETarget");
Class osUtilsClass = Class.forName("com.apple.MacOS.OSUtils");
Class appleEventClass = Class.forName("com.apple.MacOS.AppleEvent");
Class aeClass = Class.forName("com.apple.MacOS.ae");
aeDescClass = Class.forName("com.apple.MacOS.AEDesc");
 
aeTargetConstructor = aeTargetClass.getDeclaredConstructor(new Class [] { int.class });
appleEventConstructor = appleEventClass.getDeclaredConstructor(new Class[] { int.class, int.class, aeTargetClass, int.class, int.class });
aeDescConstructor = aeDescClass.getDeclaredConstructor(new Class[] { String.class });
 
makeOSType = osUtilsClass.getDeclaredMethod("makeOSType", new Class [] { String.class });
putParameter = appleEventClass.getDeclaredMethod("putParameter", new Class[] { int.class, aeDescClass });
sendNoReply = appleEventClass.getDeclaredMethod("sendNoReply", new Class[] { });
 
Field keyDirectObjectField = aeClass.getDeclaredField("keyDirectObject");
keyDirectObject = (Integer) keyDirectObjectField.get(null);
Field autoGenerateReturnIDField = appleEventClass.getDeclaredField("kAutoGenerateReturnID");
kAutoGenerateReturnID = (Integer) autoGenerateReturnIDField.get(null);
Field anyTransactionIDField = appleEventClass.getDeclaredField("kAnyTransactionID");
kAnyTransactionID = (Integer) anyTransactionIDField.get(null);
} catch (ClassNotFoundException cnfe) {
errorMessage = cnfe.getMessage();
return false;
} catch (NoSuchMethodException nsme) {
errorMessage = nsme.getMessage();
return false;
} catch (NoSuchFieldException nsfe) {
errorMessage = nsfe.getMessage();
return false;
} catch (IllegalAccessException iae) {
errorMessage = iae.getMessage();
return false;
}
break;
case MRJ_2_1:
try {
mrjFileUtilsClass = Class.forName("com.apple.mrj.MRJFileUtils");
mrjOSTypeClass = Class.forName("com.apple.mrj.MRJOSType");
Field systemFolderField = mrjFileUtilsClass.getDeclaredField("kSystemFolderType");
kSystemFolderType = systemFolderField.get(null);
findFolder = mrjFileUtilsClass.getDeclaredMethod("findFolder", new Class[] { mrjOSTypeClass });
getFileCreator = mrjFileUtilsClass.getDeclaredMethod("getFileCreator", new Class[] { File.class });
getFileType = mrjFileUtilsClass.getDeclaredMethod("getFileType", new Class[] { File.class });
} catch (ClassNotFoundException cnfe) {
errorMessage = cnfe.getMessage();
return false;
} catch (NoSuchFieldException nsfe) {
errorMessage = nsfe.getMessage();
return false;
} catch (NoSuchMethodException nsme) {
errorMessage = nsme.getMessage();
return false;
} catch (SecurityException se) {
errorMessage = se.getMessage();
return false;
} catch (IllegalAccessException iae) {
errorMessage = iae.getMessage();
return false;
}
break;
case MRJ_3_0:
    try {
Class linker = Class.forName("com.apple.mrj.jdirect.Linker");
Constructor constructor = linker.getConstructor(new Class[]{ Class.class });
linkage = constructor.newInstance(new Object[] { BrowserLauncher.class });
} catch (ClassNotFoundException cnfe) {
errorMessage = cnfe.getMessage();
return false;
} catch (NoSuchMethodException nsme) {
errorMessage = nsme.getMessage();
return false;
} catch (InvocationTargetException ite) {
errorMessage = ite.getMessage();
return false;
} catch (InstantiationException ie) {
errorMessage = ie.getMessage();
return false;
} catch (IllegalAccessException iae) {
errorMessage = iae.getMessage();
return false;
}
break;
case MRJ_3_1:
try {
mrjFileUtilsClass = Class.forName("com.apple.mrj.MRJFileUtils");
openURL = mrjFileUtilsClass.getDeclaredMethod("openURL", new Class[] { String.class });
} catch (ClassNotFoundException cnfe) {
errorMessage = cnfe.getMessage();
return false;
} catch (NoSuchMethodException nsme) {
errorMessage = nsme.getMessage();
return false;
}
break;
default:
    break;
}
return true;
}
 
/**
 * Attempts to locate the default web browser on the local system.  Caches results so it
 * only locates the browser once for each use of this class per JVM instance.
 * @return The browser for the system.  Note that this may not be what you would consider
 *to be a standard web browser; instead, it's the application that gets called to
 *open the default web browser.  In some cases, this will be a non-String object
 *that provides the means of calling the default browser.
 */
private static Object locateBrowser() {
if (browser != null) {
return browser;
}
switch (jvm) {
case MRJ_2_0:
try {
Integer finderCreatorCode = (Integer) makeOSType.invoke(null, new Object[] { FINDER_CREATOR });
Object aeTarget = aeTargetConstructor.newInstance(new Object[] { finderCreatorCode });
Integer gurlType = (Integer) makeOSType.invoke(null, new Object[] { GURL_EVENT });
Object appleEvent = appleEventConstructor.newInstance(new Object[] { gurlType, gurlType, aeTarget, kAutoGenerateReturnID, kAnyTransactionID });
// Don't set browser = appleEvent because then the next time we call
// locateBrowser(), we'll get the same AppleEvent, to which we'll already have
// added the relevant parameter. Instead, regenerate the AppleEvent every time.
// There's probably a way to do this better; if any has any ideas, please let
// me know.
return appleEvent;
} catch (IllegalAccessException iae) {
browser = null;
errorMessage = iae.getMessage();
return browser;
} catch (InstantiationException ie) {
browser = null;
errorMessage = ie.getMessage();
return browser;
} catch (InvocationTargetException ite) {
browser = null;
errorMessage = ite.getMessage();
return browser;
}
case MRJ_2_1:
File systemFolder;
try {
systemFolder = (File) findFolder.invoke(null, new Object[] { kSystemFolderType });
} catch (IllegalArgumentException iare) {
browser = null;
errorMessage = iare.getMessage();
return browser;
} catch (IllegalAccessException iae) {
browser = null;
errorMessage = iae.getMessage();
return browser;
} catch (InvocationTargetException ite) {
browser = null;
errorMessage = ite.getTargetException().getClass() + ": " + ite.getTargetException().getMessage();
return browser;
}
String[] systemFolderFiles = systemFolder.list();
// Avoid a FilenameFilter because that can't be stopped mid-list
for(int i = 0; i < systemFolderFiles.length; i++) {
try {
File file = new File(systemFolder, systemFolderFiles[i]);
if (!file.isFile()) {
continue;
}
// We're looking for a file with a creator code of 'MACS' and
// a type of 'FNDR'.  Only requiring the type results in non-Finder
// applications being picked up on certain Mac OS 9 systems,
// especially German ones, and sending a GURL event to those
// applications results in a logout under Multiple Users.
Object fileType = getFileType.invoke(null, new Object[] { file });
if (FINDER_TYPE.equals(fileType.toString())) {
Object fileCreator = getFileCreator.invoke(null, new Object[] { file });
if (FINDER_CREATOR.equals(fileCreator.toString())) {
browser = file.toString();// Actually the Finder, but that's OK
return browser;
}
}
} catch (IllegalArgumentException iare) {
browser = browser;
errorMessage = iare.getMessage();
return null;
} catch (IllegalAccessException iae) {
browser = null;
errorMessage = iae.getMessage();
return browser;
} catch (InvocationTargetException ite) {
browser = null;
errorMessage = ite.getTargetException().getClass() + ": " + ite.getTargetException().getMessage();
return browser;
}
}
browser = null;
break;
case MRJ_3_0:
case MRJ_3_1:
browser = "";// Return something non-null
break;
case WINDOWS_NT:
browser = "cmd.exe";
break;
case WINDOWS_9x:
browser = "command.com";
break;
case OTHER:
default:
browser = "netscape";
break;
}
return browser;
}
 
/**
 * Attempts to open the default web browser to the given URL.
 * @param url The URL to open
 * @throws IOException If the web browser could not be located or does not run
 */
public static void openURL(String url) throws IOException {
if (!loadedWithoutErrors) {
throw new IOException("Exception in finding browser: " + errorMessage);
}
Object browser = locateBrowser();
if (browser == null) {
throw new IOException("Unable to locate browser: " + errorMessage);
}

switch (jvm) {
case MRJ_2_0:
Object aeDesc = null;
try {
aeDesc = aeDescConstructor.newInstance(new Object[] { url });
putParameter.invoke(browser, new Object[] { keyDirectObject, aeDesc });
sendNoReply.invoke(browser, new Object[] { });
} catch (InvocationTargetException ite) {
throw new IOException("InvocationTargetException while creating AEDesc: " + ite.getMessage());
} catch (IllegalAccessException iae) {
throw new IOException("IllegalAccessException while building AppleEvent: " + iae.getMessage());
} catch (InstantiationException ie) {
throw new IOException("InstantiationException while creating AEDesc: " + ie.getMessage());
} finally {
aeDesc = null;// Encourage it to get disposed if it was created
browser = null;// Ditto
}
break;
case MRJ_2_1:
Runtime.getRuntime().exec(new String[] { (String) browser, url } );
break;
case MRJ_3_0:
int[] instance = new int[1];
int result = ICStart(instance, 0);
if (result == 0) {
int[] selectionStart = new int[] { 0 };
byte[] urlBytes = url.getBytes();
int[] selectionEnd = new int[] { urlBytes.length };
result = ICLaunchURL(instance[0], new byte[] { 0 }, urlBytes,
urlBytes.length, selectionStart,
selectionEnd);
if (result == 0) {
// Ignore the return value; the URL was launched successfully
// regardless of what happens here.
ICStop(instance);
} else {
throw new IOException("Unable to launch URL: " + result);
}
} else {
throw new IOException("Unable to create an Internet Config instance: " + result);
}
break;
case MRJ_3_1:
try {
openURL.invoke(null, new Object[] { url });
} catch (InvocationTargetException ite) {
throw new IOException("InvocationTargetException while calling openURL: " + ite.getMessage());
} catch (IllegalAccessException iae) {
throw new IOException("IllegalAccessException while calling openURL: " + iae.getMessage());
}
break;
    case WINDOWS_NT:
    case WINDOWS_9x:
    // Add quotes around the URL to allow ampersands and other special
    // characters to work.
Process process = Runtime.getRuntime().exec(new String[] { (String) browser,
FIRST_WINDOWS_PARAMETER,
SECOND_WINDOWS_PARAMETER,
THIRD_WINDOWS_PARAMETER,
'"' + url + '"' });
// This avoids a memory leak on some versions of Java on Windows.
// That's hinted at in <http://developer.java.sun.com/developer/qow/archive/68/>.
try {
process.waitFor();
process.exitValue();
} catch (InterruptedException ie) {
throw new IOException("InterruptedException while launching browser: " + ie.getMessage());
}
break;
case OTHER:
// Assume that we're on Unix and that Netscape is installed

// First, attempt to open the URL in a currently running session of Netscape
process = Runtime.getRuntime().exec(new String[] { (String) browser,
NETSCAPE_REMOTE_PARAMETER,
NETSCAPE_OPEN_PARAMETER_START +
url +
NETSCAPE_OPEN_PARAMETER_END });
try {
int exitCode = process.waitFor();
if (exitCode != 0) {// if Netscape was not open
Runtime.getRuntime().exec(new String[] { (String) browser, url });
}
} catch (InterruptedException ie) {
throw new IOException("InterruptedException while launching browser: " + ie.getMessage());
}
break;
default:
// This should never occur, but if it does, we'll try the simplest thing possible
Runtime.getRuntime().exec(new String[] { (String) browser, url });
break;
}
}
 
/**
 * Methods required for Mac OS X.  The presence of native methods does not cause
 * any problems on other platforms.
 */
private native static int ICStart(int[] instance, int signature);
private native static int ICStop(int[] instance);
private native static int ICLaunchURL(int instance, byte[] hint, byte[] data, int len,
int[] selectionStart, int[] selectionEnd);
}