5 ms·

Windows 10 does not respect the "default browser" setting when opening web-based content through apps. For example, clicking on "Help" links or search results f

Windows 10 does not respect the "default browser" setting when opening web-based content through apps. For example, clicking on "Help" links or search results from the start menu always opens in Edge. This seems far worse than their IE-bundling issue back in the day... at least users have a few web browsers to choose from, but what good is that when user preference is overridden?

thrill 5y ago
If Microsoft could ensure that the target browser would properly show the help documentation, then the complaint would hold more weight.
- anonymousab 5y ago
  If there's documentation that renders correctly in modern edge but is unusable in Chrome(ium) or Firefox then that would be useful to see. It's a valid concern but I'm fairly certain it's nowhere near the top reasons that they do this. They have a history of trying to shove users into Microsoft's unwanted browser against their (often informed) wishes.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
- dylan604 5y ago
  If Microsoft can't hire people to be able to design a webpage that renders in all web browsers, then they have fallen much further than I would have even made fun of them.
thow-01187 5y ago
Google does this even more egregiously with Android - my default browser is Firefox, but any links from Google News, Google Assistant and other Google software open in Chrome.
- delecti 5y ago
  There's a setting to change that. It shouldn't have to be a separate setting from the overall default browser, but at least it's relatively easy to change.
  - smichel17 5y ago
    Yep, Samsung camera will only open Samsung gallery, and will show a "Unable to find application to perform this action" toast if you uninstall it (via adb, because it can't be uninstalled via gui). Also it's the only app you can set to open by double tapping the home button, so you can't configure another camera application with the same ease of use.
- nitrogen 5y ago
  I wish Firefox provided two intents (does Android still call it that?), one for normal browsing and one for private browsing. Then any app that opens a link doesn't automatically get your active cookies from your main browser if you don't want it to.
  - Osiris 5y ago
    I use Firefox Focus as my default. It does this. No tabs, no cookies.
  - smichel17 5y ago
    Settings > Private browsing (under Privacy and security) > Open links in a private tab An alternative is to use Firefox Focus (Firefox Klar on F-Droid) as your default browser, then its "open in" feature if you want to make it a permanent session.
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
- squeaky-clean 5y ago
  They're doing a similar thing with the gmail app, at least on iOS. Practically everything now opens within gmail instead of the actual app. Google Meet links now open in gmail instead of Google Meet. I know they're both owned by the same company... but I don't want to give the gmail app microphone and video permissions.
Mixtape 5y ago
Microsoft adding promotional material for Edge above the search results for "Google Chrome" in Edge also further reinforces this.
pranau 5y ago
Apple does this as well on iOS where certain stock apps like Books always open links in Safari even when you have a different default browser set.
- jackson1442 5y ago
  Not an iOS developer but I wonder if using the default browser requires using a different intent than the former behavior of "always open safari" did. Books, to me, seems like one of the more neglected first-party apps so it honestly wouldn't surprise me if this is just something that's sitting in the P4 column. Only reason I assume this is all the Google apps on my phone bring up a sheet when I tap a link asking which browser I want to use-- with "system default" being one of the options. Really there's no excuse for this, it can't be too difficult to adapt system apps to fall in line with the expectations for third-party apps.
- jozzy-james 5y ago
  to be fair, there is nothing other than safari on iOS...despite the window dressing.
  - lights0123 5y ago
    Right, but other browsers have better behaviors to some people. For example, Safari's behavior of opening links as new tabs in the foreground is very annoying to me.
thiht 5y ago
Doesn't Apple do the same with Safari? On macOS I think Safari opens up sometimes even though my default browser is Firefox. Maybe when clicking links in Apple Mails? Not sure. It's funny how Apple gets away when doing the same thing or worse than Windows, yet Windows is always the one getting criticism. Like how Apple always try to enable Siri after an update. Or how managing when an update should be done is incredibly worse on macOS than on Windows.
- desert_boi 5y ago
  Almost certain that macOS opens everything in my default browser of choice when clicking on a link in AirMail (Firefox).
- ExtraE 5y ago
  Apple very recently added preferences for default browser/maps apps to iOS but as far as I can tell it’s totally broken. Resets all the time and only about 2/3rds of links open in the correct app even when it’s successfully set (especially for maps). Can’t speak to macOS. (The resetting may be fixed finally now, I’m not sure. I gave up for maps because it wasn’t worth it, which I guess was the goal). Windows forces you to use bing/edge when you accidentally search from the launch programs menu, but I never intentionally search from there so it’s a minor inconvenience (for me). Never had it fail to respect that setting elsewhere. It also does a good job letting you set default apps for all types of files (and in fact letting apps change that setting themselves with a little user interaction) unlike iOS which only lets you change it for a few types of apps (and then through the worst designed settings menu I’ve ever seen). Can’t leave iOS behind though because I need my iMessaging.
- kevinventullo 5y ago
  Apple is actually worse. On iOS I will regularly click a link within an app, explicitly select “Open in Chrome” from the list of options, and it opens in Safari. Never seen anything that egregious from Microsoft.
swiley 5y ago
Microsoft sounds like one of the worst companies participating in the "just ignore or overwrite user settings" trend.
lioeters 5y ago
That reminds me.. On macOS, the default application to open files with the .html extension is Safari, which I found is impossible to change. A tiny thing but it still makes me angry that someone at Apple intentionally removed my ability as a user.
- peteretep 5y ago
  > the default application to open files with the .html extension is Safari, which I found is impossible to change Do you have some more context? I have found this trivial to change...
- joshstrange 5y ago
  You might want to check again. I just checked and mine is set to (and works with) Chrome. Right click an HTML file and click "Get Info". Then look for the "Open With:" section and select your prefered browser. Then click the "Change All.." button. I just tested this with `echo "Hello World" > test.html` and then double-clicked it in Finder and it opened in Chrome.
  - vulcan01 5y ago
    Thanks for this tip! I have the opposite problem of GP; I installed Edge, and though it has never been my default browser, it's now the default browser for .html files... This fixed that issue.
  - lioeters 5y ago
    Huh, you're right - I just did what you described, and was able to change the default application for .html files. Weird! I could have sworn I did the same thing a few times, and it kept reverting back to Safari. Apparently this was an issue with the user, not the OS. My bad. EDIT: Actually, I remember now that I had to use duti to change this from the command line. https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/duti https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/duti
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

thrill 5y ago

If Microsoft could ensure that the target browser would properly show the help documentation, then the complaint would hold more weight.

anonymousab 5y ago
If there's documentation that renders correctly in modern edge but is unusable in Chrome(ium) or Firefox then that would be useful to see. It's a valid concern but I'm fairly certain it's nowhere near the top reasons that they do this. They have a history of trying to shove users into Microsoft's unwanted browser against their (often informed) wishes.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
dylan604 5y ago
If Microsoft can't hire people to be able to design a webpage that renders in all web browsers, then they have fallen much further than I would have even made fun of them.

thow-01187 5y ago

Google does this even more egregiously with Android - my default browser is Firefox, but any links from Google News, Google Assistant and other Google software open in Chrome.

delecti 5y ago
There's a setting to change that. It shouldn't have to be a separate setting from the overall default browser, but at least it's relatively easy to change.
- smichel17 5y ago
  Yep, Samsung camera will only open Samsung gallery, and will show a "Unable to find application to perform this action" toast if you uninstall it (via adb, because it can't be uninstalled via gui). Also it's the only app you can set to open by double tapping the home button, so you can't configure another camera application with the same ease of use.
nitrogen 5y ago
I wish Firefox provided two intents (does Android still call it that?), one for normal browsing and one for private browsing. Then any app that opens a link doesn't automatically get your active cookies from your main browser if you don't want it to.
- Osiris 5y ago
  I use Firefox Focus as my default. It does this. No tabs, no cookies.
- smichel17 5y ago
  Settings > Private browsing (under Privacy and security) > Open links in a private tab An alternative is to use Firefox Focus (Firefox Klar on F-Droid) as your default browser, then its "open in" feature if you want to make it a permanent session.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
squeaky-clean 5y ago
They're doing a similar thing with the gmail app, at least on iOS. Practically everything now opens within gmail instead of the actual app. Google Meet links now open in gmail instead of Google Meet. I know they're both owned by the same company... but I don't want to give the gmail app microphone and video permissions.

Mixtape 5y ago

Microsoft adding promotional material for Edge above the search results for "Google Chrome" in Edge also further reinforces this.

pranau 5y ago

Apple does this as well on iOS where certain stock apps like Books always open links in Safari even when you have a different default browser set.

jackson1442 5y ago
Not an iOS developer but I wonder if using the default browser requires using a different intent than the former behavior of "always open safari" did. Books, to me, seems like one of the more neglected first-party apps so it honestly wouldn't surprise me if this is just something that's sitting in the P4 column. Only reason I assume this is all the Google apps on my phone bring up a sheet when I tap a link asking which browser I want to use-- with "system default" being one of the options. Really there's no excuse for this, it can't be too difficult to adapt system apps to fall in line with the expectations for third-party apps.
jozzy-james 5y ago
to be fair, there is nothing other than safari on iOS...despite the window dressing.
- lights0123 5y ago
  Right, but other browsers have better behaviors to some people. For example, Safari's behavior of opening links as new tabs in the foreground is very annoying to me.

thiht 5y ago

Doesn't Apple do the same with Safari? On macOS I think Safari opens up sometimes even though my default browser is Firefox. Maybe when clicking links in Apple Mails? Not sure. It's funny how Apple gets away when doing the same thing or worse than Windows, yet Windows is always the one getting criticism. Like how Apple always try to enable Siri after an update. Or how managing when an update should be done is incredibly worse on macOS than on Windows.

desert_boi 5y ago
Almost certain that macOS opens everything in my default browser of choice when clicking on a link in AirMail (Firefox).
ExtraE 5y ago
Apple very recently added preferences for default browser/maps apps to iOS but as far as I can tell it’s totally broken. Resets all the time and only about 2/3rds of links open in the correct app even when it’s successfully set (especially for maps). Can’t speak to macOS. (The resetting may be fixed finally now, I’m not sure. I gave up for maps because it wasn’t worth it, which I guess was the goal). Windows forces you to use bing/edge when you accidentally search from the launch programs menu, but I never intentionally search from there so it’s a minor inconvenience (for me). Never had it fail to respect that setting elsewhere. It also does a good job letting you set default apps for all types of files (and in fact letting apps change that setting themselves with a little user interaction) unlike iOS which only lets you change it for a few types of apps (and then through the worst designed settings menu I’ve ever seen). Can’t leave iOS behind though because I need my iMessaging.
kevinventullo 5y ago
Apple is actually worse. On iOS I will regularly click a link within an app, explicitly select “Open in Chrome” from the list of options, and it opens in Safari. Never seen anything that egregious from Microsoft.

swiley 5y ago

Microsoft sounds like one of the worst companies participating in the "just ignore or overwrite user settings" trend.

lioeters 5y ago

That reminds me.. On macOS, the default application to open files with the .html extension is Safari, which I found is impossible to change. A tiny thing but it still makes me angry that someone at Apple intentionally removed my ability as a user.

peteretep 5y ago
> the default application to open files with the .html extension is Safari, which I found is impossible to change Do you have some more context? I have found this trivial to change...
joshstrange 5y ago
You might want to check again. I just checked and mine is set to (and works with) Chrome. Right click an HTML file and click "Get Info". Then look for the "Open With:" section and select your prefered browser. Then click the "Change All.." button. I just tested this with `echo "Hello World" > test.html` and then double-clicked it in Finder and it opened in Chrome.
- vulcan01 5y ago
  Thanks for this tip! I have the opposite problem of GP; I installed Edge, and though it has never been my default browser, it's now the default browser for .html files... This fixed that issue.
- lioeters 5y ago
  Huh, you're right - I just did what you described, and was able to change the default application for .html files. Weird! I could have sworn I did the same thing a few times, and it kept reverting back to Safari. Apparently this was an issue with the user, not the OS. My bad. EDIT: Actually, I remember now that I had to use duti to change this from the command line. https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/duti https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/duti

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]