Previewing in different browsers

**RichSc** · 25 March 2022, 03:06 PM

Hi,
Does anyone know to preview the webpage in different browsers. When I look at youtube vids etc Xara designer seems to have its own inbuilt browser where you can then select the different browsers to view it with.
My version doesn't have this, it just opens the microsoft edge browser (the default on my PC) and there doesn't seem to be any way to preview in e.g. Chrome.

does anyone know how to do it?
thanks
from
Richard

**Acorn** · 25 March 2022, 05:00 PM

Rich, welcome to TalkGraphics.

Xara replaced the old style Preview as it used a defunct Internet Explorer viewer.
Preview now opens in your default browser.

I engaged with Xara in https://www.talkgraphics.com/showthr...562#post631562 to no avail so you could build something I developed in that Thread.

To fire up MS Edge, you can precede the URL in the your browser address bar with "microsoft-edge:".
For the others, it is a copy & paste job.

As MS Edge is now chromium-based, checking in it might cover Chrome.
It is usually Firefox that has issues.

My personal solution has been to Export Locally where I have a local web server and I have Shortcuts in all my browsers to that location.
Messy but effective.

Acorn

**gwpriester** · 25 March 2022, 05:33 PM

Once you preview the site copy the URL from the browser, something like http://localhost:8000/virtecff27c8/index.htm

And then just paste this address into your installed browsers.

**RichSc** · 26 March 2022, 06:43 PM

Thanks for your answers. Can't understand how Xara can leave out an easy method to choose which browser you want to preview in.
Serif webplus which I used many years ago could do this!

**handrawn** · 26 March 2022, 06:54 PM

its probably more to do with Windows no longer allowing the IE API [as acorn referred to] - my guess is serif used the same

there may no longer be an easy way for a program to launch browsers other than windows edge [security an' all]

**gwpriester** · 26 March 2022, 08:47 PM

Xara used to do this as well until a few releases ago. Any installed browser showed up to select from. Steve is probably right.

**Boy** · 26 March 2022, 09:23 PM

Acorn shared a 'kludge' (as he called it) to restore the old IE web browser window with direct links to all other installed browsers. I prefer it and use in in XDP 19 -- as a matter of fact, the registry setting was automatically copied from v.18 into v.19 during installation.

Here's the link to his post from last June:
https://www.talkgraphics.com/showthr...911#post637911.

**Acorn** · 26 March 2022, 10:23 PM

Originally Posted by Boy

Acorn shared a 'kludge' (as he called it) to restore the old IE web browser window with direct links to all other installed browsers. I prefer it and use in in XDP 19 -- as a matter of fact, the registry setting was automatically copied from v.18 into v.19 during installation.
Here's the link to his post from last June: https://www.talkgraphics.com/showthr...911#post637911.

Boy, I hadn't expected that to still work.

Cheers.

Acorn

**handrawn** · 27 March 2022, 07:23 AM

'kludge' - workaround or quick-and-dirty solution that is clumsy, inelegant, inefficient, difficult to extend and hard to maintain. This term is used in diverse fields such as computer science, aerospace engineering, Internet slang, evolutionary neuroscience, and government. Wikipedia

- my emphasis

Acorn is suprised it still works; me too if it come to that, at least in the latest versions of windows.. I cannot see it lasting

Xara tends to follow 'good practice', for example it stopped 'kludging' bold and italic for text where those options were not included in the installed font; it is no longer good practice for a program to referrence the IE API, because of security issues, and I am sure that is why xara stopped doing it

I can only say that anyone still referrencing IE API in current [or for that matter previous] windows is not doing themselves any favours security-wise; this is why xara stopped doing it I am sure

**Boy** · 27 March 2022, 11:13 AM

Originally Posted by handrawn

'kludge' - workaround or quick-and-dirty solution that is clumsy, inelegant, inefficient, difficult to extend and hard to maintain. This term is used in diverse fields such as computer science, aerospace engineering, Internet slang, evolutionary neuroscience, and government. Wikipedia

- my emphasis

Acorn is suprised it still works; me too if it come to that, at least in the latest versions of windows.. I cannot see it lasting

Xara tends to follow 'good practice', for example it stopped 'kludging' bold and italic for text where those options were not included in the installed font; it is no longer good practice for a program to referrence the IE API, because of security issues, and I am sure that is why xara stopped doing it

I can only say that anyone still referrencing IE API in current [or for that matter previous] windows is not doing themselves any favours security-wise; this is why xara stopped doing it I am sure

First, I don’t see any immediate security issue with IE in this case because users would typically open it only to have easy, direct access to the current major browsers that are installed on their systems.

In addition -- if I recall correctly -- Xara replaced the preview browser with users’ default browsers only after Acorn had strongly advocated for replacing defunct IE. Earlier requests were all ignored but Xara must have realized that they really had to act. Unfortunately, it didn’t supply direct access to the other installed browsers anymore. A rather cheap and unsatisfactory solution, so Acorn offered a simple way back to the old setup, in the hope, I’m sure, that Xara would supply a more elegant and user-friendly approach, one we’re still waiting for.

Acorn, please correct me if my memory is failing me….

In terms of what the future will bring, I defer to you as our in-house pundit. 😊