Opening URLs on Vista in your default browser

This is just a short tip for all users of twhirl who are on Windows Vista. If clicking a link in twhirl opens Internet Explorer, although ou did not configure it as your default browser, the following workaround from Adobe might help.

Go to Start > Default Programs > Set Program Access and Computer Defaults, expand Custom, select the radio button next to the application you want to set as the system-wide default browser (for example, Mozilla Firefox) and apply the setting.

from Adobe AIR 1.0 release notes

There’s no guarantee that this will work, but you should give it a try.

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You’re currently reading “Opening URLs on Vista in your default browser,” an entry on twhirl’s blog

Published:: 03.01.08 / 4pm

Category:: technical, twhirl

31 Comments

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Rick Mahn 03.01.08 / 5pm

I can attest to this tweak working. I’ve blogged about this a few days ago (Adobe AIR & Windows Vista) when I found it on Adobe’s site.

I’ve got it set to launch links into Firefox, and that is exactly what it does. Finally!

Regards,
Rick
Shey 03.02.08 / 9am

Sweet, worked for me too!

Thanks!
Mind Gravy » Blog Archive » links for 2008-03-07 03.07.08 / 4am

[…] twhirl’s blog » Blog Archive » Opening URLs on Vista in your default browser (tags: twitter) […]
KimW 03.07.08 / 8am

Now we just need a way to get urls to open in a Tab in Firefox based browsers
KimW 03.07.08 / 8am

Opps, meant to say
Now we just need a way to get urls to open in a Tab in Firefox based browsers in MacOSX

Soz
Blaspheme Bourne 03.10.08 / 12pm

Works! Much obliged…
stuart 03.11.08 / 5pm

Worked for me too - thanks, that was a pain.
Iris 03.14.08 / 4pm

Didn’t work for me. I’ve tried several times but can’t get URLs to stop firing up in IE.
Mom On The Run 03.27.08 / 4pm

Nice! It worked for me! Thanks for sharing this tip.

Visit me @ http://www.momontherun.net
melissa 03.30.08 / 6pm

I am a Mac user and can’t launch any of my twitter urls into my web browser. Instead it always launches dreamweaver software (webpage making software). Does anyone have a fix for this?
Alvin Ashcraft 03.31.08 / 3am

Thanks! That worked like a charm. Twhirl is great stuff.
Jeremy D Pavleck 04.01.08 / 12pm

Thanks for the how to on this, I was curious and finally decided to actually find a solution to stop it from opening in IE. I shall tell all the world of your greatness!
Jeff McNeill 04.04.08 / 8am

For Windows XP, try this:
1) click on link in Twhirl to open in IE
2) Tools > Internet Options > Programs, check the box “IE should check whether it is the default program
3) Repeat and when it checks, make IE the default
4) Next, uncheck the box in IE
5) Open Firefox, Tools > Options > Main > System default, click the Check Now button
6) Make Firefox the default

Should work! (I tried lots of other things first, but this one did the trick).

Cheers,
Jeff McNeill
http://jeffmcneill.com/
Lari Kirby 04.04.08 / 9am

Another solution that works is from http://twitter.com/MattFaulkner/statuses/782221827 - Start - Run - “firefox.exe -silent -setDefaultBrowser” - take off the “s and hit OK

I’m on Win XP and chose to run it from the command prompt instead of Start-Run, and I had to navigate to C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox in order for the system to find firefox.exe.

And this was after I had checked & the Firefox GUI reported that it already was the system default browser.

Twhirl is once again opening links in Firefox.
PS 04.08.08 / 11am

It worked like a charm. Thanks! =)
Robin 04.11.08 / 7am

For me I don’t get Mozilla/Firefox as an option to select when choosing my default browser (though it is the default browser on the machine). With Vista I get the choice;

Use current browser

Internet Explorer
Opera
Safari

Even if I set the default to alternative browser than Firefox, it still doesn’t appear as a menu choice.

Any suggestions?
Alexandre 04.16.08 / 6pm

It worked perfectly. I was getting mad at not being able to open Twhril links in a browser other than IE. After applying this tip, my links open flawlessly in Firefox. Thank you !!!!
NextInstinct 04.17.08 / 12pm

Yes, this is the obvious fix.
Except it dictates that setting as the browser globally on your machine. Sometimes, that’s not optimum.

Twhirl is working on a lot, at a fast and furious pace.
But a setting for that in the app itself would be a cool trick!

Thanks!
Geeky 04.17.08 / 9pm

@Jeff McNeill: Dude! it works like a charm Thx u sooo much!
Ryan Steele 04.18.08 / 5pm

For some reason, Firefox didn’t show up as an option under the list of browsers. Doing a reinstall of Firefox over top of the existing install fixed the problem.
Sprayfly» Blog Archive » Links in Twirl open in Internet Explorer, not in Firefox - A Solution 04.19.08 / 2am

[…] googling around for a while, I managed to find the below solution on twhirl’s blog which seemed to do the trick for […]
Jeremy Latham 04.22.08 / 8am

Thank you!
Mahmood 04.23.08 / 3am

Firefox not showing up in the Set Defaults section for me either. Only IE, Safari and Current Default. However, I reset Firefox as default through Firefox option settings (”Check Now”) and also used the command prompt provided above, namely “Start >> Run >> firefox.exe -silent -setDefaultBrowser. Now it’s working fine! Not sure which one did the trick but it’s working and that’s made me very happy
Not Pigeon Holed » Get twhirl to use flock as default browser 04.24.08 / 8am

[…] to twhirl’s blog, I finally got it to stop using IE as the default browser when clicking on the links. Be […]
Catnip » Blog Archive » links for 2008-05-04 05.03.08 / 10pm

[…] twhirl’s blog » Blog Archive » Opening URLs on Vista in your default browser (tags: twitter vista firefox) […]
Karri Saarinen 05.06.08 / 12am

Thx, worked for me aswell.
4f515814f674 05.09.08 / 8am

4f515814f674…

4f515814f67425381003…
Twitter, Twhirl, | Jo0Lz.nl ♥ Home of the Evil Genius! 05.15.08 / 9am

[…] Source: twhirl blog […]
FireMom 05.28.08 / 8am

Thank you. This was driving me batty.
Peter Horsman 06.05.08 / 4pm

Well I can’t get links to open in ANY browser. I click on the link and nothing happens. If I click on a user ID they’re details come up in Twhirl, but when I click on a posted link then nothing, nada, zip, zero…

Anyone have any suggestions on how I can fix this annoying glitch? Please drop me an email if so :o)
KindaGamey 06.13.08 / 6am

I was creating Flash movies locally and Explorer kept opening for navigatetoURL() statements instead of Firefox. I eventually found this page which mentioned the Vista Fix: Start - Default Programs - Set Program Access and Defaults. Firefox was not listed in there for me.

I want to add my eventual fix to the annals of history. Instead I went to ‘Associate a file type or program’ and listed the things by name to see what Explorer was still linked to. .url was the culprit. I changed that to explorer and wallah - problem fixed. The links even open up in a firefox tab now. Sweet.

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