[SOLVED] Make Google Chrome a default browser

[vistad]

In LM13 Mate I went to the Control Center and in Preferred Apps indicated Google Chrome as my default browser. Now when click on a link in Thunderbird, Firefox keeps popping up... Guys, please advise.

[bluefish]

Hi,
maybe that helps you... I don't tried but it looks promising http://forums.opensuse.org/english/get- ... hrome.html

[cwsnyder]

Specifically, in the thread, it links to http://kb.mozillazine.org/Setting_Your_Default_Browser . Thunderbird has its own default browser setting.

Setting the browser that opens in Thunderbird - Linux
If you are unable to launch Firefox (or another Mozilla browser) from URL links in a Thunderbird mail message, or if you want to change the browser that is launched, add the following lines to the user.js file, located in your Thunderbird profile folder (you may need to create the user.js file). Change the path of the Firefox executable, if yours is not /usr/bin/firefox. [9] [10]
user_pref("network.protocol-handler.app.http", "/usr/bin/firefox");
user_pref("network.protocol-handler.app.https", "/usr/bin/firefox");
user_pref("network.protocol-handler.app.ftp", "/usr/bin/firefox");
Note: You can also use about:config to set these preferences. See Register protocol and network.protocol-handler.app.(protocol) for more information.
If you are still unable to change the browser after modifying these settings, editing the mimeTypes.rdf file, also located in your Profile folder, can fix the problem. Simply use a text editor to search for all references to the browser that links are currently opening in and replace them with references to the browser that you would like links to open in.
If there are no references to browsers to be replaced in the mimeTypes.rdf file, then adding some new sections to this file can fix the problem. Rather than directly editing the file, you can get Thunderbird to automatically add the required sections as follows:
Navigate to "Edit --> Preferences --> Advanced" in the Thunderbird menus and click on the "Config Editor" button.
Search for the following three entries:
network.protocol-handler.warn-external.http
network.protocol-handler.warn-external.https
network.protocol-handler.warn-external.ftp
Set the value of each of these three entries to true (you can do this by double-clicking on each entry, then close the "about:config" window and click "OK" on the "Thunderbird Preferences" window).
Having completed these steps, the next time you click on an http, https or ftp link in Thunderbird, you will be presented with the "Launch Application" window. Press the "Choose" button on this window to select your browser of choice. This will add the required entry to the mimeTypes.rdf file. This is a one-time task; having selected the browser once, links of the same type will now always be opened with the selected browser.

[DrHu]

I don't think there really should be any default browser, it only appears that way because the installation set includes a particular browser
--but the default is the user's choice after the initial install, if they prefer another browser

And whether the most popular or trendiest browser or any other application should be designated a default or as some commercial vendors promote it as 'we recommend xx OS'
--all that is just a type of marketing, little to do with user experience or OS version choice or application choice or indeed much of anything except for presenting your (developers) best view of their system (OS + application set)

[vistad]

cwsnyder, thank you! this part worked fine for me:

Rather than directly editing the file, you can get Thunderbird to automatically add the required sections as follows:
Navigate to "Edit --> Preferences --> Advanced" in the Thunderbird menus and click on the "Config Editor" button.
Search for the following three entries:
network.protocol-handler.warn-external.http
network.protocol-handler.warn-external.https
network.protocol-handler.warn-external.ftp
Set the value of each of these three entries to true (you can do this by double-clicking on each entry, then close the "about:config" window and click "OK" on the "Thunderbird Preferences" window).
Having completed these steps, the next time you click on an http, https or ftp link in Thunderbird, you will be presented with the "Launch Application" window. Press the "Choose" button on this window to select your browser of choice. This will add the required entry to the mimeTypes.rdf file. This is a one-time task; having selected the browser once, links of the same type will now always be opened with the selected browser.

[jamvaru]

lol
don't use Google products
use Chromium, or other chromium clone, like Iron Browser

shouldn't have to explain why
Google is bad
lol

[vistad]

Sorry, jamvaru, I didn't know that. Why Google is bad? I have chosen Google Chrome over Chromium because it has some extras - don't exactly remember which ones.

[jamvaru]

that is why

just lookup iron browser, it explains everything

[vistad]

jamvaru, thanks, I've looked it up, downloaded it and will give it a try. But why do you prefer it over Chromium? Saying "extras" I meant codecs ffmpeg, ffmpeg-extra and flashplugin.

BTW I've just found this reference:
The following packages in Ubuntu install the codecs and features in Chromium that you can find in Chrome:
chromium-codecs-ffmpeg
chromium-codecs-ffmpeg-extra
flashplugin-installer

[jamvaru]

actually, I don't prefer it over Chromium, just over Google Chrome
God bless Google, but I don't trust them

I use firefox; haven't used any chrome for about a month I suppose, lol

good reference on the codecs etc.

we need +1 button for user rep ;]

[rosswmcgee]

cwsnyder, thank you! this part worked fine for me:

Rather than directly editing the file, you can get Thunderbird to automatically add the required sections as follows:
Navigate to "Edit --> Preferences --> Advanced" in the Thunderbird menus and click on the "Config Editor" button.
Search for the following three entries:
network.protocol-handler.warn-external.http
network.protocol-handler.warn-external.https
network.protocol-handler.warn-external.ftp
Set the value of each of these three entries to true (you can do this by double-clicking on each entry, then close the "about:config" window and click "OK" on the "Thunderbird Preferences" window).
Having completed these steps, the next time you click on an http, https or ftp link in Thunderbird, you will be presented with the "Launch Application" window. Press the "Choose" button on this window to select your browser of choice. This will add the required entry to the mimeTypes.rdf file. This is a one-time task; having selected the browser once, links of the same type will now always be opened with the selected browser.

I tried this in MInt Julia 13, but no option other than Firefox is listed as a choice

[jamvaru]

i just uninstalled every browser that popped up instead of chrome (chromium)
it seems that after installing firefox nightly it did not take over the default (i got tired of regular firefox, but it was my flash that needed updating, lol)

[nyc_xfce]

i just uninstalled every browser that popped up instead of chrome (chromium)
it seems that after installing firefox nightly it did not take over the default (i got tired of regular firefox, but it was my flash that needed updating, lol)

jamvaru: I registered on these boards just to reply to you. I've been a dedicated lurker on various message boards since my dial up BBS days, but I registered now and am writing just to ask you this:

Would you mind telling us why you lol about everything (and sometimes multiple times about the same thing) related to your mistrust of Google? Seems excessive, if you ask me.

Also, since Google started Chromium and Chrome IS Chromium plus some codecs, why do you mistrust Chrome more than Chromium? I looked at the differences between Iron and Chrome and they boil down to crash reports and relatively benign usage stats. An answer that is comprised of more than just lols would be helpful in this respect.

lol

[jamvaru]

well, it is hard for a company like google to come back from being co=opted by the NWO, but they are trying
it is funny, lol
google is so obviously 'nsa' secret shadow government storefront, lol! (LOL!?!)
basically, lol is 'laughing online' ... don't you laugh? i c your lol, lol

i quit using chrome recently; i stick with firefox, though i am using konquerer as a backup, 2 c if it is worthy, give it a chance

something about chrome just bugs me; one thing is you have a very hard time downloading youtube videos with chrome, since youtube and chrome are both google

but, it just pizd me off for the last time recently; i don't even remember why, but it was one of those things that i just got tired of experiencing, like youtube downloads; or for example, you can't get anything but a white background in chrome 'store'; it is just annoying

different strokes for different folks, i suppose

lol

[Lukasz_Cholewa]

Mint 15 XFCE here.
I did thishttp://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1560802 post #8
(change application settings in gnome session) and it worked for me

[Minterator]

That has nothing to do with Thunderbird. Run:

Code: Select all

update-alternatives --display x-www-browser

and

Code: Select all

update-alternatives --config x-www-browser

That will tell you what the OS is doing.

[vistad]

That has nothing to do with Thunderbird. Run:

Code: Select all

update-alternatives --display x-www-browser

and

Code: Select all

update-alternatives --config x-www-browser

That will tell you what the OS is doing.

Thank you Minterator, that's great!