Adding Buttons to IE9+

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Adding Buttons to IE9+
Is it possible to add buttons near the IE9 home, favs, settings buttons 
Adrian Pavelescu




Posts: 3
 Joined: 2013-08-20
Afternoon,

I have done some looking around but I am not sure if this is possible. I am trying to develop a plugin with a relatively low footprint if the user is not actively using it. So I would like to add a button near the IE9 home, favs, settings buttons. Then when the user clicks that button, have a dropdown panel appear much like the favorites in IE9 do. Here is an example below. (For those wondering what I crossed over in red, they were work related bookmark folders, delivered automatically. :0) )

User added an image

If that is not possible, is there a way to cause the browser to show the Command Bar in the OnConnect? That way I can just add my button there and have that show an Explorer Bar when clicked...

Thanks in advance,

Adrian
Posted 20 Aug, 2013 12:44:06 Top
Sergey Grischenko


Add-in Express team


Posts: 7233
 Joined: 2004-07-05
Hi Adrian,

IE doesn't provide such features for developers. But you can display your bar via the 'View->Explorer Bars' menu or the context menu of the active tab.
Posted 21 Aug, 2013 06:22:36 Top
Adrian Pavelescu




Posts: 3
 Joined: 2013-08-20
Hi Sergey,

Thanks for the reply. So to clarify there's also no way to ask IE to show the command bar on browser start? If that is the case then I think the option you mentioned is the route I'll take.
Posted 21 Aug, 2013 15:04:20 Top
Sergey Grischenko


Add-in Express team


Posts: 7233
 Joined: 2004-07-05
Hi Adrian,

The IE Command Bar is not accessible via IE API. So we can't show/hide it via the code in the OnConnect event.
Posted 22 Aug, 2013 05:17:25 Top
Adrian Pavelescu




Posts: 3
 Joined: 2013-08-20
Hi guys,

I was able to make the Command Bar show via the WiX installer config. I figure if I add a command button, a keyboard shortcut and a menu option the end user should have plenty of options to display my addon. Here is how I was able to show the command bar via instalation. 


	<Fragment>
		<Directory Id="TARGETDIR" Name="SourceDir">
			<Directory Id="ProgramFilesFolder">
				<Directory Id="INSTALLFOLDER" Name="MyIEAddon1" >
         <Component Id="INSTALLFOLDER" Guid="37002698-df1d-4107-bbf9-41d35c14b05a">
            <RemoveFolder On="both" Id="INSTALLFOLDER"/>
            <RegistryValue Root="HKLM" Key="Software[Manufacturer][ProductName]" Type="string" Value="MyIEAddon1" />
          </Component>

          <Component Id="RegistryEntries" Guid="180ec603-9f27-451d-a7a1-9d00065a967f">
            <RegistryKey Root="HKCU"
                         Key="SoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerMINIE"
                  Action="create">
                <RegistryValue Type="integer" Name="CommandBarEnabled" Value="1" KeyPath="yes"/>
            </RegistryKey>
          </Component>
        </Directory>
			</Directory>
		</Directory>
	</Fragment>


It should be noted that I have yet to test this method with a good set of Windows installs and IE Setups. So there may be some challenges that I may yet encounter.
Posted 28 Aug, 2013 19:11:08 Top
Sergey Grischenko


Add-in Express team


Posts: 7233
 Joined: 2004-07-05
Hi Adrian,

Thank you very much for the solution.
Posted 29 Aug, 2013 10:23:32 Top