How to run any browser incognito mode?

[JASpup]

Imagine you're a non-technical newbie.

You've just installed Google Chrome on Puppy Linux with the default windows manager.

If you right OR left click on the menu item, it runs the browser. But you always want to run incognito.

How would you do it?

You can always start the browser, open an incognito, and close the one you opened, but that lacks elegance (and is not unlikely to load you some cookies).

You can pass --incognito as an argument on Barry's default browse icon, but what if you prefer Pale Moon as your default?

There's always:

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root# google-chrome --incognito &

but then you're toying with the gritty console.

I would probably search for an executable in Rox and drag it to a desktop, but as I write this that act is still happenstance for me. I'm not sure if I'm finding a launcher, if there's more than one, or the executable creates a launcher, possibly not even with the proper browser icon.

That's where I am at the moment.

How would you do it? How would you get --incognito in the menu? Know the right executable for your launcher?

[williwaw]

are you asking how to open pale moon in private browsing mode or any browser that is set as your default ?

[JASpup]

I'm asking about Google Chrome or any browser not set as your default.

[williwaw]

right click the desktop icon and select "edit item" in the context menu.
there is a field to pass arguments to the executable

[JASpup]

right click the desktop icon and select "edit item" in the context menu.
there is a field to pass arguments to the executable

That works great on pre-installed apps, but Chrome doesn't try to stick an icon on the desktop like Windows, at least the 32bit version I use.

I just edited the chat launcher (next to email and below paint).

It runs /opt/google/chrome/google-chrome with the private argument. The icon is a sheet of paper with one edge curled and a 1/4 size console window in front of the lower-right corner. I know I can place an .svg instead.

That's not a newbie. It's needs to be simplier and more fluid.

[williwaw]

a .pet or a .sfs would include a .desktop file in /usr/share/applications. Did you find chrome in the repo for the pup you are using? If you install a program without a .desktop file, they are not too hard to make with a text editor. perhaps someone can write a script to do that for assisting newbies, or just write a short tutorial in the "how to" section about making your own.

[JASpup]

Through:

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find / -iname *.png ! -path '/mnt/*'

I found the icon:
/opt/google/chrome/product_logo_64.png

[JASpup]

a .pet or a .sfs would include a .desktop file in /usr/share/applications. Did you find chrome in the repo for the pup you are using? If you install a program without a .desktop file, they are not too hard to make with a text editor. perhaps someone can write a script to do that for assisting newbies, or just write a short tutorial in the "how to" section about making your own.

It's not in the repo. I'm in Tahr at the moment & the repo version is 41.

I keep Chrome 48 on a separate partition & run it each session from .deb. It's fairly compatible (ie, installs and runs more universally than Chromium for not needing its dependencies).

I know packages can come on .pet, like .deb, and there's a utility to load .sfs, but have no involved experience with them.

Are you writing I can use a .pet to save my customized desktop?

There's a tool in JWMDesk Manager for saving a custom layout, but it's not intuitive.

[williwaw]

Are you writing I can use a .pet to save my customized desktop?

you are installing a chrome version that tahr did not include, and you are running it from a non standard location. Thats cool, I run my email client from a different partition in any puppy I want. I just drag the executable to each desktop so I have something to easily click on.

In your case you might try to download and install 41. drill down and find /opt/google if that is where ppm puts it and rename the directory to /opt/google2 or some such. go to /usr/share/applications/chrome.desktop and open with a text editor. change the exec line to the absolute path to the 48 executable
Exec=/dev/sdxx/whatever/opt/google/chrome/google-chrome

is your chrome.deb a portable? do you know where it keeps its configurations?

[JASpup]

I prefer portable browsers generally but there's so much esoteric garbage that gets created via browsing that I'm only installing them to ram at the moment.

Before our exchange I carefully edited the Chrome settings and archived them, to script (long ago I did that on Redmond installs) for future use.

I.e., copy the configuration from now to my next live boot.

Chrome is set in .config under root.

Is /usr/share/applications all the Menu items?

google-chrome.desktop is just a text file with basic settings (ie, not including anything like switches).

If it's possible to include them there, that would be the way to go.

[JASpup]

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Exec=google-chrome --incognito 

Doesn't work but it was worth a shot. Whatever controls the JWM Menu is the key.

EDIT: This did the trick.

5. Enter the commands fixmenus then jwm -restart to update Puppy

http://wikka.puppylinux.com/Configure_P ... /backlinks

It is still complicated by needing to occur after browser installation, but I suppose anything you can enter at a prompt can run in a script.

[bigpup]

Is /usr/share/applications all the Menu items?

Yes.

google-chrome.desktop is just a text file with basic settings (ie, not including anything like switches).

That file is just to start a program and is the file that can be put on the desktop to make a desktop icon for the program.
It has needed info for making a menu entry as well as info to make a desktop icon.
It is only configured for the normal start of the program.
The exec line in that .desktop file can be edited to add exec options.

Anytime you change something used to make the menu.
Have to run fixmenus to get the change active.
Why.
Because the menu and the files it uses are loaded into ram and the change is not in them until fixmenus reloads them.

Installing a pet or deb package. Part of the install process is to auto run fixmenus to update everything.
Some deb packages installing do not trigger running fixmenus.
Bad deb package building usually causes this.

[mikewalsh]

@JASpup :-

With regard to the '--incognito' switch for Chrome/Chromium/clones.

You might be interested in this full list of all the available command-line switches for these browsers:-

https://peter.sh/experiments/chromium-c ... 2015-05-14

(Be prepared for a longish wait with this. It WILL eventually load, but takes a long time to get there!)

As you can see, '--incognito' was deprecated back in 2015....

Mike.

[dancytron]

I prefer portable browsers generally but there's so much esoteric garbage that gets created via browsing that I'm only installing them to ram at the moment.

Before our exchange I carefully edited the Chrome settings and archived them, to script (long ago I did that on Redmond installs) for future use.

I.e., copy the configuration from now to my next live boot.

Chrome is set in .config under root.

Is /usr/share/applications all the Menu items?

google-chrome.desktop is just a text file with basic settings (ie, not including anything like switches).

If it's possible to include them there, that would be the way to go.

/usr/share/applications is usually all the Menu Items in Puppy, but theoretically some might be hiding in /root/.local/share/applications .

Many different ways to skin the cat, but I like running Chrome from a separate script that I put in /usr/local/bin to pass all the parameters I want, and then put a short cut on the desktop.

e.g.

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#!/bin/sh

/usr/bin/google-chrome-stable --user-data-dir=/live/image/ChromeSettings/google-chrome/config --disk-cache-dir=/live/image/ChromeSettings/google-chrome/cache --disk-cache-size=10000000 --media-cache-size=10000000 --no-sandbox --disable-infobars "$@" file:///bookmarks.html

[JASpup]

Strange occurrence: after jwm -restart I had to shutdown twice, like I was running X within X.

Just now I exited X to -private Pale Moon, but jwm -restart doesn't work (probably assuming it's already running).

I haven't confronted deprecated --incognito yet, a bridge to cross...

Correct we can load a bookmarks file on the command line?

Seems user data dir would work there as well, but if you want a static version it has to be read-only and the only way I can think of doing that is rewriting it (from an uncompressed archive) each installation.

[s243a]

Strange occurrence: after jwm -restart I had to shutdown twice, like I was running X within X.

Just now I exited X to -private Pale Moon, but jwm -restart doesn't work (probably assuming it's already running).

I haven't confronted deprecated --incognito yet, a bridge to cross...

Correct we can load a bookmarks file on the command line?

Seem user data dir would work there as well, but if you want a static version it has to be read-only and the only way I can think of doing that is rewriting it (from an uncompressed archive) each installation.

Use the command xwin to restart your window manager.

[JASpup]

Use the command xwin to restart your window manager.

indeed

[williwaw]

/usr/share/applications is usually all the Menu Items in Puppy, but theoretically some might be hiding in /root/.local/share/applications .
Many different ways to skin the cat, but I like running Chrome from a separate script that I put in /usr/local/bin to pass all the parameters I want, and then put a short cut on the desktop.

certainly a more elegant solution than the hack I mentioned earlier.

Correct we can load a bookmarks file on the command line?

Seems user data dir would work there as well, but if you want a static version it has to be read-only and the only way I can think of doing that is rewriting it (from an uncompressed archive) each installation.

not sure what you are asking. what is the behavior you wish to change?

[JASpup]

@williwaw Can you explain the end of Dancytron's Chrome script?

[JASpup]

The rest of it is about not storing any user browser data.

[williwaw]

@williwaw Can you explain the end of Dancytron's Chrome script?

"$@" file:///bookmarks.html ?
I am not sure what behavior this creates, as I do not use chrome. Perhaps a bookmarks file external to the usual chrome configs?

I keep my bookmarks in a simple .html file kept on a different partition. I can bookmark it from any browser, any install. paste this into a file with a .html extension

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<DT><A HREF="https://www.google.com">google</A>
<DT><A HREF="https://forum.puppylinux.com/">Puppy Forum</A>
<DT><A HREF="   ">  </A>
<DT><A HREF="   ">  </A>
<DT><A HREF="   ">  </A>
<DT><A HREF="   ">  </A>
<DT><A HREF="   ">  </A>
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[dancytron]

@williwaw Can you explain the end of Dancytron's Chrome script?

Explanations in [square brackets]

/usr/bin/google-chrome-stable --user-data-dir=/live/image/ChromeSettings/google-chrome/config [where to put the user profile, /live/image is like /mnt/home in Puppy]

--disk-cache-dir=/live/image/ChromeSettings/google-chrome/cache --disk-cache-size=10000000 [where to put the disk cache and limit it's size]

--media-cache-size=10000000 [limit size of media cache, tbh I'm not sure this does anything]

--no-sandbox [disable sandbox so it will run as root]

--disable-infobars [don't warn me I am running as root, I already know]

file:///bookmarks.html [open static html file on startup]]

[dancytron]

@williwaw Can you explain the end of Dancytron's Chrome script?

"$@" file:///bookmarks.html ?
I am not sure what behavior this creates, as I do not use chrome. Perhaps a bookmarks file external to the usual chrome configs?

I keep my bookmarks in a simple .html file kept on a different partition. I can bookmark it from any browser, any install. paste this into a file with a .html extension

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<DT><A HREF="https://www.google.com">google</A>
<DT><A HREF="https://forum.puppylinux.com/">Puppy Forum</A>
<DT><A HREF="   ">  </A>
<DT><A HREF="   ">  </A>
<DT><A HREF="   ">  </A>
<DT><A HREF="   ">  </A>
<DT><A HREF="   ">  </A>
<DT><A HREF="   ">  </A> 
<DT><A HREF="   ">  </A>

That's a file that I made. It is my bookmarks from firefox. It is just an html file as far as chrome is concerned.

[JASpup]

I keep my bookmarks in a simple .html file kept on a different partition. I can bookmark it from any browser, any install. paste this into a file with a .html extension

What you're doing is bookmarking your bookmarks file?

I don't look at them, but most browsers import/export bookmarks fluidly.

The issue is how that file gets loaded. If we've options of both command line and a URL, that's good.

I use many browsers, but tend to lean on something Chromium-based for daily tasks for compatiblity purposes & Firefox-based for exploitation resistance (even though I'm in Firefox now run fresh with a bunch of pre-installed cookies).

[JASpup]

file:///bookmarks.html [open static html file on startup]]

Where is "///" and do you need "$@" before it?

Does saving new/removing bookmarks modify the file? If not, where is that information?

[williwaw]

What you're doing is bookmarking your bookmarks file?

yes, and alternately, I configure my browser to open each new tab with the bookmark file, the first entry being my search engine link should I wish to search for a non bookmarked destination.

I don't look at them, but most browsers import/export bookmarks fluidly.

they do, but if you keep the bookmarks inside the browser, then you are constantly importing and exporting and dealing with duplicates etc. if you only use one browser then you might get by OK. The down side to my file is in order to add a bookmark, I need to manually edit my bookmark file. maybe there is an easier way for use with multiple browsers. I have a couple of sites I visit that demand a particular browser

[dancytron]

file:///bookmarks.html [open static html file on startup]]

Where is "///" and do you need "$@" before it?

Does saving new/removing bookmarks modify the file? If not, where is that information?

"///" is just the filesystem base directory. If it was in the /root directory, it would say file:///root/bookmarks.html.

I run a lot of different browsers to help test stuff. The bookmarks.html file is just a static copy of my bookmarks from firefox. It isn't hooked to Chrome in any way other than it opens on that page when I run the script.

If instead of "file:///bookmarks.html" it said "https://www.puppy.com" it would open up on the Puppy website instead.

I don't really remember the answer to what the "$@" is for. I probably just copied it from something Fred did...

[JASpup]

The down side to my file is in order to add a bookmark, I need to manually edit my bookmark file. maybe there is an easier way for use with multiple browsers. I have a couple of sites I visit that demand a particular browser

Manual edits are a small price for the control and functionality. I would try it, but I happen to be on a machine with zero bookmarks at the moment.

later

[JASpup]

"///" is just the filesystem base directory. If it was in the /root directory, it would say file:///root/bookmarks.html.

Good info thanks. If you don't mind me asking, why do you want to see your file system from the top in a browser?

[dancytron]

"///" is just the filesystem base directory. If it was in the /root directory, it would say file:///root/bookmarks.html.

Good info thanks. If you don't mind me asking, why do you want to see your file system from the top in a browser?

In this case, just to use my firefox bookmarks in Chrome.

It's handy to be able to access the file system in the browser for lots of things...