2poor said:
While I was trying the two apps, I remembered a little trick I accidentally
discovered a while back. I'd noticed that Opera wouldn't open any local
html file with the # (pound/number) sign in the filename. When I moved the
# sign to the front of the filename (first character), Opera opened up a
folder/file listing similar to what you'd see if you were browsing a remote
computer's files, as in FTP.
I found that all I had to do to get it to do this is create an empty text
file, rename it #.htm, and then double-click on it. I can browse the whole
drive like that. Using Save As, I can save the file. The file works from
anywhere on my computer because it sets the <base href> of the folder in
the saved file. It doesn't include the filenames of the subfolders, but it
doesn't matter because you can browse those files anyway.
IE doesn't seem to do this, but I think Firefox does. Know anything about
it?
This special effect (feature of a bug?) with the way Opera handles a
file named #.htm, I really believe it would be entirely unique. I didn't
explicitly test with Firefox, but checked with other members of the family:
Mozilla & Kmeleon. No magic on that. Also not from MSIE.
I don't know of any browser that handles the local disk browsing anywhere
near anything remotely close to how smoothly Opera does.
In the case of MSIE, for instance, there is a problem where it likes to
morph into Windows explorer, when spotting a folder object, part of the
nature of the shdocvw.dll. (Maybe? there is a setting to change that part,
but I've not investigated.)
As to running executables locally, without the MSIE "run or download"
nag jumping up, MSFT has made changes in later versions to make that
really hard. Requires very major hassle of hacking workarounds, where
the least inconvenient, which is very inconvenient, it's to rewrite the
html involved. One method is changing is using a big mess of Active-X
WSH calls for launching the targets. Another is to go with using the
iframe trick. But iframe source doesn't really suit the matter of
browsing the disk in itself; it's better simply for making fun menus.
For the Mozillas, that is the most difficult of all to try to get to
launch things locally, from what I can see. One main problem is in the
way it demands file:// protocol prepended on any href calls. And it
doesn't handle even the iframe deal very smoothly, from what I saw.
Maybe there are some special, intricate steps that can be taken, to try
to customize for local function, but any such, if exist, are sure not
clear to me.
Contrast is $Opera, both in ultimate success, as well as the total ease
of getting the objective achieved. A simple wizard that comes up, asking
how you want to handle executables, and then the whole thing is instantly
custom-set for that purpose.
And the disk navigation, via #.htm, and then seamlessly poking around
from there on all ones ".." dots, that's a very fun ride.
I don't think there would be any other current browser around to also
add into the comparison. I have to concede ... $Opera seems to fully
outdo all as far as a local disk browser (intranet vehicle, etc).
And, I cannot see either of the major browser families aiming to provide
this area of feature. They have steadily moved the other direction. So
that they don't get yelled out in all the headlines, for allowing users
to open up settings like launching exes without prompt, while blissfully
web-surfing. Design for lowest common denom (example - the Outlook / IE6
"unsafe" file extensions hardcoded into system dlls)...
