.URL Handler

An extension to handle .url files if they open on in Chrome as plain text. Please see issue 114871 for more details.

What is .URL Handler?

'URL Handler' is a Chrome extension designed to tackle an annoyance with current versions of Chrome, which displays .url files as plain text. Instead, once any .url file is opened, the extension automatically redirects the tab to the URL contained within the file, providing a smoother browsing experience. This extension requires 'Allow access to file URLs' permission.

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Stats

By: Unknown

View on Chrome Web Store

Users: 8,000+ ▼ -1,000

Rating: 3.08 (26)

Version: 1.0 (Last updated: 2012-09-03)

Creation date: 2012-09-03

Risk impact: Low risk impact

Risk likelihood: Low risk likelihood

Manifest version: 2

Size: 39.30K

Stats date:

Chrome-Stats Rank

# 11432 ▼ 607

Other rankings

#4003 in Accessibility ▲ 9

Other platforms

Not available on Firefox

Not available on Edge

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Summary

Analyze keywords

A really simple plugin to fix a slight but annoying problem with current versions of Chrome. The extension is called when a local *.url file is opened and automatically redirects the tab to the URL contained within the file rather than simply displaying it in plain text.

To see more about the issue see here: http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=114871&can=5&colspec=ID%20Pri%20Mstone%20ReleaseBlock%20OS%20Area%20Feature%20Status%20Owner%20Summary

Note: This extension requires the "Allow access to file URLs" permission.

User reviews

User reviews summary

These summaries are automatically generated weekly using AI based on recent user reviews. Chrome Web Store does not verify user reviews, so some user reviews may be inaccurate, spammy, or outdated.

Pros

Solves the problem of handling .URL files
Works well with basic URLs
Allow access to file URLs permission
Loads .url files for Steam correctly

Cons

Does not work with Chrome 80
Fails with .url files that have special characters like '?' and '&'
Does not correctly parse .url files
Creates unnecessary new browser tabs
Not working with Windows 10
Does not work on certain versions of Chrome like Version 65.0.3325.146 and 65.0.3325.181

Most mentioned

Does not work
Issues with special characters in URLs
Permission settings
Problems with certain versions of Chrome
Loads .url files for Steam correctly but creates unnecessary tabs

Recent reviews

I solved this problem using the SetUserFTA utility, this simple code bat \ cmd SetUserFTA.exe .url InternetShortcut now .URL documents open as regular links

User, 2023-10-24

URLs containing an ampersand are not formatted correctly. The ampersand is pasted in encoded form (&) into the address bar, thus not opening the correct page.