Installation
Run the MSI file to install onto your computer. When you register this program (see below), it must remain in this place. So, put it in a place that will never change.
Once you have installed the program, you need to:
- Create the configuration file (and edit it if necessary)
- Register Browser Master 2.0 as your default web browser.
- Enjoy Browser Master 2.0
Configuration
To create the default configuration file for Browser Master, from a command prompt, run the command:
C:\Program Files\BrowserMaster>BrowserMaster.exe -d
Doing this will generate an XML file that has your installed browsers listed. Browser Master scans your computer for IE, Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Opera. It works on 32 and 64 bit machines, and checks for 32 and 64 bit versions of software. It only chooses the default locations for software (C:\Program Files\ and C:\Program Files (x86)\). If you add a browser, and want it to show up in the list of options, run the configuration process again and the new browser will be added.
Note: This is done automatically if you just register the program.
After you create this file, you can edit it. To edit using your computer's default program, run the command:
C:\Program Files\BrowserMaster>BrowserMaster.exe -e
By default, the editor for Windows is Internet Explorer. This is not a good XML editor. Your other option, if that is your default editor, is to edit with Notepad.exe:
C:\Program Files\BrowserMaster>notepad BrowserMaster.xml
Register as Default Browser
To register Browser Master 2.0 as your default browser, run the command (from an
elevated command prompt):
C:\Program Files\BrowserMaster>BrowserMaster.exe -r
Doing this will make a registry change to make this program your default HTTP handler (browser).
NOTE: Instructions below for an
elevated command prompt.
Use
To use Browser Master, click a link to open a web page. You will see the GUI displayed (with the browsers you have installed on your computer). IE is first, and considered the default. If you do not make a selection in 2 seconds, Browser Master will automatically open IE with your link. If you want to use another browser, press an arrow key, or scroll your mouse wheel, this 2 second delay is paused, and the program will wait for you to double-click on an icon, or press ENTER. If you press ESC, the window will close, and no browser will open.
2 Seconds is too short!
By default, Browser Master 2.0 waits 2 seconds before sending the URL to your default browser. If you find that 2 seconds is not enough time (or too much time) for you and would like to change it, edit the BrowserMaster.xml file (see above) and change the 2 in <DelayInSeconds>2</DelayInSeconds> to another number. Save the file, and Browser Master 2.0 will change automatically to your new delay.
Change the order of my browsers / Set the default browser
To change the order of your browsers, edit the BrowserMaster.xml file and change the order of the <BrowserConfig></BrowserConfig> tags (be sure to keep the items in the middle of the open/close tags). The first BrowserConfig tag is the default browser. Top to bottom, those tags are displayed Left to Right on your screen.
Elevated Command Prompt
- Click the Start button .
- In the Search box, type command prompt.
- In the list of results, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as administrator.
Uninstallation
If you decide you no longer want to use Browser Master 2.0, open any browser and set that as your default browser. After, feel free to uninstall using the Control Panel. If you do not set a new default browser but uninstall Browser Master 2.0, you will get a funny error message when you try and open a web page from a link. To fix, just open a browser (IE, Chrome, etc) and set that as your default browser.
To-Do
This is a simple program, but there are a few things that are planned for the future (who knows when?):
- Easier registering of the program
- Uninstallation does not remove the XML file - and should.