How to refresh a browser url from OS x app

Question

I am opening a url from my OS x app. I am doing it as below

[[NSWorkspace sharedWorkspace] openURL:[NSURL URLWithString:urlString]];

I am doing it on a button action. But whenever I press the button a new tab is opened for me. Can I prevent it in anyways? What I need to achieve is, refresh the tab if it was already opened, rather that opening a new tab for the url. Can it be achieved?

Thanks in advance!

Why don't you try the same with NSBrowser or you can use applescript. — Anoop Vaidya, Nov 15 '12 at 10:19
@AnoopVaidya he asked about a web browser! not about NSBrowser :) — Daij-Djan, Nov 15 '12 at 10:24
@Daij-Djan : I proposed both ways... which way he wants to do he can. — Anoop Vaidya, Nov 15 '12 at 10:36

Michele Percich · Answer 1 · 2012-11-15T23:53:31.127

0

Try calling applescript from your cocoa application, something like this:

NSAppleScript *run = [[NSAppleScript alloc] initWithSource:@"tell application \"Safari\" to do Javascript \"location.reload(true)\" in current tab of window 1"];
[run executeAndReturnError:nil];

The script assumes that the url to refresh is opened in the current tab of the first Safari's window. I have not tried it.

edited Nov 15 '12 at 23:53

answered Nov 15 '12 at 10:26

Michele Percich

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sorry, besides the interesting approach to use AppleScript, I fear it is a really bad advice to wildly refresh any current tab you're finding. What if the current tab of window(1) is not the one you are thinking it is, but (e.g.) a shopping basket, a banking page or a looooong form which is just about to be sent? – auco Jun 08 '13 at 11:50

auco · Answer 2 · 2013-06-08T12:59:45.043

This is an issue of the browser you're previewing and not of your application. Usually, when you open the same URL in a browser, that has this URL already opened, it will detect this and refresh the corresponding window or tab.

You can easily test this by dragging a bookmark to your desktop; then double-click it to open in your default browser. Safari for example, will refresh properly.

So:

either fix your code by making sure you are not changing your URL
try another browser and don't fix bugs of other software in your code with bogus Apple scripts. Because, I really don't want any apps to refresh my current tab (what if you're reloading not your html document, but my shopping basket that will get lost on a refresh?)
or if you're using a script, make sure that you absolutely got the right tab before attempting to refresh

Edit: checked Crome and FF, they open new Tabs indeed...

score -1 · Answer 3 · answered Nov 15 '12 at 10:27

IF you arent sandboxed, you could use applescript

NSString *s = @"tell application \"Safari\"\
    activate\
end tell\
\
tell application \"System Events\"\
    tell process \"Safari\"\
        keystroke \"r\" using {command down}\
    end tell\
end tell";

NSAppleScript *run = [[NSAppleScript alloc] initWithSource:script];
[run executeAndReturnError:nil];

How to refresh a browser url from OS x app

3 Answers3