Google Chrome - new tab URL won't change
I am having a little bit of trouble changing the "new tab" URL for a deployed install.
At the moment, Chrome will just give you the Google search screen with the 8 recent shortcuts below.
I need to change this setting to display a homepage, at least for the first tab when Chrome is opened everytime, but not lock the setting in GPO. The user needs the option to change it.
Here are the master_preferences in my MST
{"distribution":
{"msi":true,
"system_level":true,
"verbose_logging":true,
"do_not_create_desktop_shortcut":true,
"do_not_create_taskbar_shortcut":true,
"skip_first_run_ui":true,
"show_welcome_page":false,
"suppress_first_run_bubble":true,
"do_not_register_for_update_launch":true},
"first_run_tabs":["https://domain_URL.com.au/"],
"homepage_is_newtabpage":false,
"sync_promo":{"show_on_first_run_allowed":false}}
Seems the MST works a charm, as it writes it out into a log file when installed and the installed master_preferences file contains all installed.
We use to have the GPO locked to "open a specific page or set of pages" {defined}, but there were complaints of every time the user opened Chrome, they would get the defined page and could not change it to "continue where you left off", so we had to change it.
Does any body know how to check the radio "open a specific page" and define the URL for new installs, before the users get their hands on it?
I have tried a few things, but nothing I have tried so far works. I also might have not seen the option on a web site I have visited. I hope I have asked the question in comprehensible english
Thanks
Answers (2)
Face palm
Double face palm
use the right tools
The file Secure Preferences can be written by the Master_Preferences in the MST when installing. The Secure Preferences file and the Master_Preferences in the MST are both JSON formats, just encoded for the MST.
I used an online JSON editor and added the Arrays with data instead of using a text editor.
here is the coding
{"distribution":
{"msi":true,
"system_level":true,
"verbose_logging":true,
"do_not_create_desktop_shortcut":true,
"do_not_create_taskbar_shortcut":true,
"skip_first_run_ui":true,
"show_welcome_page":false,
"suppress_first_run_bubble":true,
"do_not_register_for_update_launch":true},
"first_run_tabs":["https://domain_URL.com.au/"],
"homepage_is_newtabpage":false,
"sync_promo":
{"show_on_first_run_allowed":false,
"Session":
{"restore_on_startup":4,
"startup_urls":["https://domain_URL.com.au/"]}}}
I don't know if I still need the lines first_run_tabs and homepage_is_newtabpage, but I'm not going to edit it again.
I don't normally go to the length of putting the info into the MST. mainly its down to clients looking at the output, then changing their mind, so I normally copy the file down after the install with SCCM
here's what I use, this opens two tabs
{
"browser": {
"show_home_button": true,
"check_default_browser": false
},
"session": {
"restore_on_startup": 4,
"restore_on_startup_migrated": true,
"urls_to_restore_on_startup": [ "http://intranet.whatever.com/", "http://www.google.com/" ]
},
"bookmark_bar": {
"show_on_all_tabs": true
},
"distribution": {
"msi": true,
"system_level": true,
"verbose_logging": true,
"skip_first_run_ui": true,
"show_welcome_page": false,
"import_search_engine": false,
"import_history": false,
"create_all_shortcuts": false,
"do_not_launch_chrome": true,
"make_chrome_default": false,
"make_chrome_default_for_user": false,
"suppress_first_run_default_browser_prompt": true
}
}