The latest developer channel release of Google Chrome for Mac houses a number of flags that change the way ‘Hosted Apps’ are handled.
Open Google Chrome on your computer. Mac privacy and security allow apps. The Chrome icon looks like a colored ball with a blue dot at the center. You can find it in your Applications folder on a Mac, or on your Start menu on Windows. The best way to make Mac apps default to opening in full screen mode is by changing your app usage behavior a bit, combined with an adjustment to a Mac OS system setting. The end result will be that, at least with many apps that support full screen mode, they will relaunch directly into full screen mode on the Mac.
We saw in December how Google plans to make Hosted Apps a consistent part of the Chrome OS and Windows experience using new ‘window frames’ housing navigation controls and URL information.
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Running these web-based applications, glorified bookmarks that are now listed under ‘Websites’ on the Chrome Web Store, alongside offline savvy Chrome Apps on OS X is harder than on other desktop operating systems (Mac builds of Chrome don’t use the Aura UI framework).
But Chrome is tackling the experiential differential. Three changes in the latest Chrome Dev Channel release make using Hosted Apps on OS X easier, two in the form of flags, and one by default:
- ‘Hosted App Shims’ — app launchers for Spotlight, Launchpad, Dock
- ‘On Quit Notification’ — stops Hosted Apps closing when Chrome is quit
- Navigation controls in menu bar — back, forward and reload options
Before we take a closer look at each change in turn, remember that (as with all experimental features) what’s listed below is subject to change and is not guaranteed to filter down to stable channels. Mac run app from terminal as root.
Hosted App Shims
Chrome Apps can be launched from pretty much anywhere on OS X. They appear in the Chrome App Launcher, Spotlight, Launchpad and Finder, and lodge a separate entry in the Dock like a regular native Mac app.
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When set to run in their own window, Hosted Apps (like Gmail, Google Docs, Google Maps, etc.) currently behave differently. Their launchers appear in the Chrome App Launcher only and are not listed as separate or pinnable entries in the Dock.
The new “mac app shim” flag in the latest Chrome Dev builds fixes these issues in one swoop. It gifts newly installed url apps — note the ‘newly installed’ bit; it doesn’t yet affect those already installed — their own independent app shortcut, icon and OS presence.
That means you can switch between open apps in the Dock and launch them from Spotlight, Launchpad, Alfred, and so on.
Navigation Controls
Navigating Hosted Apps set to run in their own window is easier in the latest dev build. Basic navigation controls are now listed in the menu bar. These are History > back, forward and View > Reload.
Background Mode Notification
In current builds you can quit Chrome and all Hosted Apps at the same time. But say you’re midway through working in Pixlr Editor or a Word Online document – that wouldn’t be ideal.
With the ‘Display a notification when quitting Chrome if hosted apps are currently running’ flag enabled in the latest Chrome for Mac Dev builds you get a warning prompt when attempting to close the browser with apps in the background .
Update Google Chrome For Mac
This warning prompt is already in use for Chrome Apps.
Chrome App Integration on OS X Is Nothing New
Google began trialling Finder integration for Chrome Apps on OS X last year and more recently added the ability to open Google Drive files from the website directly in local apps, with all changes made being synced back to the cloud.
Hosted Apps — or “websites” as Google now calls them — remain glorified bookmarks, even with this new set of system integration. But don’t count them out entirely.
Google’s working on new initiatives, like Service Workers, to offer powerful new features to “websites”. While largely targeted to mobile use cases (i.e., a website can run offline and update in the background, like an app can), expect to reap benefits on the desktop side, too.
How To Open Chrome Apps On Mac Computer
Google Chrome apps are an alternative to Windows or Mac applications. The Google Chrome browser is now an app platform which includes the App Launcher; you can download, install, and run fully functional and featured Chrome apps from the App Launcher. Now there is a way for you to add those Chrome apps to the Mac or Windows desktop. Read on to learn more.
Chrome App Launcher is an extension for Google Chrome that gives you quicker access to your Chrome apps. It adds an App Launcher to the Windows taskbar and Mac doc from where you can open your apps. The key point here is, you need Chrome installed to use Chrome App Launcher but you need not run Chrome every time you want to use those apps. In other words, the apps can be used without opening Chrome itself.
To get Chrome App Launcher, open the Chrome App Launcher page, and click the download option. Then it will appear on your Windows desktop taskbar, or the Mac OS X dock. Click the grid icon to open the App Launcher as in the shot below.
How To Access Chrome Apps
With this App Launcher you can your launch Chrome Web apps, and also input Google search keywords into the search box. The apps that have a shortcut icon overlaying their icon are glorified shortcuts to websites, but those without the shortcut icons are more genuine apps. You can open the apps from the launcher, or the Chrome Apps subfolder on the Start menu.
To add more Chrome Apps to the launcher, check out the For Your Desktop page. This page includes apps that run outside your browser. Click on an app thumbnail to open an expanded page. Then click on the + Free option and Add to confirm the new app. Then it should be included in the desktop App Launcher.
Click the option at the top right of the desktop App Launcher to open settings. Then select Show advanced settings to open a few more options. There aren’t really that many options included there, but you can set up alternative folder locations for the apps.
If Chrome apps become a more comprehensive application platform the Chrome App Launcher could be a great addition to Windows or Mac OS X. For now, it gives desktop shortcuts for numerous Chrome apps that aren’t much more than glorified links to Google websites.