Error running JavaScript window.open command from a batch file

Question

I am trying to run a JavaScript command from the command line, in Windows 7, using a batch file. The batch file is run as an administrator.

I am trying to open an Internet Explorer 8 window, as part of a longer routine. If I simply call IEXPLORE.EXE in a batch file without using JavaScript, Internet Explorer 8 opens okay:

"C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\IEXPLORE.EXE"

If I call a URL as well, the specified page opens:

"C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\IEXPLORE.EXE" http://www.google.com

However if I try to use JavaScript in the batch file, to control the size and location of the Internet Explorer 8 window, an Internet Explorer window starts to open but before it finishes opening the routine aborts with the error message 'Unable to download. Unspecified error.':

"C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\IEXPLORE.EXE" javascript:window.open("http://www.google.com","newwin","left=10,top=10,width=520,height=250");

Active scripting is enabled in Internet Explorer's options.

The fault does not appear to be caused by the DOCOBJ.DLL file which comes with older versions of Microsoft Office. Although I did install Office on my system, which is running Internet Explorer 8, so an old version of DOCOBJ.dll was registered, I have since unregistered it and re-registered IEPROXY.DLL but the fault with window.open() persists -

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Internet Explorer\ieproxy.dll"

Can anyone suggest what I'm overlooking?

Answer 1

javascript: is not a standard URL scheme (like http, https, ftp etc.). Rather, whenever a browser encounters it during a click operation, it treats the following statement as a JavaScript statement and executes it. You therefore cannot activate if from the outside.

Answer 2

Thank you, Melikoth. You put me on the right track. A lot of trial and error has produced this solution, in Windows 7.

This uses caret escaping.

Replace all instances of # with <

Contents of OPEN.BAT -

 

    echo ^#html^> >> %temp%\temp.htm

    echo ^#head^> >> %temp%\temp.htm

    echo ^#title^>^#/title^> >> %temp%\temp.htm

    echo ^#script language='JavaScript' type='text/javascript'^>function
    run(){window.open('','_self');var t = openWin(newWin())}function
    newWin(){window.open('http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/b007jqsz','','left=10,top=10,width=400,height=600,toolbar=0,location=0,directories=0,status=0,scrollbars=0');window.close()}^#/script^> >> temp%\temp.htm

    echo ^#/head^> >> %temp%\temp.htm

    echo ^#body onload='run()'^> ^#/body^> >> %temp%\temp.htm

    echo ^#/html^> >> %temp%\temp.htm

    "C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\IEXPLORE.EXE" %temp%\temp.htm

 

Answer 3

Here is my revised .BAT batch file OPEN.BAT with a timing function added to delay closure of the opener window until the child window has opened fully.

Replace all instances of # with <

echo ^#html^> >> %temp%\temp.htm

echo ^#head^> >> %temp%\temp.htm

echo ^#title^>^#/title^> >> %temp%\temp.htm

echo ^#script language='JavaScript' type='text/javascript'^>function run(){window.open('','_self');var t = openWin(newWin())}function newWin(){window.open('http://www.bbc.co.uk','','width=382,height=666,left=10,top=10,toolbar=0,location=0,status=0,scrollbars=0');setTimeout('window.close()',5000)}^#/script^> >> %temp%\temp.htm

echo ^#/head^> >> %temp%\temp.htm

echo ^#body onload="run()"^> ^#/body^> >> %temp%\temp.htm

echo ^#/html^> >> %temp%\temp.htm

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Internet Explorer\IEXPLORE.EXE" %temp%\temp.htm