Open .URL files (Internet Shortcut) with any Browser via Right-click menu

Double-clicking a .url file (Website shortcut) always launches it using the default browser. But, there are situations where you need to open different website shortcuts in different browsers. By adding browser choices to the right-click menu for .url files, you can choose a non-default web browser from the list and launch the website in it.

One way to make this possible is by adding the Open with context menu option which does not exist by default for internet shortcut files. Apart from Open with, there are other ways to launch a website shortcut using a non-default web browser.

Open Website shortcuts with any browser via right-click menu

Method 1: Using “Open With” ribbon command in the right-click menu (lists registered browsers)

Download url-openwith-modern.zip, unzip and run the REG file. Additional “Open” command is added to the right-click menu for URL files, with a sub-menu containing the list of installed browsers. This lists all the web browsers installed and registered with Default Programs. This method uses the Windows.OpenWith ribbon command in the context menu, and it works in Windows 8 and Windows 10 only.

The following registry key is added using this method:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\InternetShortcut\shell\Open With

The string value (REG_SZ) ExplorerCommandHandler set to {4ce6767d-e09b-45dc-831d-20c8b4ea9a26}

.url open with menu different browsers - edge chrome firefox

The list of registered web browsers is shown in the submenu. Applications other than web browsers aren’t listed. The shell populates this list of browsers from the Default Programs (Default Apps) registration.

One downside of this method is that the caption and the menu icon can’t be customized for the Open command (with a sub-menu). As said earlier, this Open with menu works only on Windows 8 and Windows 10.


Method 2: Adding a Cascading menu that lists all browsers

This method makes use of the excellent Cascading menu feature in Windows. It works in Windows 7 and higher, including Windows 10.

  1. Download url-openwith-cascade.zip and extract the contents to a folder.
  2. Double-click to run the file BrowsersMenu.reg
  3. Move the VBScript file BrowserLaunch.vbs to your Windows directory. In the Access Denied dialog that appears, click Continue.
    The script file BrowserLaunch.vbs parses the .URL file, gets the web address and then launches it using the chosen browser. The script is simply a launcher/stub script, and the contents of it can be read using a text editor like Notepad.

Now you have a neat looking Open with Cascading menu with the curated list of web browsers. You have the incognito (private) options as well.

.url open with menu different browsers - incognito edge chrome firefox

Further customization: If you have a browser in the list that’s not installed in the system, you can remove it from the menu by simply modifying the registry value here:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\InternetShortcut\shell\Open with...

The value to be modified is SubCommands

.url open with menu different browsers - incognito edge chrome firefox

Its value data is by default set as:

urlChrome;urlChromeIncog;urlMSEdge;urlEdgeCh;urlEdgeChIncog;urlIexplore;urlIexploreInPriv;urlFirefox;urlFirefoxPrivate;

For example, if you don’t use Internet Explorer, you can change the value data to:

urlChrome;urlChromeIncog;urlMSEdge;urlEdgeCh;urlEdgeChIncog;urlFirefox;urlFirefoxPrivate

Method 3: Using the classic “Open with” menu

Download url-openwith-classic.zip, unzip and run the enclosed .reg file. It adds the Open with option to the right-click menu by adding the following registry key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\InternetShortcut\ShellEx\ContextMenuHandlers\OpenWith

The (default) value data is set to {09799AFB-AD67-11d1-ABCD-00C04FC30936}



Right-click on a .url file and click Open with…

This launches the Open with dialog. If the non-default browsers aren’t listed in the first screen, click More apps

Select your browser from the link, and click OK.

This method, however, doesn’t list every browser installed on the system. Also, even if you manually browse and locate the browser executable, it may not open the internet shortcut.


Method 4: Adding web browser shortcuts to the Send To menu

Here is a standard method many people use — the Send To menu. Open the SendTo folder of your user profile (type shell:sendto in Run dialog) and place the browser shortcuts in that folder. Then, right-click a website shortcut, click Send To and open the link in a non-default browser.

Editor’s note: Some browsers such as Google Chrome simply open the .URL file as a text file, instead of opening the web address mentioned in the file. This is because they don’t include a .URL handler registered by default. This is a known issue, reported in their official forum: Issue 114871 – chromium – Chrome doesn’t recognize .url files properly. And here is how it looks when you use one of the above two methods to open a .URL using Chrome.

Of course, there are Chrome Plug-ins that parse the .URL file and make Chrome launch the web address instead of outputting the file contents in the browser. Alternatively, you can use Method 1 or 2 in this article to avoid the above problem.

Featured image by Isabel Ródenas from Pixabay


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Ramesh Srinivasan is passionate about Microsoft technologies and he has been a consecutive ten-time recipient of the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional award in the Windows Shell/Desktop Experience category, from 2003 to 2012. He loves to troubleshoot and write about Windows. Ramesh founded Winhelponline.com in 2005.

32 thoughts on “Open .URL files (Internet Shortcut) with any Browser via Right-click menu”

  1. Hi, Ramesh. These days you’ve published what I think is the best posts of your entire blogging career. (I went all the way back when I first see this blog.) In this case, you addressed a concern for which a Mozilla CEO (if I am remembering rightly) wrote an open letter to Microsoft.

    It is good that you still find fun or useful things to blog about. I myself have stopped blogging. These days, all see is chaos and confusion.

    Reply
  2. @Fleet Command: Thanks for the kudos, John. To me, customizing Windows is always fascinating, and writing about it even more fascinating..and will try to make some good posts like this one.

    As for W10 resetting the default browser to MS-Edge (the Mozilla CEO’s letter?), MS seems to be working on that problem, as I heard from a social n/w post by MS staff. My W10 PC isn’t affected by the problem though.

    Reply
  3. I was excited by this prospect, but I can’t make it work.
    I run Win7 and used the Cascade method. I downloaded the zip file and extracted the content, running the ‘menu’ file and moving the ‘launch’ file to Windows folder (accepting the warning shown above).
    However, my context menu for a url does NOT include ‘Opens with…’.
    You mention adding the list of browsers MANUALLY – how?

    Reply
    • @John: My mistake. Updated a small setting in the REG file. Pls redownload and run it. It should work.

    • Hi Ramesh, thanks for this tool. I used method 2 as I am still using Windows 7. But I tried to add Opera as a browser in the list, but it didn’t recognize it.
      Please help me add that browser in the list, thank you and regards,

  4. Thanks Ramesh. That worked initially, but the next time I opened a .url file I was asked whether I wanted Internet Explorer to open this type of file by default. As I DID want this to be the default position, I clicked YES.
    Now ‘Open with…’ has disappeared from the context menu – and I can’t seem to reverse my selection by deleting the default association using the Control Panel tools.
    Without a default selected, you would need to choose which browser on EACH occasion – pretty inconvenient and a poor trade-off (in my view) – is that what you intended?
    By the way, is there any way to include (as an option) a Google Chrome Incognito window?

    Reply
    • @John: Resetting IE as default hides the Open with. Re-running the REG file (would clear the UserChoice key) would get back the Open with option. Next time when IE asks to set it as the default, click No. Clicking No would still work as the URL protocol associations are already intact in a different place. Per my tests, only IE does this and not any other browser.

      And no that’s not what I intended. The open with is supposed to work even if default browser is set. Only problem is that IE neutralizes the Open with option when set as default. So, reset ie as default, and then apply the edit. Next time click “No” when Ie wants to set itself as default. If nothing helps, pls drop me a mail and we’ll work on it. Should be a simple setting.

  5. Thanks Ramesh – having declined the IE default invitation (‘don’t ask again’) after starting again, everything now seems to be as it should – IE IS the default anyway and I can Open with… Chrome (but I’m also offered MS Edge and Mozilla Firefox – can I suppress those?).
    Also, is it possible to include an option of Chrome in incognito mode?

    Reply
  6. Great post! Now that Edge Beta is out, how would add it and InPrivate (I’m guessing Incognito since it’s based on Chromium) mode for the new browser? If it lookup the executable, it is the same as Edge. Thanks!

    Reply
  7. 2nd guy asking this:
    This looks great, thanks.
    Is there any way to add these options to the Context menu for a Hyperlink in an email when opened in Outlook?

    Reply
  8. Looks like this post has gone inactive? Posted several times about the new Chromium Edge browser and the right-click shortcuts. Any update to the post upcoming?

    Reply
  9. My apologies. I tried opening yesterday’s downloads again today, and no longer got the password prompt. Don’t know what changed in the meantime; I haven’t even rebooted since then.

    Reply
  10. I too would love to get this for hyperlinks in emails. (My wife uses Edge, so that’s our default browser, but I use Chrome and would like to open email hyperlinks in Chrome (without having to copy the hyperlink and ‘paste and go’ in Chrome). Thanks, if you’re still working on it.

    Reply
  11. Hi, My usual problem is with links in emails which I want to open in my non-default browser. I hoped this would do it, but now I read more carefully, I see it only works for actual .url files . . .
    (Situation is my wife likes Edge so that’s our default browser, but I like Chrome, so when an email comes in with a hyperlink I have to copy, open Chrome, then paste and go . . .
    Might that be possible, or much trickier?
    Thanks anyway.

    Reply

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