A.10.1.13 View in Web Browser

Configuration for View in Web Browser action

The View in Web Browser action uses some kind of location indicator from the activated row and causes it to be displayed in a web browser. If the web page is HTML it should get displayed directly, other content types may get sent to other desktop applications depending on the capabilities and configuration of the browser in use.

In the most straightforward case, the location is a URL supplied by one of the table columns. However TOPCAT knows how to turn various other types of value such as DOIs and filenames into web page addresses, depending on the Identifier Type that's chosen. If none of the identifier types listed below is suitable for you (for instance if you want to use NED with some non-standard options), you can construct your own URL based on column values using the expression language.

Configuration:

Resource Identifier

Gives the URL, filename or other identifier for the resource to display for each row. A column name may be selected from the drop-down list, or the expression language may be used to assemble a string from other columns. How this string is interpreted depends on the Identifier Type setting.

Identifier Type

Determines how the value from the Resource Identifier is interpreted. In most cases you can leave it to the default auto setting, but for some specific identifier types (ones that cannot be recognised just by looking at them) you may need to make a more specific choice. The options are:

auto:

Looks at the string, and tries to interpret it as one of the other types listed here, depending on its form.

URL:

The string is interpreted directly as a URL.

Filename:

The string is interpreted as a pathname of a file on the local filesystem. If the pathname is not absolute (e.g. it doesn't start with a "/" on Un*x) it is taken to be relative to the directory in which the application was started.

Bibcode:

The string is interpreted as a Bibcode, and turned into an ADS URL, e.g. "2018A&A...616A...2L" turns into https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018A%26A...616A...2L. See the bibcodeUrl function.

DOI:

The string is interpreted as a DOI (Digital Object Identifier), and turned into a DOI display URL, e.g. "10.3390/informatics4030018" turns into https://doi.org/10.3390/informatics4030018. See the doiUrl function.

arXiv:

The string is interpreted as an arXiv identifier and turned into a URL for the relevant paper, e.g. "arXiv:1804.09379" turns into https://arxiv.org/abs/1804.09381. See the arxivUrl function.

SIMBAD:

The string is assumed to be a source identfier, and the corresponding SIMBAD URL is used, e.g. "Beta Pictoris" turns into http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=Beta%20Pictoris. See the simbadUrl function.

NED:

The string is assumed to be a source identifier, and the corresponding NED URL is used, e.g. "NGC 3952" turns into http://ned.ipac.caltech.edu/byname?objname=NGC%203952. See the nedUrl function.

Browser

Determines where the web resource will be displayed; see also Appendix A.10.2.3.

JavaFX Browser:

Displays the URL content in a basic HTML viewer implemented within TOPCAT using JavaFX classes. The same window is re-used every time the action is invoked. This generally does a better job than the Basic Browser, including being able to render JavaScript as well as static HTML. However, this option may or may not be available, depending on your java installation.

Basic Browser:

Displays the URL content in a basic HTML viewer implemented within TOPCAT using Swing classes. The same window is re-used every time the action is invoked. This is OK for basic HTML and images, but more complex or non-web-page content may not work, and rendering may not be very beautiful. This option is always present.

System Browser:

Attempts to open the URL in the default desktop web browser. There is, unfortunately, no control over whether the new web page will appear in the same tab/window or if the browser will open a new one each time, it's down to the browser itself. This option may or may not be available, depending on your java installation.