Site Specific Browser - Using WebRunner

I have been using the prototype WebRunner for a few days to access GMail and Zimbra. Overall, I am quite happy with the results. The webapps load fast and I like having them appear in my ALT+TAB list. I am using Firefox for browsing and not running webapps, which feels better too. Firefox stays snappy and I have not had to “kill” its process because of speed or hung webapp problems.

Of course there are things I miss when using WebRunner. Most notably:

• Support for popup windows - Zimbra in particular uses (my preference) a popup to compose email.
• Support for inline spell checking - Some webapps do have their own spellcheck support, but I really love Firefox’s system.
• Support for float-over link destinations in the statusbar - Yes, I like to see where I am going if I click that link.
• Support for a context menu - I use it infrequently, but I must use it enough to feel weird when its not there.

Adding support for popups turned out to be a 1-line preference fix. I learned about nsIXULBrowserWindow to get the link info in the statusbar. I updated the prototype for those of you playing at home:

Install (Windows-only): webrunner-setup-0.3.exe Source: webrunner-src-0.3.zip

Next up for WebRunner:

• Adding support for inline spellcheck and suggestions on context menu.
• Enabling extension support so WebRunner can be tweaked or enhanced.
• Creating an “installer” so new webapps can be installed after the fact.
• Creating an extension to allow Firefox to “install” webapps since most of this process starts in the browser.