chrome/common/extensions/docs/faq.html - Issue 10642015: Basic setup for generating app docs

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Issue 10642015: Basic setup for generating app docs (Closed) Base URL: svn://svn.chromium.org/chrome/trunk/src

Patch Set: Created 8 years, 6 months ago

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1 <!DOCTYPE html><!-- This page is a placeholder for generated extensions api doc. Note:

2 1) The <head> information in this page is significant, should be uniform

3 across api docs and should be edited only with knowledge of the

4 templating mechanism.

5 3) All <body>.innerHTML is genereated as an rendering step. If viewed in a

6 browser, it will be re-generated from the template, json schema and

7 authored overview content.

8 4) The <body>.innerHTML is also generated by an offline step so that this

9 page may easily be indexed by search engines.

10 --><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head>

11 <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">

12 <link href="css/ApiRefStyles.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css">

13 <link href="css/print.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="print">

14 <script type="text/javascript" src="../../../third_party/jstemplate/jstempla te_compiled.js">

15 </script>

16 <script type="text/javascript" src="../../../../third_party/json_minify/mini fy-sans-regexp.js">

17 </script>

18 <script type="text/javascript" src="js/api_page_generator.js"></script>

19 <script type="text/javascript" src="js/bootstrap.js"></script>

20 <script type="text/javascript" src="js/sidebar.js"></script>

21 <title>Frequently Asked Questions - Google Chrome Extensions - Google Code</ti tle></head>

22 <body> <div id="devModeWarning" class="displayModeWarning">

23 You are viewing extension docs in chrome via the 'file:' scheme: are you exp ecting to see local changes when you refresh? You'll need run chrome with --allo w-file-access-from-files.

24 </div>

25 <div id="branchWarning" class="displayModeWarning">

26 <span>WARNING: This is the <span id="branchName">BETA</span> documentation.

27 It may not work with the stable release of Chrome.</span>

28 <select id="branchChooser">

29 <option>Choose a different version...

30 </option><option value="">Stable

31 </option><option value="beta">Beta

32 </option><option value="dev">Dev

33 </option><option value="trunk">Trunk

34 </option></select>

35 </div>

36 <div id="unofficialWarning" class="displayModeWarning">

37 <span>WARNING: This is unofficial documentation. It may not work with the

38 current release of Chrome.</span>

39 <button id="goToOfficialDocs">Go to the official docs</button>

40 </div>

41 <div id="gc-container" class="labs">

42 <!-- SUBTEMPLATES: DO NOT MOVE FROM THIS LOCATION -->

43 <!-- In particular, sub-templates that recurse, must be used by allowing

44 jstemplate to make a copy of the template in this section which

45 are not operated on by way of the jsskip="true" -->

46 <!-- /SUBTEMPLATES -->

47 <a id="top"></a>

48 <div id="skipto">

49 <a href="#gc-pagecontent">Skip to page content</a>

50 <a href="#gc-toc">Skip to main navigation</a>

51 </div>

52 <!-- API HEADER -->

53 <table id="header" width="100%" cellspacing="0" border="0">

54 <tbody><tr>

55 <td valign="middle"><a href="http://code.google.com/"><img src="images/c ode_labs_logo.gif" height="43" width="161" alt="Google Code Labs" style="border: 0; margin:0;"></a></td>

56 <td valign="middle" width="100%" style="padding-left:0.6em;">

57 <form action="http://www.google.com/cse" id="cse" style="margin-top:0. 5em">

58 <div id="gsc-search-box">

59 <input type="hidden" name="cx" value="002967670403910741006:61_cvz fqtno">

60 <input type="hidden" name="ie" value="UTF-8">

61 <input type="text" name="q" value="" size="55">

62 <input class="gsc-search-button" type="submit" name="sa" value="Se arch">

63 <br>

64 <span class="greytext">e.g. "page action" or "tabs"</span>

65 </div>

66 </form>

67 <script type="text/javascript" src="https://www.google.com/jsapi"></sc ript>

68 <script type="text/javascript">google.load("elements", "1", {packages: "transliteration"});</script>

69 <script type="text/javascript" src="https://www.google.com/coop/cse/t1 3n?form=cse&t13n_langs=en"></script>

70 <script type="text/javascript" src="https://www.google.com/coop/cse/br and?form=cse&lang=en"></script>

71 </td>

72 </tr>

73 </tbody></table>

74 <div id="codesiteContent" class="">

75 <a id="gc-topnav-anchor"></a>

76 <div id="gc-topnav">

77 <h1>Google Chrome Extensions (<a href="http://code.google.com/labs/">Lab s</a>)</h1>

78 <ul id="home" class="gc-topnav-tabs">

79 <li id="home_link">

80 <a href="index.html" title="Google Chrome Extensions home page">Home </a>

81 </li>

82 <li id="docs_link">

83 <a href="docs.html" title="Official Google Chrome Extensions documen tation">Docs</a>

84 </li>

85 <li id="faq_link">

86 <a href="faq.html" title="Answers to frequently asked questions abou t Google Chrome Extensions">FAQ</a>

87 </li>

88 <li id="samples_link">

89 <a href="samples.html" title="Sample extensions (with source code)"> Samples</a>

90 </li>

91 <li id="group_link">

92 <a href="http://groups.google.com/a/chromium.org/group/chromium-exte nsions" title="Google Chrome Extensions developer forum">Group</a>

93 </li>

94 <li id="so_link">

95 <a href="http://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/google-chrome-ext ension" title="[google-chrome-extension] tag on Stack Overflow">Questions?</a>

96 </li>

97 </ul>

98 </div> <!-- end gc-topnav -->

99 <div class="g-section g-tpl-170">

100 <!-- SIDENAV -->

101 <div class="g-unit g-first" id="gc-toc">

102 <ul>

103 <li><a href="getstarted.html">Getting Started</a></li>

104 <li><a href="overview.html">Overview</a></li>

105 <li><a href="whats_new.html">What's New?</a></li>

106 <li><h2><a href="devguide.html">Developer's Guide</a></h2>

107 <ul>

108 <li>Browser UI

109 <ul>

110 <li><a href="browserAction.html">Browser Actions</a></li>

111 <li><a href="contextMenus.html">Context Menus</a></li>

112 <li><a href="notifications.html">Desktop Notifications</a></li >

113 <li><a href="omnibox.html">Omnibox</a></li>

114 <li><a href="options.html">Options Pages</a></li>

115 <li><a href="override.html">Override Pages</a></li>

116 <li><a href="pageAction.html">Page Actions</a></li>

117 </ul>

118 </li>

119 <li>Browser Interaction

120 <ul>

121 <li><a href="bookmarks.html">Bookmarks</a></li>

122 <li><a href="cookies.html">Cookies</a></li>

123 <li><a href="devtools.html">Developer Tools</a></li>

124 <li><a href="events.html">Events</a></li>

125 <li><a href="history.html">History</a></li>

126 <li><a href="management.html">Management</a></li>

127 <li><a href="tabs.html">Tabs</a></li>

128 <li><a href="windows.html">Windows</a></li>

129 </ul>

130 </li>

131 <li>Implementation

132 <ul>

133 <li><a href="a11y.html">Accessibility</a></li>

134 <li><a href="background_pages.html">Background Pages</a></li>

135 <li><a href="content_scripts.html">Content Scripts</a></li>

136 <li><a href="xhr.html">Cross-Origin XHR</a></li>

137 <li><a href="i18n.html">Internationalization</a></li>

138 <li><a href="messaging.html">Message Passing</a></li>

139 <li><a href="permissions.html">Optional Permissions</a></li>

140 <li><a href="npapi.html">NPAPI Plugins</a></li>

141 </ul>

142 </li>

143 <li>Finishing

144 <ul>

145 <li><a href="hosting.html">Hosting</a></li>

146 <li><a href="external_extensions.html">Other Deployment Option s</a></li>

147 </ul>

148 </li>

149 </ul>

150 </li>

151 <li><h2><a href="apps.html">Packaged Apps</a></h2></li>

152 <li><h2><a href="tutorials.html">Tutorials</a></h2>

153 <ul>

154 <li><a href="tut_debugging.html">Debugging</a></li>

155 <li><a href="tut_analytics.html">Google Analytics</a></li>

156 <li><a href="tut_oauth.html">OAuth</a></li>

157 </ul>

158 </li>

159 <li><h2>Reference</h2>

160 <ul>

161 <li>Formats

162 <ul>

163 <li><a href="manifest.html">Manifest Files</a></li>

164 <li><a href="match_patterns.html">Match Patterns</a></li>

165 </ul>

166 </li>

167 <li><a href="permission_warnings.html">Permission Warnings</a></li >

168 <li><a href="api_index.html">chrome.* APIs</a></li>

169 <li><a href="api_other.html">Other APIs</a></li>

170 </ul>

171 </li>

172 <li><h2><a href="samples.html">Samples</a></h2></li>

173 <div class="line"> </div>

174 <li><h2>More</h2>

175 <ul>

176 <li><a href="http://code.google.com/chrome/webstore/docs/index.htm l">Chrome Web Store</a></li>

177 <li><a href="http://code.google.com/chrome/apps/docs/developers_gu ide.html">Hosted Apps</a></li>

178 <li><a href="themes.html">Themes</a></li>

179 </ul>

180 </li>

181 </ul>

182 </div>

183 <script>

184 initToggles();

185 </script>

186 <div class="g-unit" id="gc-pagecontent">

187 <div id="pageTitle">

188 <h1 class="page_title">Frequently Asked Questions</h1>

189 </div>

190 <!-- TABLE OF CONTENTS -->

191 <!-- /TABLE OF CONTENTS -->

192 <!-- Standard content lead-in for experimental API pages -->

193 <!-- STATIC CONTENT PLACEHOLDER -->

194 <div id="static"><div id="pageData-name" class="pageData">Frequently Ask ed Questions</div>

195 <!-- <div id="pageData-showTOC" class="pageData">true</div> -->

196 <p>

197 If you don't find an answer to your question here,

198 try the

199 <a href="http://code.google.com/chrome/webstore/faq.html">Chrome Web Store FAQ</ a>, the

200 <a href="http://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/google-chrome-extension">[goo gle-chrome-extension] tag on Stack Overflow</a>, the

201 <a href="http://groups.google.com/a/chromium.org/group/chromium-extensions">grou p</a>, or the

202 <a href="http://www.google.com/support/chrome_webstore/">store help</a>.

203 </p>

204 <div id="faq-TOC">

205 <h4>General</h4>

206 <ul>

207 <li><a href="#faq-gen-01">What are Google Chrome Extensions?</a></li>

208 <li><a href="#faq-dev-01">How can I set up Chrome for extension development? </a></li>

209 <li><a href="#faq-gen-02">What technologies are used to write extensions for Chrome?</a></li>

210 <li><a href="#faq-gen-03">Are extensions fetched from the web every time the browser is loaded?</a></li>

211 <li><a href="#faq-dev-14">How do I determine which version of Chrome is depl oyed to which channel?</a></li>

212 </ul>

213 <h4>Capabilities</h4>

214 <ul>

215 <li><a href="#faq-dev-02">Can extensions make cross-domain Ajax requests?</a ></li>

216 <li><a href="#faq-dev-03">Can extensions use 3rd party web services?</a></li >

217 <li><a href="#faq-dev-07">Can extensions encode/decode JSON data?</a></li>

218 <li><a href="#faq-dev-08">Can extensions store data locally?</a></li>

219 <li><a href="#faq-dev-04">Can extensions use OAuth?</a></li>

220 <li><a href="#faq-dev-06">Can extensions load DLLs?</a></li>

221 <li><a href="#faq-dev-05">Can extensions create UI outside of the rendered w eb page?</a></li>

222 <li><a href="#faq-interact-chrome">Can extensions listen to clicks on Chrome tabs and navigation buttons?</a>

223 </li><li><a href="#faq-dev-11">Can two extensions communicate with each othe r?</a></li>

224 <li><a href="#faq-dev-13">Can extensions use Google Analytics?</a></li>

225 <li><a href="#faq-dev-15">Can extensions modify chrome:// URLs?</a></li>

226 <li><a href="#faq-open-popups">Can extensions open browser/page action popup s without user interaction?</a></li>

227 <li><a href="#faq-persist-popups">Can extensions keep popups open after the user clicks away from them?</a></li>

228 <li><a href="#faq-lifecycle-events">Can extensions be notified when they are installed/uninstalled?</a></li>

229 </ul>

230 <h4>Development</h4>

231 <ul>

232 <li><a href="#faq-building-ui">How do I build a UI for my extension?</a>

233 </li><li><a href="#faq-dev-09">How much data can I store in localStorage?</a ></li>

234 <li><a href="#faq-dev-10">How do I create an options menu for my application ?</a></li>

235 <li><a href="#faq-dev-12">What debugging tools are available to extension de velopers?</a></li>

236 <li><a href="#faq-dev-16">Why do wildcard matches not work for top level dom ains (TLDs)?</a></li>

237 <li><a href="#faq-management">Why does the management API not fire events wh en my extension is installed/uninstalled?</a></li>

238 <li><a href="#faq-firstrun">How can an extension determine whether it is run ning for the first time?</a></li>

239 </ul>

240 <h4>Features and bugs</h4>

241 <ul>

242 <li><a href="#faq-fea-01">I think I've found a bug! How do I make sure it ge ts fixed?</a></li>

243 <li><a href="#faq-fea-02">I have a feature request! How can I report it?</a> </li>

244 </ul>

245 </div>

246 <h2>General</h2>

247 <h3 id="faq-gen-01">What are Google Chrome Extensions?</h3>

248 <p>

249 Google Chrome Extensions are applications that run inside the

250 Chrome browser and provide additional functionality, integration with third

251 party websites or services, and customized browsing experiences.

252 </p>

253 <h3 id="faq-dev-01">How can I set up Chrome for extension development?</h3>

254 <p>

255 As long as you are using a version of Chrome that supports

256 extensions, you already have everything you need to start writing an

257 extension of your own.

258 You can start by turning on Developer mode.

259 </p>

260 <p>

261 Click the wrench icon

262 <img src="images/toolsmenu.gif" height="29" width="29" alt="" class="nomargin" >

263 and select <b>Extensions</b> from the <b>Tools</b> menu.

264 If there's a "+" next to "Developer mode",

265 click the "+" so it turns into a "-".

266 Now you can reload extensions,

267 load an unpacked directory of files as if it were a packaged extension,

268 and more. For a complete tutorial, see

269 <a href="http://code.google.com/chrome/extensions/getstarted.html">Getting Sta rted</a>.

270 </p>

271 <h3 id="faq-gen-02">What technologies are used to write extensions for Chrome?</ h3>

272 <p>

273 Extensions are written using the same standard web

274 technologies that developers use to create websites. HTML is used as a

275 content markup language, CSS is used for styling, and JavaScript for

276 scripting. Because Chrome supports HTML5 and CSS3, developers can

277 use the latest open web technologies such as canvas and CSS animations in

278 their extensions. Extensions also have access to several

279 <a href="http://code.google.com/chrome/extensions/api_other.html">JavaScript A PIs</a>

280 that help perform functions like JSON encoding and interacting with the

281 browser.

282 </p>

283 <h3 id="faq-gen-03">Are extensions fetched from the web every time the browser i s loaded?</h3>

284 <p>

285 Extensions are downloaded by the Chrome browser upon install, and

286 are subsequently run off of the local disk in order to speed up

287 performance. However, if a new version of the extension is pushed online,

288 it will be automatically downloaded in the background to any users who

289 have the extension installed. Extensions may also make requests for remote

290 content at any time, in order to interact with a web service or pull new

291 content from the web.

292 </p>

293 <h3 id="faq-dev-14">How do I determine which version of Chrome is deployed to wh ich channel?</h3>

294 <p>

295 To determine which version of Chrome is currently available on each

296 of the different platforms, visit

297 <a href="http://omahaproxy.appspot.com">omahaproxy.appspot.com</a>. On that

298 site you will see data in a format similar to:

299 </p>

300 <pre>cf,dev,#.#.###.#,#.#.###.#,mm/dd/yy,mm/dd/yy,#####,#####,#####

301 cf,beta,#.#.###.#,#.#.###.#,mm/dd/yy,mm/dd/yy,#####,#####,#####

302 cf,stable,#.#.###.#,#.#.###.#,mm/dd/yy,mm/dd/yy,#####,#####,#####

303 linux,dev,#.#.###.#,#.#.###.#,mm/dd/yy,mm/dd/yy,#####,#####,#####

304 linux,beta,#.#.###.#,#.#.###.#,mm/dd/yy,mm/dd/yy,#####,#####,#####

305 linux,stable,#.#.###.#,#.#.###.#,mm/dd/yy,mm/dd/yy,#####,#####,#####

306 mac,dev,#.#.###.#,#.#.###.#,mm/dd/yy,mm/dd/yy,#####,#####,#####

307 mac,beta,#.#.###.#,#.#.###.#,mm/dd/yy,mm/dd/yy,#####,#####,#####

308 mac,stable,#.#.###.#,#.#.###.#,mm/dd/yy,mm/dd/yy,#####,#####,#####

309 win,canary,#.#.###.#,#.#.###.#,mm/dd/yy,mm/dd/yy,#####,#####,#####

310 win,dev,#.#.###.#,#.#.###.#,mm/dd/yy,mm/dd/yy,#####,#####,#####

311 win,beta,#.#.###.#,#.#.###.#,mm/dd/yy,mm/dd/yy,#####,#####,#####

312 win,stable,#.#.###.#,#.#.###.#,mm/dd/yy,mm/dd/yy,#####,#####,#####

313 cros,dev,#.#.###.#,#.#.###.#,mm/dd/yy,mm/dd/yy,#####,#####,#####

314 cros,beta,#.#.###.#,#.#.###.#,mm/dd/yy,mm/dd/yy,#####,#####,#####</pre>

315 <p>

316 Each line represents information about a different platform and channel

317 combination. The

318 listed platforms are <code>cf</code> (Google Chrome Frame),

319 <code>linux</code>, <code>mac</code>, <code>win</code>, and

320 <code>cros</code> (Google Chrome OS). The listed

321 channels are <code>canary</code>, <code>dev</code>, <code>beta</code>,

322 and <code>stable</code>.

323 The two four-part numbers after the channel represent the current and previous

324 versions of Chrome deployed to that platform-channel

325 combination. The rest of the information is metadata about when the releases

326 were first pushed, as well as revision numbers associated with each build.

327 </p>

328 <h2>Capabilities</h2>

329 <h3 id="faq-dev-02">Can extensions make cross-domain Ajax requests?</h3>

330 <p>

331 Yes. Extensions can make cross-domain requests. See

332 <a href="http://code.google.com/chrome/extensions/xhr.html">this page</a>

333 for more information.

334 </p>

335 <h3 id="faq-dev-03">Can extensions use 3rd party web services?</h3>

336 <p>

337 Yes. Extensions are capable of making cross-domain Ajax

338 requests, so they can call remote APIs directly. APIs that provide data

339 in JSON format are particularly easy to use.

340 </p>

341 <h3 id="faq-dev-07">Can extensions encode/decode JSON data?</h3>

342 <p>

343 Yes, because V8 (Chrome's JavaScript engine) supports

344 JSON.stringify and JSON.parse natively, you may use these functions in your

345 extensions

346 <a href="http://json.org/js.html">as described here</a> without including

347 any additional JSON libraries in your code.

348 </p>

349 <h3 id="faq-dev-08">Can extensions store data locally?</h3>

350 <p>

351 Yes, extensions can use <a href="http://dev.w3.org/html5/webstorage/">localSto rage</a>

352 to store string data permanently. Using Chrome's built-in JSON

353 functions, you can store complex data structures in localStorage. For

354 extensions that need to execute SQL queries on their stored data,

355 Chrome implements

356 <a href="http://dev.w3.org/html5/webdatabase/">client side SQL databases</a>,

357 which may be used as well.

358 </p>

359 <h3 id="faq-dev-04">Can extensions use OAuth?</h3>

360 <p>

361 Yes, there are extensions that use OAuth to access remote data

362 APIs. Most developers find it convenient to use a

363 <a href="http://unitedheroes.net/OAuthSimple/js/OAuthSimple.js">JavaScript OAu th library</a>

364 in order to simplify the process of signing OAuth requests.

365 </p>

366 <h3 id="faq-dev-06">Can extensions load DLLs?</h3>

367 <p>

368 Yes, using the <a href="npapi.html">NPAPI interface</a>.

369 Because of the possibility for abuse, though, we will review your extension

370 before hosting it in the Chrome Web Store.

371 </p>

372 <h3 id="faq-dev-05">Can extensions create UI outside of the rendered web page?</ h3>

373 <p>

374 Yes, your extension may add buttons to the Chrome browser's user interface.

375 See <a href="browserAction.html">browser actions</a> and

376 <a href="pageAction.html">page actions</a> for more information.

377 </p>

378 <p>

379 An extension may also create popup notifications, which exist outside of the

380 browser window. See the <a href="notifications.html">desktop

381 notifications</a> documentation for more details.

382 </p>

383 <h3 id="faq-interact-chrome">Can extensions listen to clicks on Chrome tabs and

384 navigation buttons?</h3>

385 <p>

386 No. Extensions are limited to listening to the events described in the <a hre f="api_index.html">API documentation</a>.

387 </p>

388 <h3 id="faq-dev-11">Can two extensions communicate with each other?</h3>

389 <p>

390 Yes, extensions may pass messages to other extensions. See the

391 <a href="messaging.html#external">message passing documentation</a>

392 for more information.

393 </p>

394 <h3 id="faq-dev-13">Can extensions use Google Analytics?</h3>

395 <p>

396 Yes, since extensions are built just like websites, they can use

397 <a href="http://www.google.com/analytics/">Google Analytics</a> to track

398 usage. However, we strongly advise you to modify the tracking code to pull

399 an HTTPS version of the Google Analytics library. See

400 <a href="tut_analytics.html">this tutorial</a> for more information on doing

401 this.

402 </p>

403 <h3 id="faq-dev-15">Can extensions modify chrome:// URLs?</h3>

404 <p>

405 No. The extensions APIs have been designed to minimize backwards

406 compatibility issues that can arise when new versions of the browser are

407 pushed. Allowing content scripts on <code>chrome://</code>

408 URLs would mean that developers would begin to rely on the DOM, CSS, and

409 JavaScript of these pages to stay the same. In the best case, these pages

410 could not be updated as quickly as they are being updated right now.

411 In the worst case, it could mean that an update to one

412 of these pages could cause an extension to break, causing key parts of the

413 browser to stop working for users of that extension.

414 </p>

415 <p>

416 The reason that <a href="override.html">replacing the content</a>

417 hosted at these URLs entirely is

418 allowed is because it forces an extension developer to implement all of the

419 functionality they want without depending on the browser's internal implementa tion

420 to stay the same.

421 </p>

422 <h3 id="faq-open-popups">Can extensions open browser/page action popups without

423 user interaction?</h3>

424 <p>

425 No, popups can only be opened if the user clicks on the corresponding page or

426 browser action. An extension cannot open its popup programatically.

427 </p>

428 <h3 id="faq-persist-popups">Can extensions keep popups open after the user

429 clicks away from them?</h3>

430 <p>

431 No, popups automatically close when the user focuses on some portion of the

432 browser outside of the popup. There is no way to keep the popup open after

433 the user has clicked away.

434 </p>

435 <h3 id="faq-lifecycle-events">Can extensions be notified when they are

436 installed/uninstalled?</h3>

437 <p>

438 No, there are no events an extension can listen to in order to determine

439 whether it has been installed or uninstalled. However, an extension can

440 determine when it has been run for the first time. See <a href="#faq-firstrun ">this FAQ entry</a> for information.

441 </p>

442 <h2>Development</h2>

443 <h3 id="faq-building-ui">How do I build a UI for my extension?</h3>

444 <p>

445 Extensions use HTML and CSS to define their user interfaces, so you can use

446 standard form controls to build your UI, or style the interface with CSS,

447 as you would a web page. Additionally, extensions can add

448 <a href="#faq-dev-05">some limited UI elements to Chrome itself.</a>

449 </p>

450 <h3 id="faq-dev-09">How much data can I store in localStorage?</h3>

451 <p>

452 Extensions can store up to 5MB of data in localStorage.

453 </p>

454 <h3 id="faq-dev-10">How do I create an options menu for my application?</h3>

455 <p>

456 You can let users set options for your extension by creating an

457 <a href="http://code.google.com/chrome/extensions/trunk/options.html">options page</a>,

458 which is a simple HTML page that will be loaded when a user clicks the

459 "options" button for your extension. This page can read and write settings

460 to localStorage, or even send options to a web server so that they can be

461 persisted across browsers.

462 </p>

463 <h3 id="faq-dev-12">What debugging tools are available to extension developers?< /h3>

464 <p>

465 Chrome's built-in developer tools can be used to debug extensions

466 as well as web pages. See this

467 <a href="http://code.google.com/chrome/extensions/tut_debugging.html ">tutoria l on debugging extensions</a>

468 for more information.

469 </p>

470 <h3 id="faq-dev-16">Why do wildcard matches not work for top level domains

471 (TLDs)?</h3>

472 <p>

473 You cannot use wildcard match patterns like <code>http://google./</code>

474 to match TLDs (like <code>http://google.es</code> and

475 <code>http://google.fr</code>) due to the

476 complexity of actually restricting such a match to only the desired domains.

477 </p>

478 <p>

479 For the example of <code>http://google./</code>, the Google domains would

480 be matched, but so would <code>http://google.someotherdomain.com</code>.

481 Additionally, many sites do not own all of the TLDs for their

482 domain. For an example, assume you want to use

483 <code>http://example./</code> to match <code>http://example.com</code> and

484 <code>http://example.es</code>, but <code>http://example.net</code> is a

485 hostile site. If your extension has a bug, the hostile site could potentially

486 attack your extension in order to get access to your extension's increased

487 privileges.

488 </p>

489 <p>

490 You should explicitly enumerate the TLDs that you wish to run

491 your extension on.

492 </p>

493 <h3 id="faq-management">Why does the management API not fire events when my

494 extension is installed/uninstalled?</h3>

495 <p>

496 The <a href="management.html">management API</a> was intended to help create

497 new tab page replacement extensions. It was not intended to fire

498 install/uninstall events for the current extension.

499 </p>

500 <h3 id="faq-firstrun">How can an extension determine whether it is running for

501 the first time?</h3>

502 <p>

503 An extension can check to see whether it is running for the first time by

504 checking for the presence of a value in localStorage, and writing the value if

505 it does not exist. For example:

506 </p>

507 <pre>var firstRun = (localStorage['firstRun'] == 'true');

508 if (!firstRun) {

509 localStorage['firstRun'] = 'true';

510 }</pre>

511 <p>

512 Note that this check should be run in a background page, not a content script.

513 </p>

514 <h2>Features and bugs</h2>

515 <h3 id="faq-fea-01">I think I've found a bug! How do I make sure it gets

516 fixed?</h3>

517 <p>

518 While developing an extension, you may find behavior that does not

519 match the extensions documentation and may be the result of a bug in

520 Chrome. The best thing to do is to make sure an appropriate issue

521 report is filed, and the Chromium team has enough information to reproduce

522 the behavior.

523 </p>

524 <p>The steps you should follow to ensure this are:</p>

525 <ol>

526 <li>

527 Come up with a <em>minimal</em> test extension that demonstrates the issue

528 you wish to report. This extension should have as little code as possible

529 to demonstrate the bug—generally this should be 100 lines of

530 code or less. Many times, developers find that they cannot reproduce their

531 issues this way, which is a good indicator that the bug is in their own

532 code.

533 </li>

534 <li>

535 Search the issue tracker at

536 <a href="http://www.crbug.com">http://www.crbug.com</a> to see whether

537 someone has reported a similar issue. Most issues related to

538 extensions are filed under <strong>Feature=Extensions</strong>, so to

539 look for an extension bug related to the

540 chrome.tabs.executeScript function (for example), search for

541 "<code>Feature=Extensions Type=Bug chrome.tabs.executeScript</code>",

542 which will give you

543 <a href="http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/list?can=2&q=Feature%3 DExtensions+Type%3DBug+chrome.tabs.executeScript&colspec=ID+Stars+Pri+Area+F eature+Type+Status+Summary+Modified+Owner+Mstone+OS&x=mstone&y=area& cells=tiles">

544 this list of results</a>.

545 </li>

546 <li>

547 If you find a bug that describes your issue, click the star icon to be

548 notified when the bug receives an update. <em>Do not respond to the

549 bug to say "me too" or ask "when will this be fixed?"</em>; such updates

550 can cause hundreds of emails to be sent. Add a comment only if you have

551 information (such as a better test case or a suggested fix) that is likely

552 to be helpful.

553 </li>

554 <li>

555 If you found no appropriate bug to star, file a new issue report at

556 <a href="http://new.crbug.com">http://new.crbug.com</a>. Be as explicit

557 as possible when filling out this form: choose a descriptive title,

558 explain the steps to reproduce the bug, and describe the expected and

559 actual behavior. Attach your test example to the report and add

560 screenshots if appropriate. The easier your report makes it for others

561 to reproduce your issue, the greater chance that your bug will be fixed

562 promptly.

563 </li>

564 <li>

565 Wait for the bug to be updated. Most new bugs are triaged within a week,

566 although it can sometimes take longer for an update. <em>Do not reply

567 to the bug to ask when the issue will be fixed.</em> If your bug has not

568 been modified after two weeks, please post a message to the

569 <a href="http://groups.google.com/a/chromium.org/group/chromium-extensions/t opics">

570 discussion group</a> with a link back to your bug.

571 </li>

572 <li>

573 If you originally reported your bug on the discussion group and were

574 directed to this FAQ entry, reply to your original thread with a link

575 to the bug you starred or reported. This will make it easier for others

576 experiencing the same issue to find the correct bug.

577 </li>

578 </ol>

579 <h3 id="faq-fea-02">I have a feature request! How can I report it?</h3>

580 <p>If you identify a feature (especially if it's related to an experimental

581 API) that could be added to improve the extension development experience,

582 make sure an appropriate request is filed in the issue tracker.</p>

583 <p>The steps you should follow to ensure this are:</p>

584 <ol>

585 <li>

586 Search the issue tracker at

587 <a href="http://www.crbug.com">http://www.crbug.com</a> to see whether

588 someone has requested a similar feature. Most requests related to

589 extensions are filed under <strong>Feature=Extensions</strong>, so to

590 look for an extension feature request related to keyboard shortcuts

591 (for example), search

592 for "<code>Feature=Extensions Type=Feature shortcuts</code>",

593 which will give you

594 <a href="http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/list?can=2&q=Feature%3 DExtensions+Type%3DFeature+shortcuts&colspec=ID+Stars+Pri+Area+Feature+Type+ Status+Summary+Modified+Owner+Mstone+OS&x=mstone&y=area&cells=tiles" >

595 this list of results</a>.

596 </li>

597 <li>

598 If you find a ticket that matches your request, click the star icon to be

599 notified when the bug receives an update. <em>Do not respond to the

600 bug to say "me too" or ask "when will this be implemented?"</em>; such

601 updates can cause hundreds of emails to be sent.

602 </li>

603 <li>

604 If you found no appropriate ticket to star, file a new request at

605 <a href="http://new.crbug.com">http://new.crbug.com</a>. Be as detailed

606 as possible when filling out this form: choose a descriptive title

607 and explain exactly what feature you would like and how you plan to use it.

608 </li>

609 <li>

610 Wait for the ticket to be updated. Most new requests are triaged within a

611 week, although it can sometimes take longer for an update. <em>Do not reply

612 to the ticket to ask when the feature will be added.</em> If your

613 ticket has not been modified after two weeks, please post a message to the

614 <a href="http://groups.google.com/a/chromium.org/group/chromium-extensions/t opics">

615 discussion group</a> with a link back to your request.

616 </li>

617 <li>

618 If you originally reported your request on the discussion group and were

619 directed to this FAQ entry, reply to your original thread with a link

620 to the ticket you starred or opened. This will make it easier for others

621 with the same request to find the correct ticket.

622 </li>

623 </ol>

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