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Unified Diff: chrome/common/extensions/docs/server2/templates/articles/faq.html

Issue 10832042: Extensions Docs Server: Doc conversion script (Closed) Base URL: svn://svn.chromium.org/chrome/trunk/src
Patch Set: everything but svn stuff Created 8 years, 5 months ago
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Index: chrome/common/extensions/docs/server2/templates/articles/faq.html
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+<h1>Frequently Asked Questions</h1>
+
+
+<!-- -->
+
+<p>
+If you don't find an answer to your question here,
+try the
+<a href="http://code.google.com/chrome/webstore/faq.html">Chrome Web Store FAQ</a>, the
+<a href="http://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/google-chrome-extension">[google-chrome-extension] tag on Stack Overflow</a>, the
+<a href="http://groups.google.com/a/chromium.org/group/chromium-extensions">group</a>, or the
+<a href="http://www.google.com/support/chrome_webstore/">store help</a>.
+</p>
+
+<div id="faq-TOC">
+ <h4>General</h4>
+ <ul>
+ <li><a href="#faq-gen-01">What are Google Chrome Extensions?</a></li>
+ <li><a href="#faq-dev-01">How can I set up Chrome for extension development?</a></li>
+ <li><a href="#faq-gen-02">What technologies are used to write extensions for Chrome?</a></li>
+ <li><a href="#faq-gen-03">Are extensions fetched from the web every time the browser is loaded?</a></li>
+ <li><a href="#faq-dev-14">How do I determine which version of Chrome is deployed to which channel?</a></li>
+ </ul>
+ <h4>Capabilities</h4>
+ <ul>
+ <li><a href="#faq-dev-02">Can extensions make cross-domain Ajax requests?</a></li>
+ <li><a href="#faq-dev-03">Can extensions use 3rd party web services?</a></li>
+ <li><a href="#faq-dev-07">Can extensions encode/decode JSON data?</a></li>
+ <li><a href="#faq-dev-08">Can extensions store data locally?</a></li>
+ <li><a href="#faq-dev-04">Can extensions use OAuth?</a></li>
+ <li><a href="#faq-dev-06">Can extensions load DLLs?</a></li>
+ <li><a href="#faq-dev-05">Can extensions create UI outside of the rendered web page?</a></li>
+ <li><a href="#faq-interact-chrome">Can extensions listen to clicks on Chrome tabs and navigation buttons?</a>
+ <li><a href="#faq-dev-11">Can two extensions communicate with each other?</a></li>
+ <li><a href="#faq-dev-13">Can extensions use Google Analytics?</a></li>
+ <li><a href="#faq-dev-15">Can extensions modify chrome:// URLs?</a></li>
+ <li><a href="#faq-open-popups">Can extensions open browser/page action popups without user interaction?</a></li>
+ <li><a href="#faq-persist-popups">Can extensions keep popups open after the user clicks away from them?</a></li>
+ <li><a href="#faq-lifecycle-events">Can extensions be notified when they are installed/uninstalled?</a></li>
+ </ul>
+ <h4>Development</h4>
+ <ul>
+ <li><a href="#faq-building-ui">How do I build a UI for my extension?</a>
+ <li><a href="#faq-dev-09">How much data can I store in localStorage?</a></li>
+ <li><a href="#faq-dev-10">How do I create an options menu for my application?</a></li>
+ <li><a href="#faq-dev-12">What debugging tools are available to extension developers?</a></li>
+ <li><a href="#faq-dev-16">Why do wildcard matches not work for top level domains (TLDs)?</a></li>
+ <li><a href="#faq-management">Why does the management API not fire events when my extension is installed/uninstalled?</a></li>
+ <li><a href="#faq-firstrun">How can an extension determine whether it is running for the first time?</a></li>
+ </ul>
+ <h4>Features and bugs</h4>
+ <ul>
+ <li><a href="#faq-fea-01">I think I've found a bug! How do I make sure it gets fixed?</a></li>
+ <li><a href="#faq-fea-02">I have a feature request! How can I report it?</a></li>
+ </ul>
+</div>
+
+<h2>General</h2>
+
+<h3 id="faq-gen-01">What are Google Chrome Extensions?</h3>
+<p>
+ Google Chrome Extensions are applications that run inside the
+ Chrome browser and provide additional functionality, integration with third
+ party websites or services, and customized browsing experiences.
+</p>
+
+<h3 id="faq-dev-01">How can I set up Chrome for extension development?</h3>
+<p>
+ As long as you are using a version of Chrome that supports
+ extensions, you already have everything you need to start writing an
+ extension of your own.
+ You can start by turning on Developer mode.
+ </p>
+
+ <p>
+ Click the wrench icon
+ <img src="{{static}}/images/toolsmenu.gif" height="29" width="29" alt=""
+ class="nomargin" />
+ and select <b>Extensions</b> from the <b>Tools</b> menu.
+ If there's a "+" next to "Developer mode",
+ click the "+" so it turns into a "-".
+ Now you can reload extensions,
+ load an unpacked directory of files as if it were a packaged extension,
+ and more. For a complete tutorial, see
+ <a href="http://code.google.com/chrome/extensions/getstarted.html">Getting Started</a>.
+</p>
+
+<h3 id="faq-gen-02">What technologies are used to write extensions for Chrome?</h3>
+<p>
+ Extensions are written using the same standard web
+ technologies that developers use to create websites. HTML is used as a
+ content markup language, CSS is used for styling, and JavaScript for
+ scripting. Because Chrome supports HTML5 and CSS3, developers can
+ use the latest open web technologies such as canvas and CSS animations in
+ their extensions. Extensions also have access to several
+ <a href="http://code.google.com/chrome/extensions/api_other.html">JavaScript APIs</a>
+ that help perform functions like JSON encoding and interacting with the
+ browser.
+</p>
+
+
+<h3 id="faq-gen-03">Are extensions fetched from the web every time the browser is loaded?</h3>
+<p>
+ Extensions are downloaded by the Chrome browser upon install, and
+ are subsequently run off of the local disk in order to speed up
+ performance. However, if a new version of the extension is pushed online,
+ it will be automatically downloaded in the background to any users who
+ have the extension installed. Extensions may also make requests for remote
+ content at any time, in order to interact with a web service or pull new
+ content from the web.
+</p>
+
+<h3 id="faq-dev-14">How do I determine which version of Chrome is deployed to which channel?</h3>
+<p>
+ To determine which version of Chrome is currently available on each
+ of the different platforms, visit
+ <a href="http://omahaproxy.appspot.com">omahaproxy.appspot.com</a>. On that
+ site you will see data in a format similar to:
+</p>
+
+<pre>cf,dev,#.#.###.#,#.#.###.#,mm/dd/yy,mm/dd/yy,#####,#####,#####
+cf,beta,#.#.###.#,#.#.###.#,mm/dd/yy,mm/dd/yy,#####,#####,#####
+cf,stable,#.#.###.#,#.#.###.#,mm/dd/yy,mm/dd/yy,#####,#####,#####
+linux,dev,#.#.###.#,#.#.###.#,mm/dd/yy,mm/dd/yy,#####,#####,#####
+linux,beta,#.#.###.#,#.#.###.#,mm/dd/yy,mm/dd/yy,#####,#####,#####
+linux,stable,#.#.###.#,#.#.###.#,mm/dd/yy,mm/dd/yy,#####,#####,#####
+mac,dev,#.#.###.#,#.#.###.#,mm/dd/yy,mm/dd/yy,#####,#####,#####
+mac,beta,#.#.###.#,#.#.###.#,mm/dd/yy,mm/dd/yy,#####,#####,#####
+mac,stable,#.#.###.#,#.#.###.#,mm/dd/yy,mm/dd/yy,#####,#####,#####
+win,canary,#.#.###.#,#.#.###.#,mm/dd/yy,mm/dd/yy,#####,#####,#####
+win,dev,#.#.###.#,#.#.###.#,mm/dd/yy,mm/dd/yy,#####,#####,#####
+win,beta,#.#.###.#,#.#.###.#,mm/dd/yy,mm/dd/yy,#####,#####,#####
+win,stable,#.#.###.#,#.#.###.#,mm/dd/yy,mm/dd/yy,#####,#####,#####
+cros,dev,#.#.###.#,#.#.###.#,mm/dd/yy,mm/dd/yy,#####,#####,#####
+cros,beta,#.#.###.#,#.#.###.#,mm/dd/yy,mm/dd/yy,#####,#####,#####</pre>
+
+<p>
+ Each line represents information about a different platform and channel
+ combination. The
+ listed platforms are <code>cf</code> (Google Chrome Frame),
+ <code>linux</code>, <code>mac</code>, <code>win</code>, and
+ <code>cros</code> (Google Chrome OS). The listed
+ channels are <code>canary</code>, <code>dev</code>, <code>beta</code>,
+ and <code>stable</code>.
+ The two four-part numbers after the channel represent the current and previous
+ versions of Chrome deployed to that platform-channel
+ combination. The rest of the information is metadata about when the releases
+ were first pushed, as well as revision numbers associated with each build.
+</p>
+
+
+<h2>Capabilities</h2>
+
+<h3 id="faq-dev-02">Can extensions make cross-domain Ajax requests?</h3>
+<p>
+ Yes. Extensions can make cross-domain requests. See
+ <a href="http://code.google.com/chrome/extensions/xhr.html">this page</a>
+ for more information.
+</p>
+
+<h3 id="faq-dev-03">Can extensions use 3rd party web services?</h3>
+<p>
+ Yes. Extensions are capable of making cross-domain Ajax
+ requests, so they can call remote APIs directly. APIs that provide data
+ in JSON format are particularly easy to use.
+</p>
+
+<h3 id="faq-dev-07">Can extensions encode/decode JSON data?</h3>
+<p>
+ Yes, because V8 (Chrome's JavaScript engine) supports
+ JSON.stringify and JSON.parse natively, you may use these functions in your
+ extensions
+ <a href="http://json.org/js.html">as described here</a> without including
+ any additional JSON libraries in your code.
+</p>
+
+<h3 id="faq-dev-08">Can extensions store data locally?</h3>
+<p>
+ Yes, extensions can use <a href="http://dev.w3.org/html5/webstorage/">localStorage</a>
+ to store string data permanently. Using Chrome's built-in JSON
+ functions, you can store complex data structures in localStorage. For
+ extensions that need to execute SQL queries on their stored data,
+ Chrome implements
+ <a href="http://dev.w3.org/html5/webdatabase/">client side SQL databases</a>,
+ which may be used as well.
+</p>
+
+<h3 id="faq-dev-04">Can extensions use OAuth?</h3>
+<p>
+ Yes, there are extensions that use OAuth to access remote data
+ APIs. Most developers find it convenient to use a
+ <a href="http://unitedheroes.net/OAuthSimple/js/OAuthSimple.js">JavaScript OAuth library</a>
+ in order to simplify the process of signing OAuth requests.
+</p>
+
+<h3 id="faq-dev-06">Can extensions load DLLs?</h3>
+<p>
+ Yes, using the <a href="npapi.html">NPAPI interface</a>.
+ Because of the possibility for abuse, though, we will review your extension
+ before hosting it in the Chrome Web Store.
+</p>
+
+<h3 id="faq-dev-05">Can extensions create UI outside of the rendered web page?</h3>
+<p>
+ Yes, your extension may add buttons to the Chrome browser's user interface.
+ See <a href="browserAction.html">browser actions</a> and
+ <a href="pageAction.html">page actions</a> for more information.
+</p>
+<p>
+ An extension may also create popup notifications, which exist outside of the
+ browser window. See the <a href="notifications.html">desktop
+ notifications</a> documentation for more details.
+</p>
+
+<h3 id="faq-interact-chrome">Can extensions listen to clicks on Chrome tabs and
+ navigation buttons?</h3>
+<p>
+ No. Extensions are limited to listening to the events described in the <a
+ href="api_index.html">API documentation</a>.
+</p>
+
+<h3 id="faq-dev-11">Can two extensions communicate with each other?</h3>
+<p>
+ Yes, extensions may pass messages to other extensions. See the
+ <a href="messaging.html#external">message passing documentation</a>
+ for more information.
+</p>
+
+<h3 id="faq-dev-13">Can extensions use Google Analytics?</h3>
+<p>
+ Yes, since extensions are built just like websites, they can use
+ <a href="http://www.google.com/analytics/">Google Analytics</a> to track
+ usage. However, we strongly advise you to modify the tracking code to pull
+ an HTTPS version of the Google Analytics library. See
+ <a href="tut_analytics.html">this tutorial</a> for more information on doing
+ this.
+</p>
+
+<h3 id="faq-dev-15">Can extensions modify chrome:// URLs?</h3>
+<p>
+ No. The extensions APIs have been designed to minimize backwards
+ compatibility issues that can arise when new versions of the browser are
+ pushed. Allowing content scripts on <code>chrome://</code>
+ URLs would mean that developers would begin to rely on the DOM, CSS, and
+ JavaScript of these pages to stay the same. In the best case, these pages
+ could not be updated as quickly as they are being updated right now.
+ In the worst case, it could mean that an update to one
+ of these pages could cause an extension to break, causing key parts of the
+ browser to stop working for users of that extension.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+ The reason that <a href="override.html">replacing the content</a>
+ hosted at these URLs entirely is
+ allowed is because it forces an extension developer to implement all of the
+ functionality they want without depending on the browser's internal implementation
+ to stay the same.
+</p>
+
+<h3 id="faq-open-popups">Can extensions open browser/page action popups without
+ user interaction?</h3>
+<p>
+ No, popups can only be opened if the user clicks on the corresponding page or
+ browser action. An extension cannot open its popup programatically.
+</p>
+
+<h3 id="faq-persist-popups">Can extensions keep popups open after the user
+ clicks away from them?</h3>
+<p>
+ No, popups automatically close when the user focuses on some portion of the
+ browser outside of the popup. There is no way to keep the popup open after
+ the user has clicked away.
+</p>
+
+<h3 id="faq-lifecycle-events">Can extensions be notified when they are
+ installed/uninstalled?</h3>
+<p>
+ No, there are no events an extension can listen to in order to determine
+ whether it has been installed or uninstalled. However, an extension can
+ determine when it has been run for the first time. See <a
+ href="#faq-firstrun">this FAQ entry</a> for information.
+</p>
+
+
+<h2>Development</h2>
+
+
+<h3 id="faq-building-ui">How do I build a UI for my extension?</h3>
+<p>
+ Extensions use HTML and CSS to define their user interfaces, so you can use
+ standard form controls to build your UI, or style the interface with CSS,
+ as you would a web page. Additionally, extensions can add
+ <a href="#faq-dev-05">some limited UI elements to Chrome itself.</a>
+</p>
+
+<h3 id="faq-dev-09">How much data can I store in localStorage?</h3>
+<p>
+ Extensions can store up to 5MB of data in localStorage.
+</p>
+
+<h3 id="faq-dev-10">How do I create an options menu for my application?</h3>
+<p>
+ You can let users set options for your extension by creating an
+ <a href="http://code.google.com/chrome/extensions/trunk/options.html">options page</a>,
+ which is a simple HTML page that will be loaded when a user clicks the
+ "options" button for your extension. This page can read and write settings
+ to localStorage, or even send options to a web server so that they can be
+ persisted across browsers.
+</p>
+
+<h3 id="faq-dev-12">What debugging tools are available to extension developers?</h3>
+<p>
+ Chrome's built-in developer tools can be used to debug extensions
+ as well as web pages. See this
+ <a href="http://code.google.com/chrome/extensions/tut_debugging.html ">tutorial on debugging extensions</a>
+ for more information.
+</p>
+
+<h3 id="faq-dev-16">Why do wildcard matches not work for top level domains
+ (TLDs)?</h3>
+<p>
+ You cannot use wildcard match patterns like <code>http://google.*/*</code>
+ to match TLDs (like <code>http://google.es</code> and
+ <code>http://google.fr</code>) due to the
+ complexity of actually restricting such a match to only the desired domains.
+</p>
+<p>
+ For the example of <code>http://google.*/*</code>, the Google domains would
+ be matched, but so would <code>http://google.someotherdomain.com</code>.
+ Additionally, many sites do not own all of the TLDs for their
+ domain. For an example, assume you want to use
+ <code>http://example.*/*</code> to match <code>http://example.com</code> and
+ <code>http://example.es</code>, but <code>http://example.net</code> is a
+ hostile site. If your extension has a bug, the hostile site could potentially
+ attack your extension in order to get access to your extension's increased
+ privileges.
+</p>
+<p>
+ You should explicitly enumerate the TLDs that you wish to run
+ your extension on.
+</p>
+
+<h3 id="faq-management">Why does the management API not fire events when my
+ extension is installed/uninstalled?</h3>
+<p>
+ The <a href="management.html">management API</a> was intended to help create
+ new tab page replacement extensions. It was not intended to fire
+ install/uninstall events for the current extension.
+</p>
+
+<h3 id="faq-firstrun">How can an extension determine whether it is running for
+ the first time?</h3>
+<p>
+ An extension can check to see whether it is running for the first time by
+ checking for the presence of a value in localStorage, and writing the value if
+ it does not exist. For example:
+</p>
+
+<pre>var firstRun = (localStorage['firstRun'] == 'true');
+if (!firstRun) {
+ localStorage['firstRun'] = 'true';
+}</pre>
+
+<p>
+ Note that this check should be run in a background page, not a content script.
+</p>
+
+
+<h2>Features and bugs</h2>
+
+
+<h3 id="faq-fea-01">I think I've found a bug! How do I make sure it gets
+ fixed?</h3>
+<p>
+ While developing an extension, you may find behavior that does not
+ match the extensions documentation and may be the result of a bug in
+ Chrome. The best thing to do is to make sure an appropriate issue
+ report is filed, and the Chromium team has enough information to reproduce
+ the behavior.
+</p>
+
+<p>The steps you should follow to ensure this are:</p>
+
+<ol>
+ <li>
+ Come up with a <em>minimal</em> test extension that demonstrates the issue
+ you wish to report. This extension should have as little code as possible
+ to demonstrate the bug&mdash;generally this should be 100 lines of
+ code or less. Many times, developers find that they cannot reproduce their
+ issues this way, which is a good indicator that the bug is in their own
+ code.
+ </li>
+ <li>
+ Search the issue tracker at
+ <a href="http://www.crbug.com">http://www.crbug.com</a> to see whether
+ someone has reported a similar issue. Most issues related to
+ extensions are filed under <strong>Feature=Extensions</strong>, so to
+ look for an extension bug related to the
+ chrome.tabs.executeScript function (for example), search for
+ "<code>Feature=Extensions Type=Bug chrome.tabs.executeScript</code>",
+ which will give you
+ <a href="http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/list?can=2&q=Feature%3DExtensions+Type%3DBug+chrome.tabs.executeScript&colspec=ID+Stars+Pri+Area+Feature+Type+Status+Summary+Modified+Owner+Mstone+OS&x=mstone&y=area&cells=tiles">
+ this list of results</a>.
+ </li>
+ <li>
+ If you find a bug that describes your issue, click the star icon to be
+ notified when the bug receives an update. <em>Do not respond to the
+ bug to say "me too" or ask "when will this be fixed?"</em>; such updates
+ can cause hundreds of emails to be sent. Add a comment only if you have
+ information (such as a better test case or a suggested fix) that is likely
+ to be helpful.
+ </li>
+ <li>
+ If you found no appropriate bug to star, file a new issue report at
+ <a href="http://new.crbug.com">http://new.crbug.com</a>. Be as explicit
+ as possible when filling out this form: choose a descriptive title,
+ explain the steps to reproduce the bug, and describe the expected and
+ actual behavior. Attach your test example to the report and add
+ screenshots if appropriate. The easier your report makes it for others
+ to reproduce your issue, the greater chance that your bug will be fixed
+ promptly.
+ </li>
+ <li>
+ Wait for the bug to be updated. Most new bugs are triaged within a week,
+ although it can sometimes take longer for an update. <em>Do not reply
+ to the bug to ask when the issue will be fixed.</em> If your bug has not
+ been modified after two weeks, please post a message to the
+ <a href="http://groups.google.com/a/chromium.org/group/chromium-extensions/topics">
+ discussion group</a> with a link back to your bug.
+ </li>
+ <li>
+ If you originally reported your bug on the discussion group and were
+ directed to this FAQ entry, reply to your original thread with a link
+ to the bug you starred or reported. This will make it easier for others
+ experiencing the same issue to find the correct bug.
+ </li>
+</ol>
+
+<h3 id="faq-fea-02">I have a feature request! How can I report it?</h3>
+
+<p>If you identify a feature (especially if it's related to an experimental
+ API) that could be added to improve the extension development experience,
+ make sure an appropriate request is filed in the issue tracker.</p>
+
+<p>The steps you should follow to ensure this are:</p>
+
+<ol>
+ <li>
+ Search the issue tracker at
+ <a href="http://www.crbug.com">http://www.crbug.com</a> to see whether
+ someone has requested a similar feature. Most requests related to
+ extensions are filed under <strong>Feature=Extensions</strong>, so to
+ look for an extension feature request related to keyboard shortcuts
+ (for example), search
+ for "<code>Feature=Extensions Type=Feature shortcuts</code>",
+ which will give you
+ <a href="http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/list?can=2&q=Feature%3DExtensions+Type%3DFeature+shortcuts&colspec=ID+Stars+Pri+Area+Feature+Type+Status+Summary+Modified+Owner+Mstone+OS&x=mstone&y=area&cells=tiles">
+ this list of results</a>.
+ </li>
+ <li>
+ If you find a ticket that matches your request, click the star icon to be
+ notified when the bug receives an update. <em>Do not respond to the
+ bug to say "me too" or ask "when will this be implemented?"</em>; such
+ updates can cause hundreds of emails to be sent.
+ </li>
+ <li>
+ If you found no appropriate ticket to star, file a new request at
+ <a href="http://new.crbug.com">http://new.crbug.com</a>. Be as detailed
+ as possible when filling out this form: choose a descriptive title
+ and explain exactly what feature you would like and how you plan to use it.
+ </li>
+ <li>
+ Wait for the ticket to be updated. Most new requests are triaged within a
+ week, although it can sometimes take longer for an update. <em>Do not reply
+ to the ticket to ask when the feature will be added.</em> If your
+ ticket has not been modified after two weeks, please post a message to the
+ <a href="http://groups.google.com/a/chromium.org/group/chromium-extensions/topics">
+ discussion group</a> with a link back to your request.
+ </li>
+ <li>
+ If you originally reported your request on the discussion group and were
+ directed to this FAQ entry, reply to your original thread with a link
+ to the ticket you starred or opened. This will make it easier for others
+ with the same request to find the correct ticket.
+ </li>
+</ol>

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