Ubuntu – Open URL in Chromium and switching to existing tab open if URL already open

chromiumquicklistsunitywebapps

I was trying to create Unity quicklists for Gmail. But if the Gmail was already opened, it will still create another tab and load the web page, rather than switching to the existing.
I even tried installing the 'Gmail App' from the app store and nothing happened.

I looked at the various command line switches, I could not find anything.
http://peter.sh/experiments/chromium-command-line-switches/

The other clumsy solution was to install an addon called Prevent Duplicate Tabs
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/ljnhndkfkbcfmfdkfaahkfmiiibaldhd
It removed the duplicate tabs but it still had to load the page than switching to it. It also doesn't work with forwarding URLs like Google Docs
https://docs.google.com/?pli=1#home.

On a side note wasn't this meant to be a feature for web apps, a buzz word today.

Best Answer

The Chrome extension, Clutter Free, does exactly what you asked:

switches to already open duplicate tab, when a new one is opened,
works on redirects as long as the final redirected url is already open

Disclaimer: I'm the author for this extension. I too was looking for this solution, and ended up making the extension.

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Unity – Add a Static Quicklist to Open a Web Page

If you got a URL, just open it using the default web browser:

...
X-Ayatana-Desktop-Shortcuts=Compose

[Compose Shortcut Group]
Name=Compose Mail
Exec=xdg-open 'https://mail.google.com/mail/?shva=1#compose'
TargetEnvironment=Unity

Or if you like to use a different browser, e.g. Chromium:

Exec=chromium-browser 'https://mail.google.com/mail/?shva=1#compose'

Chromium also allows you to open the URL in a window without toolbars:

Exec=chromium-browser --app='https://mail.google.com/mail/?shva=1#compose'

Of course this only works if you are already logged in or got a cookie. Else it will only take you to the login page.

Ubuntu – Can any browser switch to already open tab, if address you’re opening is already open

This is a feature of Firefox 4. If you start typing an already opened address, the drop-down menu will suggest switching to the already active tab pointing to that address.

There is an add-on for Firefox that will give you total keyboard control over the browser called "Pentadactyl" (here). While not required, you'll probably enjoy it more if you already know vi keybindings.

So in fact, there is a way to change tabs with a "terminal" (ok, not really a terminal). But Pentadactyl supports the following commands:

:tabnext
:tabprevious
:tablast

and several others.

Best Answer

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Unity – Add a Static Quicklist to Open a Web Page

Ubuntu – Can any browser switch to already open tab, if address you’re opening is already open

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