URL Utils

Utilities to share shortcut links to web pages between MS Windows and Linux:

• url-open -- Opens MS Windows .url shortcuts in Linux, using the default web browser.
• webloc-open -- Opens Apple .webloc shortcuts in Linux, using the default web browser.
• link2url -- Converts Linux Desktop links into MS Windows .url shortcuts.

Installation

• Make the files executable:

$  chmod u+x url-open webloc-open link2url

• Move the files to ~/bin or /usr/local/bin
• Double-click on a .url shortcut file and associate it with url-open, checking the 'Always open with this program' box, if the option exists.
• Similarly, assocaite .webloc shortcuts with webloc-open.

How it works

MS Windows .url shortcuts are text files with a list of name = value assignments. The URL name contains the URL to the web page.

Here's an example of the contents of a Windows .url file linking to google.com:

[InternetShortcut]
URL=https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl

And, the equivalent Linux Desktop link file:

[Desktop Entry]
Encoding=UTF-8
Name=Link to https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl
Type=Link
URL=https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl
Icon=text-xml

The url-open script extracts the URL value from the shortcut file and then opens it. Since different Linux distributions can use different methods to open a URL in the default web browser, we attempt different common strategies.

The webloc-open works in a similar manner, but the URL in Apple .webloc files is extracted from within a <string></string> tag pair.

The link2url script replaces the first line in the Linux Desktop version to make it a Windows .url file.

Usage

• url-open and webloc-open are used seamlessly from the Desktop. After associating the corresponding script with .url or .webloc files, the links should just work when double clicked.
• link2url is expected to be used from a terminal prompt:

$  link2url -h
Usage: link2url LINK_FILE [URL_FILE]
Converts a Linux Desktop link file into a Windows .url shortcut file
If no URL_FILE is specified, LINK_FILE.url is created

License

MIT license. See the LICENSE file for details.