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How To: Make Google Chrome Portable the default app for all internet browser tasks on Windows 10.

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August 16, 2017 - 10:59pm
#1
keyboard_rookie
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How To: Make Google Chrome Portable the default app for all internet browser tasks on Windows 10.

(I Googled and found a fare few people wanting this with none of the methods working completly. So did a bit of research.)

Normally if you use Google Chrome Portable then make "Google Chrome" the default browser app via "Windows Settings" it opens the normal Chrome (the one in C:\Path\PortableApps.com\PortableApps\GoogleChromePortable\App\Chrome-bin\chrome.exe) and uses the profile in \Users\user_name\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome.

Even if you associate everything web related (HTML, SHTML etc.) to the Google Chrome Portable executable in some cases (like when an application opens a URL) it will use the normal, non-portable chrome.exe that's also created during a Google Chrome Portable install.

This is because Windows uses a "Application User Model ID" to allocate certain behaviours.

These instructions simply points the registry's Application User Model ID entry for Chrome towards the portable executable (instead of the "normal" one.)

1.) Click on the start button and type "regedit" , click on the regedit icon.

2.) Got to:

Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\ChromeHTML.NUMBERSANDLETTERS

(Where the portion that says "NUMBERSANDLETTERS" will be a unique string of numbers and letters.)

3.) Create a backup by clicking File > Export

4.) Change the value in:

Computer\HKEY_CURRNT_USER\Software\Classes\ChromeHTML.S4BDWR3EJ3B62QJRNXKZH4AGKM\Application\ApplicationName

to "Google Chrome Portable"

5.) In the following registry keys change the value (double click on them.) Change the path from the normal (non-portable) chrome.exe to the GoogleChromePortable.exe path. Make sure to only change the paths and leave other portions unchanged.

Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\ChromeHTML.S4BDWR3EJ3B62QJRNXKZH4AGKM\Application\ApplicationIcon

Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\ChromeHTML.S4BDWR3EJ3B62QJRNXKZH4AGKM\DefaultIcon\(Default)

Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\ChromeHTML.S4BDWR3EJ3B62QJRNXKZH4AGKM\shell\open\command\(Default)

Now when you go into Windows settings and select a default browser you will have a "Google Chrome Portable" option and all links will open using the portable version.

Screenshots:

https://postimg.org/image/kx5072xpb/
https://postimg.org/image/o6jfdjlsv/
https://postimg.org/image/7wt9anb4v/
https://postimg.org/image/9ytqow93z/

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February 27, 2018 - 2:15am
DooMWhite
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I'm using windows 7 and I can

I'm using windows 7 and I can't find any ChromeHTML.NUMBERSANDLETTERS
Just ChromeHTML and there's no ApplicationIcon and the rest that you said, any help?

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February 27, 2018 - 2:33am
DooMWhite
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Well, I kinda did it!

Well, I kinda did it!
I searched every GoogleChromePortable64\App\Chrome-bin\chrome.exe location on regedit and changed it to googlechromeportable(took me a good time) and obviously I did a backup of EVERY file I found, in the end I backup'ed 10 files.

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February 23, 2019 - 4:10am
trufo
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no "ChromePortable" in win10 settings

For me chromePortable didn't appear in the "default applications settings" under the "browser" section (in win10 settings).
Fortunately this chap : https://kolbi.cz/blog/2019/01/27/register-a-portable-browser-and-make-it...
has it all figured out. I had to set the first key in regedit but put everything else in a *.reg file (replacing portableOpera with GoogleChromePortable).
Now everything is peachy.

rosebud

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February 26, 2020 - 2:29pm
(Reply to #4)
digi-u
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no "ChromePortable" in win10 settings

Hi,
Thanks for the link. I've been looking for how to add portable browsers to Wiin10.

Have a Great Day!
"Doing what is right isn't always the best option personally"
Author Unknown

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May 20, 2019 - 3:45am
RameshSrinivasan
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Here is a VBScript I wrote

Here is a VBScript I wrote which will add or remove Google Chrome Portable to Default Apps.

Register Google Chrome Portable with Default Apps or Default Programs

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May 27, 2019 - 2:00am
(Reply to #6)
mgforce
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Working Well

thanks, this is working perfectly.

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February 3, 2020 - 4:59am
Apple Dumpling Gang
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Make Google Chrome Portable the default app?

I noticed this same problem, about the Chrome.exe file being registered and not the GoogleChromePortable.exe not being in the registry. I just went through the registry after setting it as default, and scanned all chrome.exe entries that went to my PApps folder on C: drive, and change the path in the registry to C:\PApps\PortableApps\GoogleChromePortable\googlechromeportable.exe
and it worked out great. I also sent feedback to MS via Feedback app, about this and another thing which is, that when you pin the icon to the Taskbar after launching it as a portable, you don't actually pin googlechromeportable.exe but the Chrome.exe that is in the C:\PApps\PortableApps\GoogleChromePortable\App\Chrome-bin folder. And if you launch the chrome.exe that is pinned to the taskbar, it will not show you are logged into your account and put your data in a different place, kind of like if you just copied the chrome folder from appdata folder where chrome is usually installed when not portable. But if you actually navigated to the the file in the folder and right mouse click and pin it to the taskbar, it will launch it, but it opens a second icon on the bar, yet, you are still showing you are logged in your google account, but that seems just too buggy for me. However, I decided to launch it a different way. I went to googlechromeportable.exe in the folder, and right mouse clicked it, pinned to the START MENU instead of the taskbar just to see how that would work and it opens the chrome up, puts only one icon on the task bar, and shows you are logged into your account as if you did it from the portableapps platform program. So, that is how I launch it, to launch correctly, as if I just clicked on GoogleChromePortable.exe with the mouse. Hope the added info gives you a better insight.
Here is a tutorial on it, with reference link to MS website also about default apps.
https://kolbi.cz/blog/2019/01/27/register-a-portable-browser-and-make-it...

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July 20, 2022 - 3:54am
gendalf
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There is another simple way:

There is another simple way: https://www.winhelponline.com/blog/register-google-chrome-portable-with-...

The only thing left is to remove the message with a button, that pops up every launch, about chrome not being default browser even tho it now is.

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