How can I run Chrome without all browser's controls (tabs, address line, buttons)?

google-chrome

Solution

Assuming you want to open a specific URL (let's say http://www.example.com), here are 3 options for your consideration. For all options, start by creating a shortcut to Chrome.exe, which you will edit by adding a flag/switch to the 'Target' property of the shortcut.

Open as an App - Use a 'Target' like this:

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" --app=http://www.example.com

This will open the web page in a generic Windows window, with no browser Chrome available although you can still access browser tools, e.g., pressing F12 to open Developer Tools.

Open Fullscreen - Use a 'Target' like this:

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" http://www.example.com --start-fullscreen

This will open the web page in a Chrome window, which will start fullscreen unless there is another instance of Chrome already open, in which case the page will open in that instance. If you press F11, the browser will return to its normal view mode.

Open in Kiosk Mode - Use a 'Target' like this:

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" http://www.example.com --kiosk

This will open the web page in a Chrome window, which will start in Kiosk mode unless there is another instance of Chrome already open, in which case the page will open in that instance. From my understanding, the only way to close this would be to press Alt+F4.

As mr_kazz explained, you can refer to http://www.chromium.org/developers/how-tos/run-chromium-with-flags to see which flags you can use to when launching a Chrome shortcut.

Problem

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