Make Chrome always execute with flags, for eg., directly opening an HTML file
I want to run Chrome with a given set of flags, always
I created a shortcut and added the flag to it in the following way, so my target of the shortcut says:
C:\<application-path>\chrome.exe --user-data-dir=D:\Chrome
But when I double click an HTML file, or if any other application triggers Chrome, it looses the flag value. The result - A new chrome window opens with Default profile directory.
I want to make the flag permanent, so that its active irrespective of however Chrome executes.
I tried changing the following registry key:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ChromeHTML\shell\open\command
It was this earlier:
"C:\<application-path>\chrome.exe" -- "%1"
I changed to following attempts which did not work:
1. "C:\<application-path>\chrome.exe" -- "%1" --user-data-dir=D:\Chrome
2. "C:\<application-path>\chrome.exe" -- "%1" -- "user-data-dir=D:\Chrome"
3. "C:\<application-path>\chrome.exe" -- "%1 user-data-dir=D:\Chrome"
Conclusively, when I try to open a link from any application, it doesn't open in my current Chrome as a new tab, rather opens a new Chrome window with no plugins and extensions since its from other directory.
Why I have changed my default directory? - because the OS drive was getting low on memory due to heave Chrome caches and apps.
--
as a program option means "all arguments that follow aren't program options, but files to open". --user-data-dir=D:\Chrome
is an option, but Chrome reads --
first and treats that option as a filename.
Try changing that registry value to the following:
"C:\<application-path>\chrome.exe" --user-data-dir=D:\Chrome -- "%1"
There's also another option. If you don't need the default profile at all and want to replace it with D:\Chrome
permanently, then you can replace that profile's directory with a symlink to D:\Chrome
. Chrome will still try to load the default profile, but filesystem will redirect it to your custom profile.