Simulating Default Browser Behavior in Debug Mode ‐ Guide

Summary

This guide is designed to help our team and contributors understand how we can simulate the behavior of a default browser within our app when in debug mode. This simulation is crucial for testing and development, ensuring our app interacts correctly with web content without needing to deploy or leave the debug environment.

Step 1: Configure Custom URL Scheme for Debug Mode

• First, ensure our app is configured to recognize a custom URL scheme specifically for debug mode. This custom scheme (fennec://open-url?url=) will be used exclusively for simulating browser behavior during debugging. This setup allows us to redirect URLs to our simulated browser environment seamlessly.

Step 2: Construct the URL with Debug Query

• For any web content we wish to test, construct the URL using our debug-specific custom scheme. The format is as follows fennec://open-url?url=https://www.example.com.
• Replace https://www.example.com with the URL of the web content you're testing. This construction ensures that when the URL is triggered, it simulates opening in a default browser, but within our debug environment.

Step 3: Add the Constructed URL to Notes App and Make It Tappable

1. Insert the URL into the Notes App:

• Place the full URL fennec://open-url?url=https://www.example.com into a note. Ensure the URL is complete and correctly formatted.

2. Ensure the URL is Tappable:

• The URL should be tappable directly from the notes. If the notes app doesn't automatically make URLs interactive, use any formatting tools or options available in the app to mark it as a link.

3. Testing:

• Test the functionality by tapping the link in the notes app. This should open the URL in the browser associated with the fennec:// custom URL scheme, navigating to https://www.example.com.