🔒 Locked

[web] Hide Status Bar

Started by Eliia Sep 1, 2006 at 3:04 PM 14 replies 4.7k views

Original Post

Sep 1, 2006 at 3:04 PM

Hi again, I'm running a &#106avascript window and want to hide the status bar - entirely. It's just this grey block of blah that I don't need.... I've used some JS to hide the urls but they still can be seen when I right click on the links... But back to my topic - I don't want the status bar to be there at all. Is it possible to remove it? This is my code that creates the pop up window function launchGame(charID) { window.open('someurl','jav','toolbar=0,scrollbars=0,location=0,statusbar=0,menubar=0,resizable=0,width=795,height=605'); } So even though statusbar=0 is set, i still have one.... Edit: Ok, I found this link to back me up http://msdn.microsoft.com/workshop/author/dhtml/reference/methods/open_0.asp And I see that it's called 'status', not 'statusbar' - but still, oh great and powerful ones at MS (but not always so intuitive) = tell me why it doesn't work! (in IE or FF) Edit #2: OMG! http://developer.mozilla.org/en/docs/DOM:window.open#Note_on_security_issues_of_the_status_bar_presence Security issues, ohhh ok.. Good to see Mozilla has this info posted. I'll keep reading... Edit #3: Ok, so I've talked myself into not hiding the status bar (because I can't) and all I really want to do is hide my links when clicked. Any tips on hidestatus? Thanks for putting up with me :) Edit #4: Man, I'm talking to myself alot in 20 minutes :) The obvious mouseover-link-and-it-hides works in a variety of JS code samples, but right clicking the link, doesn't get hidden - is there a way around this? I really want to hide the values being passed... Thanks Eliia [Edited by - Eliia on September 1, 2006 3:43:19 PM]

Mathachew

Sep 1, 2006 at 4:02 PM

Got a link?

Silent Dragon

Sep 1, 2006 at 4:55 PM

Couldn't you use a form and make the links as buttons? That way you dont see the URL in the status bar when hovering over it,

You could even then use CSS to make the form submit button look like a link?

Hope this helps at least =]

Alan

Eliia

Sep 1, 2006 at 5:11 PM

The link is for a browser based game I am making http://www.createorconquer.com You can use my test account on the homepage and login. When you click Play Now! you can select a character.

You'll see the window pop up and as you left click links the url is hidden, but when you right click (even though disabled) the url shows briefly in the status bar.

As for using forms, eeek! I have 1000s of line of code and it would be a nightmare to change it all - but thanks for the idea, I've thought of it (and had bad dreams about it too).

Edit: Can someone pls tell me how to make my url a link, am I missing some code tag?

Thanks
Eliia

Silent Dragon

Sep 1, 2006 at 6:16 PM

Use normal html coding

My Game!

And the forms thing would work I think, but I don't blame you for not watning to change 1000 lines of code =p Best of luck!

Alan

Extrarius

Sep 1, 2006 at 11:11 PM

Realize that you can NOT hide URLs. No matter what you do in your code, I can use telnet to get your HTML source without giving you any chance to exploit browser behavior to hide it.

jbadams

Sep 2, 2006 at 8:53 AM

The status bar is part of the user interface of the browser. As a web-designer you should only be designing for the client-area, not trying to mess with the rest of the browser. If I want the status bar showing you let me show it.

Now, why are you actually trying to hide these urls? As Extrarius says, there is no reliable way to hide urls from the user; nor should there be. If you explain why you think you want to hide them perhaps we can suggest an alternative?

Sander

Sep 2, 2006 at 11:05 AM

Only phishers hide URL's. Even if you do manage to hide URL's in some way then you can trigger anti-phishing toolbars or programs. Don't mess with the user interface or the user's expectations. I find that offensive.

In that same vein, alwawys open links in the current windows, not a new one (unless you need some kind op popup - e.g. to confirm something). It's the user that determins where a link should open, not you.

aidan_walsh

Sep 2, 2006 at 4:34 PM

Quote:
Original post by Sander
Don't mess with the user interface or the user's expectations. I find that offensive.

I believe that many of the major browsers are no longer allowing designers to do so anyhow. I know the IE team have posted about this in IE 7 in the past, and I think it was implemented into Firefox somewhere around the 1.5 mark. Not sure about Opera though.

Silent Dragon

Sep 2, 2006 at 4:45 PM

Quote:
Original post by Sander
Only phishers hide URL's. Even if you do manage to hide URL's in some way then you can trigger anti-phishing toolbars or programs. Don't mess with the user interface or the user's expectations. I find that offensive.

In that same vein, alwawys open links in the current windows, not a new one (unless you need some kind op popup - e.g. to confirm something). It's the user that determins where a link should open, not you.

I agree.
I think the OP means to hide data hes passing in the URL, like the data after the '?' in the address, and if this is the case you could hide it (at least from the view of the major user) by using forms to submit to another page.
I know this requires alot of code changes, but if it solves your problem then it can't be helped, right? =]

Best of luck,
Alan

Extrarius

Sep 2, 2006 at 7:50 PM

Quote:
Original post by Silent Dragon
Quote:
Original post by Sander
Only phishers hide URL's. Even if you do manage to hide URL's in some way then you can trigger anti-phishing toolbars or programs. Don't mess with the user interface or the user's expectations. I find that offensive.

In that same vein, alwawys open links in the current windows, not a new one (unless you need some kind op popup - e.g. to confirm something). It's the user that determins where a link should open, not you.

I agree.
I think the OP means to hide data hes passing in the URL, like the data after the '?' in the address, and if this is the case you could hide it (at least from the view of the major user) by using forms to submit to another page.
I know this requires alot of code changes, but if it solves your problem then it can't be helped, right? =]

Best of luck,
Alan

Trying to hide that data for any reason other than aesthetic appeal indicates a serious flaw in the application's design, and you really should not go to the extents the OP seems to want to go to if your goal is merely to make the urls look nice. The fancier your solution is, the more likely it is to break on some browsers (and some people entirely disable &#106avascript, and your links need to work even then). Personally, I think using buttons instead of inline links for every single link would look hideous, thus defeating any aesthetic goals

Eliia

Sep 2, 2006 at 10:47 PM

I see things got a lil hot while I was out today :) I'm wanting to 'hide' the url from the user so they can't figure out my variables and hack my web game. I know only mildly web saavy people would even think or be able to do this - and for the most part I think I have the game pretty mildly hackable.

As for phishing, no, not what I am doing. Hiding the status bar was because I want to hide the data values being passed (Silent Dragon is correct in my line of thinking). Using forms, eeek! too much code change....

I do appreciate the input here, I have a new found appreciation for the status bar. I do see older IE versions did allow it, but ver 7 doesn't - and that's fine. The Moderator was correct, if the user wants and expects to see it - provide it. I have no problem showing it. I was just hoping there was an easy way to protect the values being sent from page to page.

At the end of the day, if someone wants to hack my game - cool, go for it. The fact you can add to the world yourself kinda defeats any cheating (or gives them total control - ex: I am hurt, make a healing potion, put it in this container in game, go get it).

So again, thanks for all your info and input :)

Eliia

Extrarius

Sep 2, 2006 at 11:21 PM

Quote:
Original post by Eliia
I see things got a lil hot while I was out today :) I'm wanting to 'hide' the url from the user so they can't figure out my variables and hack my web game. I know only mildly web saavy people would even think or be able to do this - and for the most part I think I have the game pretty mildly hackable.[...]

If that would make your game hackable, it's done incorrectly and is hackable no matter what you do to hide the data. As I said, I can get your HTML using telnet or a custom program, and there is nothing you can do to stop me. If you want safety, you need to redesign the game so that all important data is never transmitted to the client and only valid actions are accepted. Somebody could write an automated player ('bot'), but it couldn't do anything a normal player couldn't do.

Eliia

Sep 3, 2006 at 12:17 AM

Thanks, I do see your point. I do plan to rewrite it sometime when it takes off and needs to be more robust and secure. Thanks for the ideas.

Eliia

Sander

Sep 3, 2006 at 8:45 AM

Don't put variables in the URL unless you want the user to change them. If you need to pass variables that a user is not allowed to see, use a session ID and store the variables on the server in a session. Security by obscurity stopped working around 1994.

Eliia

Sep 3, 2006 at 9:27 AM

hehe security by obscurity - i like that one. Ok, I am using session for some values, and in my next version i will hide my vars better :)

Eliia

Topic Locked

This topic has been locked by a moderator. New replies are not allowed.