1. In order to make NetscapeDDE work with Mozilla (versions 1.0.0 and higher should do), specify Mozilla as the DDE server name with the -S parameter. See the little script below.

  2. Really, you can use NetscapeDDE with all your favorite applications that allow you to specify a default browser to start when you click on links. This includes the Warp 4 URL objects, PMMail, and ProNews. Since the NetscapeDDE command line is somewhat tedious to get right, I use a little netscdde.cmd script on my PATH which starts Mozilla via NETSCDDE.EXE, and I then specify this script in all of these applications: 
    @echo off
SET XWPBASE=your XWorkplace base directory path
SET MOZILLADIR=where your mozilla.exe resides
%XWPBASE%\bin\netscdde.exe -h -X -p %MOZILLADIR%\mozilla.exe -S Mozilla -s %MOZILLADIR% %1 %2 %3 %4 %5 %6 %7
    Works quite nicely.

  3. Here's an unintended, but maybe useful side-effect: Since &os2; can share its DDE environment with a &winos2; session, NetscapeDDE can even pass URLs to a running &winos2; copy of Netscape Navigator. This includes Communicator (Netscape 4). The only thing you have to do is enable WIN_DDE in the &winos2; session settings of your Windows Netscape program object. By specifying your Windows Netscape EXE file with -p <exe> (see above), NetscapeDDE even provides for proper WPS integration of Windows Netscapes.
  4. You can now (V1.1) also specify a .CMD file with -p and -P to have certain commands executed before and after Netscape is actually started. You should specify the -m or -mh options so that no ugly VIO window appears. Here is an example NETSCAPE.CMD: 
    @echo off
rem do some initialization here, e.g. change directory
cd D:\WebStuff
rem now call Netscape
netscape.exe
rem now the .cmd file is put to sleep until Netscape is
rem terminated; subsequent calls to NETSCDDE will contact
rem this running Netscape instance
rem after Netscape is terminated, execute this:
call cleanup.cmd
rem or whatever you want
    Thanks, Marcus de Geus, for this suggestion.
  5. Here's a trick from Chris Wenham, senior editor of OS/2 e-zine, found in the SmartSuite Mailing List (smartsuite-os2@makelist.com):

    "If you need to change the web browser that Smartsuite apps call when you click one of their Internet buttons (like Organizer's button to go to the Almanack page), or send the URL to the currently running copy of Netscape instead of launching a new instance, you need to do this:

    Launch REGEDIT2.EXE in the /OS2/SYSTEM directory. Expand the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT tree. Scroll down to "http" and expand it all the way down (through "shell" and "open") until you come to "command".

    Right click on the data in the "(Default)" key, pick "Modify", and change the path to the new browser, making sure it's followed with a "%1" (which represents the URL). Close RegEdit.

    You shouldn't need to reboot, but you might need to restart any SS components that are running.

    Chris then states that you can enter NETSCDDE.EXE as your browser in this section.