Browsers like Chrome, Firefox and Edge offers a startup setting allowing you to open multiple webpages when you launch the browser. However, there are situations you need to open multiple webpages in different browsers. In addition, you may also want to open webpages in different window instead of different tabs on the same browser window. Fortunately, you can launch multiple webpages with single desktop shortcut. Here we will explain how can you do that.
Create a Shortcut Batch File
- Press “Win Logo + R” shortcut keys to open Run command.
- Type notepad and hit enter.
- This will open Notepad app and paste the following command in the Notepad.
@echo off
start https://www.google.com
start https://www.bing.com
start https://www.cnn.com
start https://www.webnots.com
- It should look like below in Notepad app.
- Save your file with .bat extension. For example, type webpages.bat as the file name and save the file on your desktop.
- The batch file should look with gears icon like below.
Now, close your Notepad app and double click on the webpages.bat file. All four webpages mentioned in the file will open in your default web browser. If you have not changed the default browser, all webpages should open in Microsoft Edge. You can see the webpages open in a new tab on the same browser window.
You can add as many as webpage URLs in the batch file. However, we recommend limiting to fewer pages as opening multiple pages at a time may affect the performance.
Open Multiple Webpages in Edge
If Edge is not your default browser then you have to mention the browser name in which you want to open the webpages. Below is the code for forcing the pages to open in Edge.
@echo off
start microsoft-edge:https://www.bing.com
start microsoft-edge:https://www.google.com
Open Multiple Webpages in Chrome
If you want all websites to open in Chrome, use the following content inside the batch file.
@echo off
start chrome https://www.google.com
start chrome https://www.bing.com
Open Multiple Webpages in Firefox
Unfortunately, the same syntax will not work in Firefox. You have to use the complete path of the executable file for Firefox.
@echo off
start "" "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe" www.google.com
start "" "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe" www.bing.com
We have used the default installation path for Firefox. If you have installed on different location, ensure to use the correct path.
Open Multiple Pages in Internet Explorer
If you are still using Internet Explorer, use the following code.
@echo off
start iexplore https://www.bing.com
Open Pages in Different Browsers
It is also possible to launch webpages in different browsers using a single desktop shortcut batch file. The below code will open Google in Edge and Bing in Chrome. You can mix and match the entries to open on your favorite browsers.
@echo off
start microsoft-edge: https://www.google.com
start chrome https://www.bing.com
Open Pages in New Window
All the above methods will open multiple webpages in different tabs on the same browser window. You can add additional parameter in the batch file to force the pages to open in a new window on same or different browsers.
@echo off
start iexplore -new-window https://www.bing.com
start chrome -new-window https://www.google.com
start "" "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe" -new-window www.google.com
However, we noticed the -new-window parameter is not working with Edge.
Using Multiple Batch Files
You can refer one batch file location in another to open webpages in both files. For example, here is the content of exampl1.bat file that contains example2.bat.
@echo off
start chrome https://www.bing.com
start C:\Users\username\Desktop\example2.bat
Content of example2.bat is as follows:
@echo off
start microsoft-edge:https://www.bing.com
start iexplore -new-window https://www.bing.com
Setup Multiple Pages to Open in Startup
As mentioned above, you can launch multiple pages to open when clicking on the browser app.
- On Chrome, go to “chrome://settings/onStartup” page. Select “Open a specific page or set of pages” option and add webpage URLs by clicking on “Add a new page” option.
- For Firefox, go to “about:preferences#home” page. Select “Custom URLs” option and add your webpages against “Homepage and new window” option. Unfortunately, you have to launch Firefox and click on the Home button to launch the webpages.
- In Microsoft Edge, press “Alt + X” to open “Settings and more” menu. Go to “Settings > General > Customize” section. Select “A specific page or pages” option under “Open Microsoft Edge with” and add URLs.
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