Browsium Catalyst 3.0 or later
To enhance the functionality of Catalyst in Chrome, the Catalyst extension is now a persistent Chrome process that runs in the system tray at login. This ensures that Catalyst automatically redirects from Chrome to the alternate browser when a Catalyst rule specifies that a site should open in the alternate browser. End users will see a Chrome icon in the system tray, even when all Chrome browser windows have been closed. Right-clicking on this icon will display the following menu.
In previous versions of Catalyst, the extension was not persistent and, under certain conditions, the rules would not work and the redirection was not successful. These conditions were due to timing of background processes that need to start before the navigation occurs.
By re-designing the extension and having it persistent, the possibility of a failed redirection has been dramatically reduced. However, some end users have noticed the Chrome process in the System Tray and have asked why it is there. It is possible to disable the extension from running in the background through settings in the Chrome browser or with Group Policy.Turning off background process in Chrome should not negatively impact Catalyst in the majority of cases. When the Chrome browser is launched again, the Catalyst extension process will launch. In some scenarios, the navigation will happen before the process is automatically launched and may result in a failed redirection. This is most likely to occur when using XenApp content redirection or within a terminal service environment due to timing issues of the processes that need to load prior to navigation with the browsers. This can also happen when a user is following a link vs. navigating within the Chrome browser. For these edge cases, Browsium recommends not disabling background processes in Chrome.
To disable the background process in the Chrome Browser you may uncheck the box in the Chrome browser Settings/Show Advanced Settings/System.
For system administrators who want to manage this with Group Policy, you will need to download the Chrome templates. Then you will need to select “Disabled” in the “Continue running background apps when Google Chrome is closed” GPO. More information about this particular GPO can be found here.
The local group policy editor will display this setting as it appears below.
If you need additional assistance, please email Browsium Support.
Posted in: Catalyst Knowledge Base,
