I am developing an html application that is essentially a series of pages like a book. Within this application, I would like to store several JavaScript variables across pages. Think things like pages read, bookmarks, etc. When this application is viewed over HTTP, I plan to use localStorage with fallbacks for older browsers (globalStorage, userData, etc.).
However, this completely breaks down if the files are accessed via “file://”, for example if viewed off of a CD. It seems that most (if not all) localStorage solutions will not work under the file protocol. Cookies are not an option either under “file://”.
Any ideas on how to persist JavaScript data across html pages when they are being viewed via “file://”?
It really only needs to be available in the current user session. I really don’t want to use frames, but as of yet, I can’t think of another way to accomplish this
A buddy of mine at work helped me out with this problem by sharing his implementation of using window.name to store data across pages of a single window/session.
A similar implementation (and discussion around the method) can be found here: https://web.archive.org/web/20200203061558/http://ajaxian.com/archives/whats-in-a-windowname
Preliminary tests I’ve been doing on this method look very promising. I tested this, under the file protocol (loading page from desktop, a.k.a. – "file:\") on the following browsers. It worked on all of them!!
I have not yet done any testing as to how much data you can store here, but the internets seem to agree on a value of 2 MB.
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