Deprecated
This feature is no longer recommended. Though some browsers might still support it, it may have already been removed from the relevant web standards, may be in the process of being dropped, or may only be kept for compatibility purposes. Avoid using it, and update existing code if possible; see the compatibility table at the bottom of this page to guide your decision. Be aware that this feature may cease to work at any time.
The external property of the Window API returns an instance of the External interface, which was intended to contain functions related to adding external search providers to the browser. However, this is now deprecated, and the contained methods are now dummy functions that do nothing as per spec.
Methods
The External object has the following methods:
| Method | Description |
|---|---|
AddSearchProvider(descriptionURL) |
Dummy function; does nothing. See Autodiscovery of search plugins. |
IsSearchProviderInstalled() |
Dummy function; does nothing. |
Specifications
| Specification | Status |
|---|---|
| HTML Living Standard The definition of 'External' in that specification. |
Living Standard |
Browser compatibility
| Desktop | Mobile | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
external | Chrome Full support Yes | Edge Full support 12 | Firefox
Full support
Yes
| IE ? | Opera Full support Yes | Safari ? | WebView Android Full support Yes | Chrome Android Full support Yes | Firefox Android Full support Yes | Opera Android ? | Safari iOS ? | Samsung Internet Android Full support Yes |
Legend
- Full support
- Full support
- Compatibility unknown
- Compatibility unknown
- Deprecated. Not for use in new websites.
- Deprecated. Not for use in new websites.
- See implementation notes.
- See implementation notes.