Does not accept URLs without a scheme, which will make some people think it's broken. (like "www.google.com")

[BlakeTNC]

# Some definitions for the sake of conversation:
URLs that include a scheme: "https://www.google.com" or "http://www.google.com"
URLs without a scheme: "www.google.com" or "google.com"
(For more details, see also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/URL#Syntax)

# Issue report:
If you enter a URL without a scheme, such as "www.google.com", the extension does not currently work. (At least not on my machine.)

People are accustomed to modern browsers and search bars automatically adding a scheme component to any URLs that are missing them. (I just tested, and the chrome browser appears to add the "https://" prefix by default. Using "https" as a default seems okay because it looks like the most popular homepages do support secure connections.)

In this extension, incomplete URLs do not open a webpage, so some people are going to think the extension is broken. This is already happening on the extensions support page. See the "broken" reports at: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/new-tab-url/njigpponciklokfkoddampoienefegcl?hl=en-US

# Suggested fix:
When a user submits a target URL, search the submitted string for this substring: "//:" If the substring is present, then do nothing. If the substring is absent, then automatically add the following substring to the beginning of the URL: "https://".

I'm not certain if the above suggestion is the most comprehensive way to handle the problem, but I imagine it should fix the most common cases. For example it will change "Google.com" to "https://Google.com", which will function as the user expects.

The only (small) problem I can see with the above fix is that some pages will not support the https protocol. (Some older sites may only support http.) With that in mind, below are a couple alternative fixes.

# Alternative fix 1:

If the user enters a target URL that does not include a scheme, then do not accept it and display an error.

# Alternative fix 2:

Include instructions on the Target URL entry page, saying all URLs must include a scheme. Include an example. You could say something like "All URLs must include a scheme prefix. For example: "https://www.google.com" is fine, but "www.google.com" alone will not work." I've supplied an implementation of this possible fix, in a different this message in this thread (below).

-Blake

[BlakeTNC]

Here's an informal patch for implementing alternative fix number 2. You could add/apply the following text to the file "options.html". I have included surrounding text, to indicate the position of the suggested change.

<p>
  Type "<tt>Ctrl-Enter</tt>" to save.
</p>
<p>
  Important: The target URL must include a scheme prefix. For example, "https://www.google.com" is fine, but "www.google.com" by itself will not work.
</p>
<p>
  This extension includes a built in <a href="blank.html">blank page</a> which can be used (if you can
  tolerate ugly URL).
</p>