Open chrome in new tab rather than new windows via

Question

start-process "chrome.exe" '--profile-directory="Default"'

When I run this command few times, it opens my default-profile chrome in separate windows. What can I do, to open new tabs, when my default-profile chrome is already opened?

Answer 1

This will open a Tab instead of a new window for me:

start-process "chrome.exe" "http://localhost:9876/debug.html",'--profile-directory="Default"'

However, if you only want to refresh a page (like you said in the comments), you could also use a little WindowsScript inside of Powershell like this:

#  * Get a WindowsScript Shell
$WindowsScriptShell = New-Object -ComObject wscript.shell

#  * Check if Chrome is running and activate it
if ($WindowsScriptShell.AppActivate('Chrome')) {

    # * Take a nap to give Windows time to focus Chrome
    Sleep 2 

    # * Refresh the page by sending the F5 Key
    $WindowsScriptShell.SendKeys('{F5}')
}

# * If Chrome isn't there, tell us
Else {
    Write-Output "Chrome is not started!"
}

Does that come close?

With VBScript you could also use the CTRL+<Number> Combination to switch to a specific tab before refreshing. So you'd have to add $vbscriptShell.SendKeys('^2') before the F5 key. I also tried opening a new tab by using CTRL+T ('^T' in VBScript), but that opens a new window and then a new tab for some reason...