[Each week at ProfHacker, George Williams hosts "Open Thread Wednesday." We recently decided to devote each open thread to a specific issue or question. The Commenting and Community Guidelines still apply.
You can suggest topics or ask us questions via email: ProfHackerCHE@gmail.com. —Ed.]
Internet Explorer’s got ‘em. Firefox’s got ‘em. Chrome’s got ‘em. Safari’s got ‘em. Just about every major browser’s got’em: extensions.
What’s a browser extension? I’m guessing you already know this: it’s a free add-on tool designed to supplement or customize the built-in functions of your Web browser. You can use extensions to do such things as simplify your Internet searches, make it easier to save Web pages to your Delicious account, improve your experience of YouTube videos, or block advertisements that intrude on your ability to read the news. Customizing your Web browser with your own selection of extensions is akin to the way gearheads customize their prized muscle cars… except it’s much, much geekier.
So what are your favorite browser extensions? What customizations can’t you live without? Let us hear from you in the comments!
[Creative Commons-licensed flickr photo by Tim & Selena Middleton.]
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27 Responses to Open Thread: Favorite Browser Extensions?
brianborchers - August 25, 2010 at 11:17 am
The three big ones for me are the Firefox extensions: Zotero, Ad Block Plus, and Xmarks.
markgvega - August 25, 2010 at 11:21 am
Reading and saving web content:- Instapaper (some folks like ReadItLater)- ReadabilityClipping articles and text for tagging and later reference:- Devonthink (although most so-called “everything box” programs have a bookmarklet to funnel web and other content to the program) – Available for Safari and Firefox in extension format, as a bookmarklet for Chrome- A Cleaner YouTube (Safari Extension) – YouTube has made an attempt to “minimalize” its often cluttered interface but this Safari extension makes YouTube and its video pages seem like the work of some new video startup devoted to clean design, minimalistic presentation, and a focus solely on the video content.
acavender - August 25, 2010 at 1:32 pm
For all browsers: XMarks, 1PasswordFor Firefox (my research browser): Zotero, Better GReaderFor Safari: MLB.com toolbar, the New York Times, Better Google Reader, Procrastinate (I’ve set it up to work with Delicious and Read it Later), Clip to DevonthinkFor Chrome (my day-to-day work browser): Clip to Evernote, Google Reader inline, Orbvious Interest (works with Read it Later). (Mmm…looks like I need to get a Devonthink bookmarklet in there.)
pfyfe - August 25, 2010 at 1:41 pm
Use Firefox. Second for ABP and XMarks. In addition:DictionarySearch — adds context menu items to right click for direct queries of dictionaries. The best thing: with a little tinkering, you can change and customize the searches. Mine currently include Google, Merriam-Webster, the OED, Wikipedia, etc. Bet you could find a way to get WorldCat and MLA Bib stuff on there, too. Then just highlight terms on a given page, right click, and enjoy immediate results from various reference sources.LibX — my last two universities have custom “LibX” library search toolbars, which I immediately removed from the browser but kept them enabled for the handy right-click context menus (you might see a pattern here). Their usefulness is self-evident, and they nicely allow you to customize the kinds of queries and specific databases.
workerasocial - August 25, 2010 at 6:10 pm
Zotero, Xmarks and Ad Block Plus are going to be mentioned a ton, I’m sure. Rather than ABP, I prefer the Greasemonkey/Stylish approach to killing ads online and making websites more readable/less annoying. As an aside, I can’t praise Tab Mix Plus enough. As someone who works with about ten tabs open at once, it’s a smorgasbord of funnctionality that I easily take for granted at this point.
rmblade - August 25, 2010 at 7:18 pm
For Safari: a plug-in called ClickToFlash” that blocks all Adobe Flash boxes–most of them are ads. You can, though, click on a box and the Flash plays. You can also put any Web site on a whitelist that automatically allows all Flash.For Firefox, there’s one called FlashBlock that does the same thing.
aeonelpis - August 25, 2010 at 7:45 pm
Second ABP, FlashBlock, Better GRdr, and Read It Later. I also use AdBlock and FlashBlock in Chrome.In Firefox, I’d add Stop Autoplay (which does just that) and Personas (for skins and appearance differences).I like Amazon Wish List and Shareaholic for Chrome. Shareaholic allows me to re-post, email, and share content easily. AWL lets me add items to Amazon lists from anywhere — which I use to organize reading lists, possible course readings, and personal items by topic.
eszter - August 26, 2010 at 8:17 am
I mainly use Firefox (although I’ve recently switched to Opera Mini on my phone).For Firefox: – Forecastfox – this is the primary way I get weather info- Screengrab – great for capturing an entire Web page as an image, no matter how long it is- Firefox Sync – syncs bookmarks, etc.
ryanmichael - August 26, 2010 at 8:28 am
I spend the majority of my time in Firefox for work, so…Adblock Plus – no brainerAfter the Deadline – spell/grammar checking in text boxesBetter (Everything) – Gmail, GReader, Youtube, Amazon, etc.Bit.ly Preview – shows you what’s behind those pesky shortlinksEvernote Webclipper – Just in case.Firebug – Webdev holy grailFirefox Showcase – tab management, until Tab Candy comes packaged in a stable FF 4Greasemonkey – scripts: GoogleMonkeyR, Disable Text Ads, YouTube “Lights Out”KeeFox – integration with the KeePass password management softwareLazarus – automatically saves form data in case you navigate away, browser crashes, etc. (A must-have.)ProfileSwitcher – no more worrying about social websites popping up in the For-Work profile’s address barZotero – Duh.On top of those, the following bookmarklets: Springpad.it, Bit.ly, Readability, Instapaper.
stevefoerster - August 26, 2010 at 8:41 am
I use Firefox on Ubuntu Linux.Someone’s already mentioned Lazarus, but it bears repeating. Ever typed for an hour into an online form only to have all that work be lost when it doesn’t submit properly or something otherwise closes your window prematurely? With Lazarus, all that is automatically saved so you can go back to that page and recover it. It’s completely indispensible.Another one I use suprisingly often is “Copy Plain Text”. Often I want to copy some text and don’t want the formatting to carry over, like from a web page to a word processor document. Copy Plain Text adds that option to your right-click context menu.
drjeff - August 26, 2010 at 9:05 am
For Firefox:o NoScript (can keep you from getting hacked)o AdBlock Pluso FireShot (very flexible page capture)o Lazarus (saves your forms in progress if it crashes)o ForecastFox (tells me when I can take my bike home)o Read It Later (very nice)For Web development, I also use:o Web Developero YSlowo Pingero FirebugAlso, I keep bookmarklets for Readibility and Amazon Wish List on my toolbar.Yes, Firefox does get pretty bloated with all this (I had to spend $40 for more RAM — my FF averages about 500 Mb w/20 tabs open), but it’s worth it.
ajwms - August 26, 2010 at 9:13 am
For Chrome:Adblock PlusAwesome ScreenshotDelicious tools1PasswordFor Firefox:1PasswordDelicious ToolsScreengrabTextarea ResizerAdblock PlusScribeFireColorful TabsTabMix PlusReadabilityGreasemonkey with these scripts: NPR Embedded, Delicious Prettifier, Profanity Filter,TinyURL Decoder
vahidm - August 26, 2010 at 10:05 am
Number 1 for me to even consider surfing: Diigo. Can’t live without it.Number 2: adblock or adthwart. Can live without it, but life’s better with it on.On Chrome i am also enjoying the Google Dictionary lookup, which is great for quick words definition.
mbelvadi - August 26, 2010 at 10:27 am
Similar to #10, in Firefox I can’t live without Extended Copy Menu which adds a “copy in plain text” option in the right-click menu. I virtually never want the formatting when I copy from a web page. Even from the early days of FF, this was the “killer app” that caused me to make the transition from IE to FF (now of course there are many more reasons to abandon IE).I’ll also be happy to plug LibX. If your library doesn’t offer one, ask them to – it’s free for any library to configure a custom one, and as #4 said, you can turn off the toolbar if you don’t use it much, and just take advantage of the right-click options it gives and the extra links it adds to pages that contain bibliographic codes like ISBNs, DOIs, etc.For personal computing needs, also consider Password Exporter for FF. Used carefully, it can help you keep a record of all those darn passwords all over the place, in case you forget them because the browser has been remembering it for you and now you need them on another computer.
kevingannon - August 26, 2010 at 10:35 am
I use Firefox, and absolutely love the Read It Later add-on. I also use AdBlock Plus (which I will never be without again online), and a “Clip to OneNote” add-on. I have a tablet PC, so I use OneNote a bunch, for both meetings/committee work and my own research–the Clip to OneNote add-on allows me to screen-grab either entire pages or just individual sections of webpages and save them as Notes. I then go in an organize them appropriately. It beats my old system, which was a mass of post-it notes with indecipherable scrawl on them proliferating along my desk.
musebrarian - August 26, 2010 at 10:44 am
I mostly use Firefox these days because of the availability of plugins, though Chrome/Safari often become media browsers for non-work activities. Many of my plugins have already been mentioned (Zotero, Readability, Delicious, Greasemonkey and Firebug), but I’ll also give a thumbs up to: FastDial which creates a dashboard for links I want quick access to.
rgoranflo - August 26, 2010 at 11:08 am
I used to load up Firefox with half a dozen extensions or so, but then I switched to Opera and don’t need any now. While there are a couple features I liked having in Firefox through extensions, I got really tired of all of my extensions breaking every time Firefox updated.
plordan - August 26, 2010 at 12:05 pm
For Firefox I use the following:Printliminator: Allows me to omit any formatting, adds, images, etc in order to print or PDF a web page sans noise/crud.Morning Coffee: I set up specific web pages to read daily or weekly, and this add on delivers them to individual open tabs.Color Tabs: I can see a different color for each open tab, making it much easier to distinguish one from another.Split Browser: Allows me to open links/pages in a separate pane, whether side-by-side or up/down. It’s extremely useful for working on Blackboard. It synchronizes scrolling of windows if you want.
zakir - August 26, 2010 at 12:22 pm
I can’t live without xMarks. It synchs your favorites (bookmarks) between major browsers (PC – IE, FF, Chrome) and (Mac – FF, Safari). It’s a must-have extention.
matthew_tiffany - August 26, 2010 at 1:49 pm
I use the LastPass extension in Chrome and in Firefox.The “Copy without formatting” extension for Chrome is also a must-have.
christian_d - August 26, 2010 at 2:05 pm
My holy trinity: AdBlock Plus, LastPass, Diigo. AdBlock Plus is so useful, you’re crazy not to use it. It really is an extension for *everybody*. Not only does it cut down on clutter, but in Firefox it speeds up page loading and blocks tons of malicious scripts in sketchy web pages.LastPass was covered in detail by an earlier ProfHacker column. If you use multiple computers, it easily beats out Roboform, 1Password and KeePass.Diigo (or Delicious, or XMarks) is a must-have, to keep your notes and bookmarks shared and searchable no matter your location. Diigo’s great website capture, annotation and sharing features set it above Delicious, but if you can’t bear to part with the old ways, Diigo will automatically add everything you bookmark to your Delicious account as well, so if you ever feel like going back, you haven’t fragmented your collection.When its time for academic work, out comes Zotero! But this is the Chronicle, so of course everyone here already knew that.
cclark2 - August 26, 2010 at 2:42 pm
I use Firefox on a Mac and my favorites are Delcious and Zotero
loenglish - August 26, 2010 at 2:45 pm
For Firefox: Zotero, Shareaholic (multiple bookmarklets), Aviary (screenshots and lots more), Evernote, Readability, Diigo and LeechBlock. Shareholic covers a bunch of essential tools, including Instapaper (I have 2 accounts, one which sends articles to my Kindle), Facebook and more). These really are essential for me!
george_h_williams - August 26, 2010 at 3:42 pm
Wow! Thanks for all the great suggestions. I knew about many of these already, but a whole lot of them are new to me… and, I imagine, to others.Keep ‘em coming!
matthew_tiffany - August 26, 2010 at 8:14 pm
I’m interested in Zotero, but it doesn’t look to have an extension for Chrome. That’s a big problem.
heatherwhitney - August 27, 2010 at 12:04 pm
@matthew_tiffany It’s a problem for you and many others (myself included)!
derekbruff - August 31, 2010 at 1:28 pm
For Firefox:ColorfulTabs – Gives each tab its own color, which keeps them from looking like a grey blur at the top of my browser.Delicious Bookmarks – See my recent guest post!DownThemAll! – Haven’t used this lately, but it allows you to download all the links from a webpage. Say you’ve got a page that links to 20 different PDFs, all potentially useful. Instead of right-clicking 20 links, you can let DownThemAll! grab them all at once.is.gd Creator – After a couple of months of shortening my URLs for Twitter, I got tired of looking at long URLs in other applications. With this add-on, I’ve got a red “iS” button next to my address bar. Clicking on this button saves a shortened URL for the current page to my clipboard so I can paste it in an email or Word document. It also adds handy shortening tools to the right-click menu. I use this ALL THE TIME.Read It Later – See my recent guest post for this, too!Readability – As mentioned many times above, this is a handy little anti-clutter tool.