Filed under: Features, Google, Browsers
10 handy Userscripts for Google Chrome
So it's finally a year old, and many of you have been playing with Google Chrome as a secondary browser for quite some time now. Heck, quite a few of you are probably using it as your primary browser by now - which may explain your interest in this post.
Just because Chrome doesn't boast the huge assortment of add-ons that Firefox does doesn't mean it's not extensible. With Userscripts alone, there is plenty of functionality you can add to Google's browser. Here are ten scripts I find handy!
AdSweep can be had as a Chrome extension, but since they're pretty well just packaged Userscripts you might as well just use the script version. It does an excellent job vacuuming up excessive adverts without mangling page layouts too badly.
Just because Chrome doesn't boast the huge assortment of add-ons that Firefox does doesn't mean it's not extensible. With Userscripts alone, there is plenty of functionality you can add to Google's browser. Here are ten scripts I find handy!
AdSweep can be had as a Chrome extension, but since they're pretty well just packaged Userscripts you might as well just use the script version. It does an excellent job vacuuming up excessive adverts without mangling page layouts too badly.
AutoPagerize is a classic Greasemonkey script, if such a thing exists. When reading multi-page articles, AutoPagerize will automatically load the next page's content inline. I find it useful on lengthy-but-split-up reviews like the ones on Tom's Hardware Guide.
Better GMail has also made the jump from Firefox and Greasemonkey to Chrome. Since it's a collection of individual scripts, you can drop in only those you want to activate. Components include mouseover row highlighting, folders4gmail, and various page element hiding scripts.
BlockFlash2 (pictured above) is just what you've been looking for if you're missing FlashBlock for Firefox. While it's not as full-featured, it gets the job done. Flash elements won't autoload after dropping in BF2 - they'll be replaced with a blank placeholder and appear only when you give the go ahead. You can whitelist sites, though you'll have to do it manually by editing the .js file.
Google Reader Prefetch More improves responsiveness in the popular feed reader by caching more than the default number items. Check the difference in your scrollbar slider after installing.
Multi-Column Google allows you to switch between one, two, and three column search results using hotkeys. Just pressalt+1 to revert to single column view - alt+2 or 3 to go multi. It's a perfect fit for widescreen displays.
Multi-Column Google allows you to switch between one, two, and three column search results using hotkeys. Just pressalt+1 to revert to single column view - alt+2 or 3 to go multi. It's a perfect fit for widescreen displays.
PBTweet caught my eye for its Twitter-boosting powers. This one packs all kinds of usefulness (if you're into Twitter), like threaded replies, image previews, short URL expansion, auto-refresh, autoloading more tweets when scrolling, retweet and translate buttons, and more.
RSS Feed Detection adds a handy, inobtrusive tab at the top of any page containing a feed. That's about all there is to it, but it makes subscribing to feeds you happen upon while surfing.
Textarea Backup with Expiry is a must-have for anyone who spends a lot of time online commenting, posting on forums, blogging, or filling in forms. Think of it as autosave for your browser. Had half a form filled out and Chrome decided to pull the ol' "Aw, snap!" on you? No problem. Re-open your tab and pick up where you left off.
Windows Live Cleaner is perfect for those of you who might be using Google's browser but are using Microsoft's web apps - like Live Mail, Calendar, and Home. It removes the top toolbar, most ads, and provides full-width email message display.
Textarea Backup with Expiry is a must-have for anyone who spends a lot of time online commenting, posting on forums, blogging, or filling in forms. Think of it as autosave for your browser. Had half a form filled out and Chrome decided to pull the ol' "Aw, snap!" on you? No problem. Re-open your tab and pick up where you left off.
Windows Live Cleaner is perfect for those of you who might be using Google's browser but are using Microsoft's web apps - like Live Mail, Calendar, and Home. It removes the top toolbar, most ads, and provides full-width email message display.
Got a favorite Userscript that plays well with Chrome? Share it in the comments!
Need help getting the scripts installed? Just follow Google's directions on this page at the Chromium developer site.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Byron Yu said 2:34PM on 9-02-2009
So how do you install these scripts?
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Lee Mathews said 2:43PM on 9-02-2009
Note added to post, but try the top part of this page, Byron:
http://dev.chromium.org/developers/design-documents/user-scripts
Byron Yu said 2:57PM on 9-02-2009
I don't get how to: Launch chrome.exe with the --enable-user-scripts flag.
I already created a directory with a folder named user scripts. Am I supposed to copy the content of the userscripts into notepad, and name it as a .js file? Thats what I did, and I copied the .js files into the user scripts folder.
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Lee Mathews said 3:03PM on 9-02-2009
You can also right-click and choose "save link as" and save it directly to your 'User Scripts' folder.
To add the switch, right-click your shortcut, choose properties, and append it in the 'target' box. Here's a screencap:
http://tinypic.com/r/2je7mug/3
Byron Yu said 3:17PM on 9-02-2009
Alright, I got it all figured out now. Thanks for your help Lee.
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ThaDarkLord said 8:58PM on 9-02-2009
Actually there's flashblock for chrome (http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/46673). Looks way better than BlockFlash2.
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Taiyo Fujii said 10:40PM on 9-02-2009
Thanks for description for my work pbtweet.
Would you like to change URL to pbtweet website? Current URL is for Firefox version and REAL pbtweet is far better from this version.
http://web.me.com/t_trace/pbtweet.html
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b aizaz said 5:53AM on 9-03-2009
thank you SO much!
I swear i've been using chrome for months and had no idea 90% of these existed. I guess its just not publicized as much?
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Michael Freeman said 6:52AM on 9-03-2009
I ported my Pimp My iGoogle script to Chrome as well:
http://spanishgringo.blogspot.com/2008/10/pimpmyigoogle-userscriptsorg.html
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Jeff hates socialism said 4:54AM on 9-11-2009
Do not bother with AdSweep abandonware. Instead use Iron with built in AdBlock
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ry :] said 3:38AM on 11-04-2009
GMail Auto Login is very convenient if your computer isn't public or no one else uses it, assuming you set Chrome to remember your password.
Google Reader Preview, Folders4Gmail, Greased Lightbox, and The Caverns Link Checker (if you often download files from Megaupload, Rapidshare, etc) are indisposable userscripts for me. GoogleMonkeyr is also an almost indentical alternative to Firefox's GoogleEnhancer, but since its a script you don't need to install an extension. :D
Hope this helps!
(:
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