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A Userscript For Better Userscripts.org Navigation

Martin — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:32:33 +0000

If you have been to userscripts.org before you might have noticed that the website holds an incredible amount of userscripts. You might have also noticed that it is extremely uncomfortable to browse and work with in general. Userscripts are JavaScript code snippets that change elements on a website while it is loaded in the web browser. The developer of the “Because it’s your userscripts.org” userscript must have come to the conclusion that a userscript would be the perfect way of improving the userscripts.org website.

And that’s what the developer did. The userscript changes several key elements on the website. Its main features are options to customize the script display on the website and the option to add scripts and authors to a blacklist so that they will no longer be displayed when browsing the website.

The default changes include an increase in the amount of scripts that are displayed per page (triple the default amount), and options to install or blacklist any script right from that page without visiting the script’s profile page first. A trashcan icon is also placed next to each userscript in the script table listings to add it to the blacklist.

The left side contains a link to the settings of the userscript which provide access to additional options. This includes removing rows of the table layout (Hide ‘Rating’ Column, Hide ‘Posts’ Column, Hide ‘Fans’ Column, Hide ‘Installs’ Column, Hide ‘Last Updated’ Column, Hide ‘Votes’ Column), add scripts based on title or description to the blacklist or to change various author and script related blacklisting settings.

Because it’s your userscripts.org can be downloaded from the userscripts website.

Tags: firefox, greasemonkey, javascript, userscripts

9 Facebook Userscripts

Martin — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:41:53 +0000

Chance is you have a Facebook account. Hundreds of millions of users have one and at least some of them are looking for ways to change the standard appearance and functionality of the social networking website. One unobtrusive way of doing that is to use so called userscripts which can be loaded into web browsers like Firefox and partially into browsers like Google Chrome, Opera, Safari and even Internet Explorer. Firefox users need to download and install the Greasemonkey add-on.

The userscripts change, remove or add elements to a website on load if they are activated. They can for example remove ads, display download links, embed additional content or provide other benefits to the Internet user. Check out our Facebook Login and Facebook Login Page help articles if you have troubles logging into Facebook.

FacebookDeletes

If you want to delete friends on Facebook you need to do that one by one on the Friend’s page there. That’s a problem if you do not want to remove one but maybe dozens or even hundreds of friends. That’s where the Facebook Deletes userscript comes in handy. It allows Facebook users to batch delete friends in Facebook. [link]

Facebook | Add Status

You can change your status by writing something into the What’s on your mind box. Some users like to see their previous status there before they start changing it. This is what the Add Status userscript does. It displays the current status next to the What’s on your mind box, [link]

Remove All Facebook Ads

If you are not using an ad blocker in your web browser you might want to consider running this userscript. It will remove all Facebook ads to remove these distractions from the Facebook website. [link]

Secure Connections

If you visit Facebook you usually enter through the http address. Facebook is also offering to open Facebook using a secure https connection. This script automates the process by automatically loading the https website for Facebook and several others that are configured in the script. [link]

Facebook Fixer

One of the larger Facebook scripts. The developer is currently working on a new version as Facebook recently has made some design changes to their website. There is a lot that this userscript does including

Big Profile Pictures and Photos recently improved
Big Album Pictures
Video Download Links
Load Full Albums
Homepage Customization recently improved
Age and Sign recently improved
Calendar Integration
Keyboard Shortcuts recently improved
Re-Title
Error Page Reloading

This is a large script that changes many aspects of Facebook to the better. [link]

Facebook Purity

Don’t like all those quiz and application messages on your Facebook homepage? Now you can get rid of them by installing the Facebook Purity userscript which automatically removes them from the homepage. [link]

Facebook Friends Checker

Want to know if any of your friends have removed you from being their friend? Now you can find out with the Facebook Friends Checker userscript. [link]

Facebook Chatbar+

Gives you a collection of emoticons that you can click for a simpler way to experience emoticons in chat. [link]

Facebook Highlight Birthdays

Highlights the birthdays of today on the Facebook homepage. [link]

Tags: facebook, facebook userscripts, greasemonkey, userscripts

PBTweet Enhances Twitter Experience

Martin — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 21:26:19 +0000

PBTweet is a bookmarklet and userscript that enhances several aspects of Twitter by changing or adding new functions to the popular social network. Before we start looking at the features a word about compatibility. The bookmarklet works with most Webkit based web browsers including Safari and Google Chrome. The userscripts are compatible with Greasemonkey for Firefox but also with Greasekit for Safari and Chrome userkit.

The features that are added are manifold for a userscript / bookmarklet. PBtweet will display conversations in chain balloons which makes it much easier to follow them on Twitter. It will also remove redundant tweets automatically, add more messages automatically once the end of the page has been reached, insert new messages automatically at the top, expand shortened urls, offer picture previews and indicators and provide access to actions like translating and replying to messages.

The developers have created a demonstration video that is showcasing the functionality of PBTweet which is embedded below. It gives a great visual overview of the features offered by the bookmarklet / userscript.

Interested users find installation instructions and downloads at the developer’s website.

Tags: bookmarklet, firefox, google chrome, greasemonkey, pbtweet, safari, twitter, userscript

Automatically Buffer Youtube Videos

Martin — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 08:29:49 +0000

Many Youtube users do not like the fact that Youtube videos start playing as soon as the video is opened. This objection has several reasons. The most prominent ones are that users with slow connections can experience pauses during playback as the video download speed is slower than the playback speed of the video. Another reason becomes apparent if users open multiple videos at once on Youtube. All of these videos start playing as soon as the page has loaded which is obviously not a good experience.

The Greasemonkey script Youtube Auto Buffer And Auto HD and Remove Ads offers a quick and unobtrusive solution to that problem and two additional ones.

Youtube videos will automatically buffer completely without playback. Users who want to do that manually need to press the pause button on each video so that the video is not played but the contents are buffered. The script automates that process.

The Greasemonkey script adds two additional features. The first will automatically load the HD version of the opened Youtube videos. That’s a feature that most Youtube scripts and add-ons provides. The second will remove those annoying ads that are displayed at the bottom of Youtube videos.

Some users reported that they got the script working not only in the Firefox web browser but also in Opera. Interested users can download it from the Userscripts website. Make sure to check out our download Youtube videos guide if you are interested in download videos from the video portal.

Tags: download youtube videos, greasemonkey, userscripts, youtube, youtube buffer, youtube videos, youtube-tips

Greasemonkey To Firefox Add-On Compiler

Martin — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 21:22:09 +0000

Some Greasemonkey scripts can really improve the usability on specific websites. We have reviewed several popular scripts before including Greasemonkey scripts for IMDB, Twitter, 4Chan, Youtube or Google Search. Greasemonkey scripts require the Firefox Greasemonkey extension before they can be installed. Users who want to be notified about userscript updates need to install another userscript to do so (read Greasemonkey Updater).

The Greasemonkey Compiler is an online tool that can be used to convert Greasemonkey userscripts into Firefox add-ons. One of the main advantages of Firefox add-ons is that they do not require the Greasemonkey extension to be installed. This makes it also easier to distribute the script.

The Greasemonkey Compiler is a simple web form. Some of the needed parameters are already filled out automatically including a random GUID and the compatible Firefox versions. They can be edited easily to keep the Greasemonkey script compatible with future Firefox versions.

All that needs to be done is to paste the complete source code of the Greasemonkey script into the User Script text form on the website. A click on Compile will create a Firefox add-on based on the uscript with the xpi extension. This add-on can then be installed in the Firefox web browser where it will provide the same functionality that the Greasemonkey script would offer.

There are two problems associated with the conversion of Greasemonkey scripts into Firefox add-ons using the Greasemonkey Compiler. Options that might have been provided by the Greasemonkey script are not carried over into the Firefox add-on. This can be problematic for some scripts that can be configured. The second problem is that the script has to be updated manually by performing the same conversion with a newer version of the script.

Tags: firefox, firefox-add on, firefox-extension, greasemonkey, greasemonkey compiler, userscripts, web browser

Automatically Download Files From Rapidshare In Firefox

Martin — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 09:28:34 +0000

Users who download regularly from the popular file host Rapidshare usually use a download manager like JDownloader or Cryptload to do so. These download managers provide several benefits over downloading files from Rapidshare in a web browser like Firefox or Internet Explorer. The most important benefit being the ability to queue an unlimited number of files in the Rapidshare Download Manager which are then download sequentially without further user interaction.

Rapidshare AutoWait is a userscript that can be loaded in the Firefox Greasemonkey extension. It brings most of the benefit that is provided by download managers to the web browser. In short: It allows a user to open multiple Rapidshare links which get then downloaded sequentially without user interaction.

The script will automatically perform all required actions on the page after it has been opened in Firefox. It will also detect if a download is already in progress to loop the other Rapidshare downloads which are then started at a later time.

The script does detect network problems and handles other possible errors like expired sessions or the 15 minute limits as well. It is not a problem for the script to handle 10, 20 or even 30 tabs that all point to a file on the Rapidshare website. The only step that the script will not do is to close the tab once the download has been finished which is not that much of a problem though.

AutoWait is a very interesting option for users who download files regularly from Rapidshare. Check out our Rapidshare Search article for pointers on how to find links at the the file host. It is possible that the script will also work in other web browsers that provide userscript support such as Opera or Safari.

Tags: file host, firefox, greasemonkey, rapidshare, rapidshare download, rapidshare search, userscripts, web browser

Google Image Relinker

Martin — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 11:26:43 +0000

Google Image Search is a very comprehensive image search engine. It basically works the same way as the standard Google search with the difference that image thumbnails are displayed as results on the results pages. Additional information like the domain name the image was posted on or the size of the image are displayed on the result pages as well. Filters allow the user to find images that match certain criteria like resolutions or colors.

One aspect of Google Image Search that is bugging many users is that it does not link directly to the image but to a Google page that displays the website containing the image in a frame. This means that users need to click on the image to be taken to the framed page where they can either scroll until they find the image or click on the image that is displayed on top to display the full sized image.

The Google Image Relinker userscript changes this default behavior by linking directly to the images in the Google Image search results pages. The developer has confirmed that the script works in Firefox, Opera and Seamonkey with the possibility that it will work in other web browsers that support userscripts (Google Chrome, Safari) as well.

The script basically safes time by allowing the user to view the image directly from the search result pages. A link to the framed version (which is the default way) is provided as well. Google Image Relinker is an interesting userscript for those users who work with the Google Image Search engine regularly.

Tags: firefox, Google, google image, google image search, greasemonkey, image search, opera, seamonkey, userscript

9 Twitter Userscripts

Martin — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 12:52:44 +0000

After the success of the IMDB userscripts article we thought it would be nice to write another one that would review some of the best Twitter userscripts out there. Now, userscripts can be loaded into the web browser in various ways. Probably the most popular and straightforward way is to use the Greasemonkey extension for the Firefox web browser. It is however possible to add userscripts to Opera, Safari or the Google Browser as well.

Twitter is basically a way of posting short messages on the Internet comparable to SMS but publicly visible and permanent. It is possible to follow people so that their messages get automatically displayed in Twitter. That’s the basic concept which proved to be very popular.

Nested Twitter Replies [link]

Twitter users can post replies to messages which are by default just displayed like any other message meaning that they are not grouped together. The Nested Twitter Replies userscript takes care of that by grouping the original message and the replies together.

Twitter Trends Explained [link]

Twitter trends are topics of public interest that are displayed in the right sidebar of the profile page. This covers a wide variety of topics from technology to politics and environment. There is no explanation on the topic by default which is changed by Twitter Trends Explained.

Endless Tweets [link]

Twitter displays a limited amount of messages per page. Users need to click every time they want to view additional messages. The Endless Tweets userscript will automatically load the next batch of messages when the user reaches the end of the page.

Twitter Search Results on Google [link]

Displays Twitter messages in Google Search results effectively combining Twitter messages in Google Search.

TinyURL Decoder [link]

The TinyURL Decoder supports dozens of different url shortening services that are being used by Twitter users.

Twitpic Thumbnailer [link]

Many Twitter users post images to Twitpic and link to these images in their Twitter messages. This userscript allows Twitter users to preview the thumbnails of those images.

Twitter Live Updater [link]

The Twitter message pages do not get updated automatically which means that users need to refresh them manually to check for new messages. The Twitter Live Updater will refresh the Twitter pages automatically periodically.

Twitter Friends Bio at a Glance [link]

This userscript displays information including the bio, followers and following count that are usually only visible on a user profile page

Twitter2FB [link]

Updates the Facebook status with the Twitter status.

Verdict: The userscript’s website lists hundreds of Twitter scripts that have been designed to change, add or modify functions and features on Twitter. They can really enhance the Twitter experience for users who regularly write and read messages.

Tags: firefox, greasemonkey, internet browser, messages, twitter, userscripts, web browser

x Ways To Manipulate Websites In Firefox

Martin — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 17:33:53 +0000

The Firefox web browser offers an user several ways of manipulating web sites in realtime. The article discusses several of the possibilities that are available ranging from popular Firefox add-ons to userscripts and other means of website manipulation.

We would like to encourage you to post additional tips and hints about website manipulation in the comments of this article so that the page becomes as comprehensive as possible. All methods of manipulating websites have been tested with Firefox 3.5x and 3.0.x. Most will probably also work in previous versions of the web browser.

1. Userscripts and Greasemonkey

Greasemonkey and its userscripts are probably the most popular and known method of manipulation website contents in real time. Thousands of userscripts exist that add, remove or modify elements and features of web services. Some classic examples are changing the design of Gmail, adding new features to the Internet Movie Database IMDB or skipping the wait time at popular file hosts.

Generation of scripts requires web development knowledge, especially of html, JavaScript and CSS as these are used to alter the contents of the websites.

2. Platypus – Modify Websites Without Programming Skills

Platypus allows a user to modify websites with any programming skill requirements. This limits the reach of the Firefox add-on a bit as it is not possible to reach the depth of Greasemonkey. Possible options are to permanently remove elements from websites, change style attributes, change the font and background colors to black and white or to remove fixed sizes and positioning on a page.

3. Stylish – Modify CSS

The Stylish add-on for Firefox and its accompanying userstyles directory provide access to new styles that manipulate the CSS of a website.It can be used to remove, add, move and manipulate elements on a website permanently. The screenshot above shows the popular Atistic Google userstyle.

4. Yet Another Remove It Permanently

Yet Another Remove It Permanently is an add-on for the Firefox web browser that makes it possible to remove elements on websites permanently. Can for example be used to remove advertisement from Google Search results or images from websites. Basically any element can be removed with this add-on. A similar add-on is Nuke Anything Enhanced.

5. Firebug

Firebug is first and foremost an add-on for Firefox that presents lots of useful information to web developers. What many do not know is that it comes with the capabilities to manipulate elements on a website. It is probably not the first choice for this kind of manipulations but this comes in handy when testing different kinds of layouts, color combinations or fonts.

6. NoScript and Adblock Plus

Both the NoScript and the Adblock Plus add-on for Firefox are primarily being used to prevent scripts and advertisements from being displayed on the user’s computer monitor. This does make them limited tools for modifying websites.

7. Aardvark

Aardvark can be used to isolate or remove elements from websites.Has been primarily been designed to remove unneeded elements before printing a website.

Verdict:

There are definitely a lot possibilities to modify websites in Firefox; Certainly more than have been mentioned in this post. Probably the easiest possibilities are in the form of Greasemonkey. If you know of any additional add-ons that should be mentioned let us know in the comments.

Tags: adblock, firebug, firefox, Google, greasemonkey, imdb, noscript, platypus, stylish, userscripts, web browser

12 IMDB Userscripts

Martin — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:22:00 +0000

Userscripts come in handy in many different situations. They really shine when it comes to adding, changing or removing features on websites. Probably the most popular way to use userscripts is by installing the Firefox add-on Greasemonkey.

IMDB, the Internet Movie Database, is one of the most popular movie review and information websites. A search on the userscript website reveals more than 300 different scripts for the IMDB website. The following article contains a selection of the most interesting IMDB userscripts that are currently available.

IMDB Pirated Version (link)

Probably the most popular IMDB userscript. It displays additional links to subtitles, torrent websites and file hosts.

The Movie Dude (link)

Movie Dude puts up links to other movie review sites in the header of each individual movie on IDMB. This is great for cross-referencing movies. Supported are more than 30 different movie sites with the possibility to customize the display so that only the desired sites show up on IMDB.

IMDB Age (link)

Adds the age of the actor next to the movies they appeared in. Useful features for visitors who often look at artist’s filmography on IMDB.

IMDb Image Deblocker (link)

Some images on IMDB are blocked by a transparent gif which makes it impossible to save them using the usual right-click save-as dialog. This userscript removes those transparent images.

IMDB enlarge actor pictures on hover (link)

Displays a bigger image of an actor on IMDB when hovering the mouse over the thumbnail.

IMDB Weaver (link)

Adds two options to the movie pages on IMDB. The first is to display the actual age of the actors of the movie, the second to perform some research on those actors.

Google Images in IMDb (link)

Adds links to Google Images which open in a new tab in the web browser.

IMDB enlarge (link)

Will display the large image of images on IMDB when hovering over an image thumbnail.

Remove Ads (link)

Removes some of the advertisement on IMDB.

Netflix Links in IMDB (link)

Adds links to Netflix on IMDB movie pages.

IMDB Ratings (link)

Adds movie ratings to search result pages on IMDB.

IMDb Movie Collection Manager (link)

Very helpful userscript for registered users who manage their movie collection on IMDB. Offers options to quickly add movies to the movie collection, highlight those movies and multiple other interesting features.

Tags: firefox, greasemonkey, imdb, imdb scripts, internet movie database, movies, userscripts, web browser

4Chan Cleaner And Image Expander

Martin — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 08:35:46 +0000

You either hate or love 4Chan, the popular English forum that is based on the Japanese 2Ch forum. 4Chan offers a variety of topic areas that include Japanese culture, entertainment, creative and a large 18+ section. One interesting aspect is that 4Chan allows anonymous users to participate fully in the forum which includes creating new threads.

A click on any board will load a huge page that contains hundreds of images and comments about those images from users from all over the world. 4Chan has sparked lots of controversy in the past due to its anything goes attitude. The site rules state that only adults are allowed to view the site’s contents and that it is illegal to post post content that is illegal in the United States.

4Chan Cleaner is a userscript that removes some of the elements on the 4Chan website. This includes advertisement but also a better layout of all the posts and images on each 4chan forum.

4Chan Inline Image Expander is a second userscript that makes it easier to expand images on the main forum page. A simple click on the image will load its full size directly in the forum without loading a new page. A second click on the same image will display the image thumbnail again.

Both userscripts require the Firefox web browser and the Firefox add-on Greasemonkey or a compatible web browser that can load userscripts as well.

Tags: 4chan, 4chan forum, firefox, forum, greasemonkey, userscripts, web browser

Two Firefox Add-Ons That Help You Extend The Web Browser

Martin — Sun, 17 May 2009 18:33:25 +0000

Users of the Firefox web browser have thousands of add-ons and scripts at their disposal that they can use to extend the functionality of the web browser. This large amount makes it impossible for most users to know all of the add-ons out there which in turn can mean that they miss the opportunity of testing and working with ones that would help them increase their browsing experience.

Here are two Firefox add-ons that help users find new Firefox add-ons and Greasemonkey scripts naturally. We have covered them both before here at Ghacks but thought it would be nice to combine both in a post as they are excellent ways to extend the web browser.

Greasefire

Greasefire finds Greasemonkey scripts that are compatible with the active website. Those can be scripts that have been specifically designed for that website or scripts that work with software that has been used to create the site. The add-on will change the icon of the Greasemonkey extension in the Firefox status bar if scripts have been found. A right-click on the icon will display the usual Greasemonkey menu with the addition of one entry that is displaying the number of scripts found that are compatible with the website. A click on that figure will open a new window that displays the names of the scripts in a sidebar and embeds the page at the userscript website on the right.

Add-ons Suggestion Tool

We have covered the add-ons suggestion tool recently. It will compute related add-ons to the add-ons already installed in the active Firefox profile based on the installations of other users with similar add-ons. It is experimental at this time and lacks add-on descriptions but links to the add-on pages where the information can be obtained.

Know of any additional tool or add-on that does something similar? Let us know in the options.

Tags: add-on suggestion tool, firefox, firefox-add on, firefox-extension, greasefire, greasemonkey, userscript, web browser

FireFox Speed Up Script

Martin — Wed, 13 May 2009 18:27:44 +0000

Firefox Speed Up Script is a script for Greasemonkey that combines several tweaks to Firefox core configuration settings with site specific optimizations and various other improvements including blocking of known advertising scripts. The Greasemonkey extension for the Firefox web browser is required to use the Speed Up Script which will automatically become active after installation. This is actually one of the biggest strengths of this solution as it does not require the user to edit the Firefox configuration manually. Cautious users are advised to look at the source code of the script before they install it to get detailed information about the changes that are applied to it.

The biggest improvements are noticeable on websites that have been added by the developer of the script. Sites like the BBC, Youtube, Digg, MSN, IDMB, Lifehacker, Gizmodo or Mashable are all included in that list and should load faster than before for most users who apply the script to their computer system.

The only problem that some users could run into is that optimized sites can only be removed from the script by editing the source code. Advanced users on the other hand can use this to add new sites to the script.

FireFox Speed Up Script can be downloaded directly from the Userscripts website.

Tags: firefox, firefox scripts, firefox speed, firefox-add on, greasemonkey, optimize firefox, userscript, web browser

Greasemonkey UserScripts Updater

Martin — Sun, 03 May 2009 09:07:27 +0000

Greasemonkey userscripts can be very helpful in many situations that are regularly encountered on the web. They manipulate elements on a website to either remove, add or change them without the user noticing in the background. There are basic scripts that have been designed for one specific purpose like removing all ads on a website or adding download links to photos but also more advanced scripts that combine many new elements into one script. What all have in common is that there is no way of getting informed about script updates. At least not by normal means. Script updates are important as userscripts have to be modified if websites change elements on their pages. Results can be non working or broken userscripts.

Userscripts Updater is a Greasemonkey script that has been designed to search for script updates automatically. It is installed like any other Greasemonkey script in the web browser. It won’t work right out of the box because it only supports scripts that have been installed after it was installed itself. Users with Greasemonkey scripts installed need to uninstall and reinstall them. That should not be highly problematic unless dozens of scripts are installed on a user’s computer.

The userscript will add all scripts that get installed after its own installation so that these can be automatically included in the checks for updates. It is important to open the Options of the script at least once to configure the automatic update process. Options can be accessed on any Greasemonkey userscript page.

A click on Update Scripts will initiate a check for script updates. Options on the other hand open a small overlay menu on the same page that can be used to configure regular automatic update checks, for instance every hour or second day, and to take a look at the scripts that are monitored.

Old scripts have to be removed manually from that option’s menu as they are still listed in the updater even if they have been uninstalled by the user. Userscripts Updater is a great script for users who use Greasemonkey scripts. It removes the hassle of having to check for script updates regularly.

Tags: firefox, greasemonkey, userscripts, userscripts updater, web browser

Youtube: Enhance Youtube Experience

Martin — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 08:24:42 +0000

YousableTubeFix is a Greasemonkey script for the Firefox and Opera Internet browser (and most likley for other Internet browsers who support Greasemonkey as well) that changes the layout of Youtube to provide a better experience for the user. The list of features that are packed into the script is extensive and will change the perception of Youtube tremendously. Users of the Firefox Internet browser need to install the Greasemonkey extension before they can install the script while Opera users can move the script directly into a folder in the Opera directory.

Lets take a look at the default Youtube screen that appears when a user without the script opens a video on the portal.

And now the same page after the script has been installed in Firefox:

The script changes a lot directly on the screen. The video gets resized automatically to fit the screen. Ads and other unwanted elements on the page are removed including watching now, character counter or video annotations. Options to download the video in flv, mp4 format are available directly beneath the video. A click on the video title will also initiate a download of the video directly from Youtube.

The configuration options provided by the script contain several interesting features as well. The user can change the design of the Youtube website drastically. It is possible to remove additional elements from the Youtube page, display none or up to 500 comments on a page, prevent autoplay or autodownload, bypass the age verification (logged in users only) and select the default video format and flash player quality.

Firefox users can download the userscript here while Opera users have to go here instead.

YousableTubeFix is a great userscript for Youtube addicts and users who want Youtube to automatically use a specific video quality and page layout.

Tags: firefox, greasemonkey, internet browser, opera, videos, yousabletubefix, youtube

Facebook Fixer Enhances Facebook’s Design

Martin — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 11:06:24 +0000

Are you a regular Facebook user? If you are you had to cope with several design changes, ads, profiling and privacy policy changes in the past which more often than not have faced strong opposition in the Facebook community. There are several possibilities to change pages and elements on Facebook to undo certain changes to the popular social community portal but only few are as powerful as using Greasemonkey scripts to modify how Facebook looks and functions.

Facebook Fixer is just one Greasemonkey script that can be used to change the Facebook pages. It is one of the more powerful scripts that gets updated regularly to keep up with the official changes. Every feature of the script can be turned on and off separately in the options:

Bigger Profile Pictures and Photos
Bigger Album Pictures
Load Full Albums
Video Download Links
Homepage Customization
Age and Sign of People displayed
Calendar Integration
Keyboard Shortcuts
Removes Facebook | from the title of each page
Error Page Reloading, automatically reloads pages that throw up errors
Automatic Update

Facebook Homepage

Facebook Photos

Options

The Greasemonkey script works on the latest Facebook design. Users who want to remove Facebook ads can install this script to do so. Firefox users need to install the Greasemonkey add-on before any scripts can be installed.

Tags: customize facebook, facebook, facebook ads, facebook userscript, greasemonkey

Disable Text Field Auto Focus

Martin — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 06:07:24 +0000

We would like to show how to disable the auto focus on text fields of selected websites to complete the series of posts that deal with auto focusing on text fields once the website opens in the web browser. If you open the Google Search homepage by default you notice that the cursor will automatically be placed in the search form on that page. Many users like this feature as it speeds up their search. Not by much but it adds up over the days.

Some users on the other hand prefer that this is not happening automatically. This is probably not so much a problem of Google Search but on pages with several text fields that auto focus on the first once the page has loaded. Users who start typing in data in the first text field – and probably jump to the second to continue – will notice that the cursor will be placed in the first text field once the page has finished loading no matter where it is currently located on the page. Not that nice if you started typing in a long secure password only to realize that you have to type it in again.

Focus Killer is another Greasemonkey script that can disable auto focus on text fields. The default setting of the script is to enable this option for all websites. This does cause problems with some websites though and it is recommended to specify the websites it should work on. This can be done easily by right-clicking the Greasemonkey icon in the web browser, selecting Manage User Scripts from the menu, removing the * entry in the Included Pages table and adding new websites by clicking on the Add button next to it.

Check out the other article in the series if you want the reverse effect. (read: Automatically jump to first text field

Tags: auto focus, disable auto focus, firefox, greasemonkey, userscript, web browser

Automatically Jump To First Text Field

Martin — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 20:11:33 +0000

We mentioned a setting for the Firefox web browser earlier today that allowed the usage of the tab key to jump to the first text field on a website.This is handy on websites with no auto focus on the first text field. There was no apparent way, either by installing a Firefox add-on or userscript, to automate that process further by automatically focusing on the first text field on specific sites.

Research for disabling that feature on websites with enabled auto focus led to a Greasemonkey user script that would do exactly what we have been looking for earlier today: A script that would automatically jump to the first text field on selected websites without user interaction. A Greasemonkey script for that purpose is great because of the following reasons:

It is not limited to the Firefox web browser but can also be added to other web browser supporting Greasemonkey or those scripts.
It can be enabled on specific domains (or all).

A user wanting to install the script needs to download Greasemonkey or a compatible program. Once Greasemonkey or its equivalent are installed the Focus First Textbox script can be added to the web browser. The last step involves adding domain names or strings where this user script should be active on.

A right-click on the Greasemonkey icon in the status bar of Firefox and the selection of Manage User Scripts will open the configuration. Select the Focus First Textbox script from the left sidebar. A click on the Add button next to included pages will open a basic form that can be filled with a domain name.

The script becomes active on newly added pages after reloading them.

Tags: auto focus, firefox, form, google chrome, greasemonkey, opera, text field, userscripts, web browser

Spice Up Google Search With Google Fx

Martin — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 08:10:42 +0000

Google Search has always been using a minimalistic design. While this serves several purposes like offering distraction free web searching and fast loading times it does fall a bit short for some users who prefer to access additional information right in the search interface.

Google Fx is a Greasemonkey Script which means it works in all compatible web browsers like Firefox. The script will turn the minimalistic Google Search pages into an information powerhouse by adding information and features. Visitors will immediately notice the changes in the Google Search interface. Icons have been added to the top header of the page and the Google Suggest feature is available on all search forms automatically. Google Suggest displays related search terms in a menu below the original search term even if the user is still typing into the form.

The real changes and benefits of Google Fx become only visible on the Google Search results page. The header has been expanded to contain direct links to various other search engines like Yahoo, Ask or Wikipedia which is excellent for research. There is even the possibility to perform the search on all of the 12 search engines that are listed at the same time. It does contain links to various Google Services that are not listed in the default Search interface like a direct access to Translate.

The top right contains links to filter the search results by time or to search only in title, text, url or links. Everything is immediately clickable to provide fast access to the desired information. The Google search results have been spiced up as well. A thumbnail will be displayed for each search result that is giving users a visual impression of the listed websites. The usual features like accessing the cached version of the search result are still available.

The script will display the first 50 search results at once and add new entries at the bottom of the list once the user scrolls down to the end. Google Fx is an excellent Greasemonkey script for users who use Google on a regular basis and prefer to have access to additional information right on the search pages.

Tags: firefox, Google, google search, greasemonkey, search engine, userscript, web browser

Direct Thumbnail To Full Size Photo Link On Flickr

Martin — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 16:26:22 +0000

You need to click several times on the photo hosting website Flickr if you want to open a full sized photo from a page that is only displaying the thumbnail image of it. The same is true for websites where Flickr thumbnails or images are embedded on. Users who like to open full sized versions of those thumbnail images can now use a Greasemonkey script with the name Flickr Link Original Images for the Firefox web browser or other compatible web browsers that allows them to open full size images of Flickr photos directly from their thumbnails.

The script will display a small ORG overlay in the upper left corner of each thumbnail which is the clickable direct link to the full image on Flickr. This does not work on all thumbnails but on most. Not working thumbnails are for example those where the uploaders prohibited direct links.

A click on the ORG overlay will open the image in full size in a new tab in the web browser. Users might want to edit the allowed websites and pages of the userscript to add websites that they visit regularly where Flickr thumbnails get posted. The author of the script did include a handful of sites including Flickr obviously.

Surprisingly though not all Flickr pages are included in the website list. You might want to add an entry like http://*.flickr.com/* to the list of allowed sites to include all pages on Flickr.

Tags: firefox, flickr, flickr photos, flickr tip, greasemonkey, photo hosting, photos, pictures, web browser

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