Smarterware » Greasemonkey

Disable Google’s Search Results Sidebar

Gina Trapani — Fri, 07 May 2010 01:35:30 +0000

I don't mind it so much, but a few people have told me they hate the new icon-studded search options panel that appears on the left side of Google search results by default now. To kill the sidebar, try the Google Classic or Remove Google Sidebar Greasemonkey user scripts. Update: There's also the Hide Google options extension for Firefox and Chrome. (Thanks, Ken!)

Mark Selected Items as Read in Google Reader

Gina Trapani — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 16:44:00 +0000

If you use Google Reader's list view (instead of expanded), you want to scan headlines and selectively mark several items as read without having to expand them--and a new Greasemonkey user script, Google Reader Mark Selected as Read, lets you do just that.

Click here to install Google Reader Mark Selected as Read (you must have the Greasemonkey Firefox extension installed first), and your subscription headlines will show up with checkboxes next to each. Check the ones you don't want to read, and press the "Mark selected as read" button as shown in the screenshot. This super-useful script is written by Dmitry Rodiontsev and slated for the next release of Better GReader. Thanks, Dmitry and bel9ev!

Update: Reader leifern reminds us that from the keyboard you can move up and down headlines in list view using the n and p keys, and mark items as read as you go using the m key. So this user script is for the mouse-fans in the room. Thanks, leifern!

Google Reader Mark Selected as Read user script

Get Favicon Alerts on Your Google Voice Tab

Gina Trapani — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 21:13:16 +0000

In the hallowed tradition of unread item counts on your Gmail and Google Reader favicons in Firefox, user script developer Peter Wooley offers the same for Google Voice users. If you've got the Greasemonkey add-on installed, grab the GVoice Favicon Alerts script to hook this up. You can also faviconize and permatab your Voice tab with this script enabled as detailed here. (Yes, faviconize and permatab are now verbs.) I haven't put together a Better Google Voice add-on (yet?), but if I ever do, this will be the first script in it. Do you use any other Greasemonkey scripts to make Google Voice's web interface better? Post 'em up in the comments. If there are enough quality scripts, I'll start asking the authors for permission to include them in a compiled Better GVoice add-on.

Import Facebook Phone Numbers into Your Google Contacts

Gina Trapani — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 00:04:32 +0000

Android users with Facebook friends who list their phone number in their profiles will love this: Brad Fitzpatrick offers a Greasemonkey script that exports those phone numbers to AddressBookr and offers to add/merge them into your Google Contacts. Even though this was posted last November, I just gave it a test run and it worked like a charm. Thanks, Nick!

Greasemonkey Multi-Script Compiler Released (Programmers Only)

Gina Trapani — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 18:54:59 +0000

The code that generates my series of "Better" Firefox extensions--Better Gmail 2, Better GReader, Better Amazon, and the rest--is now publicly available.

The Greasemonkey Multi-Script Compiler (GMSC) is based heavily on Anthony Lieuallen’s Greasemonkey (single) script compiler. Unlike Lieuallen's compiler, which is web-based, you've got to download GMSC, set up your user scripts by hand, and run the compiler from the command line. (It's PHP and bash, so Windows users, you need something like Cygwin to use this.) I've posted a first draft of the user guide in the wiki, and intend to flesh it out as folks start trying it out and asking questions.

I've been building and using GMSC to generate and update the Better extensions for over two years now, but since it started out as a set of quick and dirty for-my-eyes-only scripts, it's still very rough around the edges. I'm nervous about putting it out there for public consumption, but my hope is that better programmers than I am will start forking the GitHub repository and helping improve things. Eventually I'd like to release an easy-to-use webapp that lets anyone compile a custom extension with multiple user scripts and skins and a tabbed options dialog. We'll see how it goes!

In the meantime, hardy PHP programmers with an interest in giving it a try can find it on GitHub: Greasemonkey Multi-Script Compiler.

Many thanks to all the Greasemonkey programmers and especially Anthony Lieuallen, not only for building the extension and the compiler, but for open-sourcing it. Without their work, schmoes like me would never be able to build Firefox extensions so easily.