I mentioned in my Top 15 Firefox Extensions post that Greasemonkey didn’t count as one of the top extensions simply because it is a plugin enabler in and of itself. If you are unfamiliar with Greasemonkey, here is a description from Wikipedia:
Greasemonkey is a Mozilla Firefox extension that allows users to install scripts that make on-the-fly changes to specific web pages. As the Greasemonkey scripts are persistent, the changes made to the web pages are executed every time the page is opened, making them effectively permanent for the user running the script.
Greasemonkey can be used for adding new functionality to web pages (for example, embedding price comparison in Amazon.com web pages), fixing rendering bugs, combining data from multiple webpages, and numerous other purposes. Well written Greasemonkey scripts can integrate changes so well that their additions appear to be natural parts of the web page.
I’m fairly new to Greasemonkey myself, but in the last few months I have encountered several scripts that make my life easier. There are thousands of scripts out there, but these are some of the best, in my opinion.
- Download Video - Save video clips from YouTube, Google Video, Myspace, Metacafe, Break.com, Putfile, Dailymotion and Sevenload. The script shows a small notice-bar at the top of supported video-pages. Upon clicking the notice-bar download links are shown on a small results page. Right-click to save the files.
- Google Images Relinker - Also a Firefox extension that I featured. Redirects hyperlinks from Google Images search results directly to the source image, as opposed to having to visit the site first.
- Digg - Add Mirrors - Adds links to DuggMirror, Coral Cache, Google Cache and Archive.org wayback machine to every story.
- Textarea Backup - Retains text entered into textareas. The primary purpose of this userscript is to save having to retype lost emails, forum posts, bug submissions, etc. The backup should be transparent so if the page is reloaded for whatever reason, be it browser crash, unintended exit or a forgetful website, the previously entered text will be restored.
- Profanity Filter - Good for kids or the easily offended. Filters out swear words as you browse the Internet.
- Gmail + Google Reader - Embeds Google Reader into Gmail by adding a “Feeds” link
