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Write your first Firefox extension
Replace your legacy extensions in Firefox
Firefox will switch to a new extension technology and extensions built with the old technology won’t be supported. You must have noticed that several of your add-ons are labeled as “legacy”. More info here.
The site https://mozilla.github.io/extension-finder/ allows you to find a compatible replacement for your Firefox legacy extension.
list your Firefox add-ons
Problem
I use several machines and I would like to create a unified list that contains my favourite Firefox add-ons. This list could be kept in Dropbox, thus I could access it on all my machines. How to generate a list of installed add-ons?
Solution
The add-on Addon List Dumper can do exactly this. Here is a screenshot about this add-on:
bypass redirects in Firefox
Problem
There are certain sites where links are randomly redirected to other sites and if you want to visit the intended link, you need to click on the link three or four times and then maybe you are sent to the correct URL.
Solution
I found a Firefox add-on called Redirect Bypasser that allows you to visit the correct URL. On a link it shows a little icon, and the little icon is linked to the good URL.
webapp analyzer
Wappalyzer is a browser extension that identifies software on websites.
Screenshot:
It’s very useful to learn about nem Javascript frameworks for instance :)
Online Security
Read this: The Best Browser Extensions that Protect Your Privacy @lifehacker.
I installed the following extensions:
Install a Greasemonkey script from a local file
Problem
You have downloaded a Greasemonkey script but… how to install it?
Solution
Here I suppose you have the Greasemonkey add-on installed (Hey, what is GM?). Well, I didn’t find anywhere the option “install from local file“. A GM script is called *.user.js and if you open the URL (http://...) of such a script, GM will recognize it and offer to install it (for this GM must be enabled). However! If you open your script locally (file://...), nothing happens. WTF?
Calm down. You know Python, right? The Swiss army knife of programmers. Just navigate to the directory where the GM script is located and start a web server:
$ python -m SimpleHTTPServer
Now open the URL http://localhost:8000 , click on the user script and GM will offer to install it. Python, what would I do without you?
User scripts are installed in this directory: “~/.mozilla/firefox/xxxxxxxx.default/gm_scripts“. Here you will find a config.xml file too that is created by GM.
Example
I installed this way this script: Greasemonkey: focus first input field. This script puts the focus on the first input field. I use it with Amazon and IMDB and works like a charm.
