Sunday, 15. October 2006, 23:09:56
opera, userscript, customization
These are the userscripts I currently have running in my 'normal' browser installation:
- Autosizer activates when you use Opera to view an image file, and adds five different viewing modes for images: original, shrink to fit, maximize, fit to width, fit to height. Prime candidate to turn into a built-in feature, if you ask me.
- Google Suggest will add the autocomplete feature from Google Suggest to regular Google search pages. Sometimes helpful, sometimes interferes with entering text.
- Google Thumbnails adds web site thumbnail images to google search results. A bit of harmless fluff (unless you're on dialup), but the thumbs are not always relevant because they depict only the server homepage. This is offered as a Greasemonkey script for Firefox, but it works out-of-the box in Opera as well.
- Linkify text files improves display of text files by making URLs in text documents clickable. Also adds line numbers when you want. To make lines wrap, press Ctrl+F11 (Fit-to-width).
- MyOpera Community Forum Enhancements is a suite of toys that improve various tasks at the MyOpera forums, such as showing attachments inline and adding page numbers.
- Operapedia shows you a relevant Wikipedia article along with your search results. Adds links in the article which will trigger new Google searches. This script needs updates frequently, when either Google or Wikipedia make a little change to their site.
- PageRank userscript gives proper formatting for Andrew's PageRank popup button.
- XML tree displays the XML tree for XML documents without style, making it a useful tool for analysing XML files. Also something we could use built-in IMHO.
Inactive scripts, used to be active in my Opera installation:
- Operafy Asa's blog mangles Asa's blog in a funny way, but makes it harder to read.
- No Click to Activate works around the new 'Click to activate' plugin handling. It caused problems reading PDFs for me.
- Link Alert displays icons beside links to specific file types or actions. Nifty. But I rarely need the info, while the icons always show.
- Enhance blockquotes adds clickable links when a blockquote uses the cite attribute, and the blockquote doesn't already contain a clickable link to the cited work. Alas, I don't see many properly marked-up blockquotes on the web. The script recently seemed to mess up an important website, and I saw no reason to keep it.
Tuesday, 4. July 2006, 01:07:20
opera, firefox, extensions, widgets
...
Updated again: the extensions list, and the summary below, was last updated 2007-06-08, taking into account the new Addons site. Lots of sleazy spyware toolbars were finally removed. Added a few corrections based on comments here at 2007-06-17. Added a few more correction at 2007-07-29. Thanks!Updated: the extensions list, and the summary below, was last updated 2006-12-09, taking into account the Firefox 2 release that made some extensions obsolete. Firefox out-of-the-box is catching up to Opera 
Based on
initial research 
from
Dodd in the my.opera.com forums, I've compiled a list of the Top 150
most popular Firefox extensions, and classified the availability of the functionality they offer in Opera.
extensions.htmlSome extensions are Firefox-specific (only relevant for managing Firefox itself), and there is considerable overlap in functionality for several extensions. That leaves the following summary:
- 41 extensions offer out of the box functionality in Opera 9, with roughly equivalent capability,
- 13 extensions are available by installing a UserScript or a Widget or dragging a button,
- 17 extensions require advanced customization or are only partially available,
- 45 extensions are not available at all in Opera.
[updated]After the December 3, 2006 update, out of 96 sets of extensions:
- 32 (sets of) extensions offer out of the box functionality in Opera 9, with roughly equivalent capability,
- 11 (sets of) extensions are available by installing a UserScript or a Widget or dragging a button,
- 13 (sets of) extensions require advanced customization or are only partially available,
- 40 (sets of) extensions are not available at all in Opera,
- 3 extensions are are Firefox specific (like dictionaries).
[updated again]After the July 29, 2007 update, out of 113 sets of extensions:
- 38 (sets of) extensions offer out of the box functionality in Opera 9, with roughly equivalent capability,
- 14 (sets of) extensions are available by installing a UserScript or a Widget or dragging a button,
- 21 (sets of) extensions require advanced customization or are only partially available,
- 38 (sets of) extensions are not available at all in Opera,
- 4 extensions are Firefox specific.
Corrections are welcome, but only from people who have actually studied both the extension and Opera's behavior. 'why would I need it' is a valid reaction to some extensions, but will probably not lead to changes in the table
Monday, 23. May 2005, 11:44:54
customization, opera, userscript, tweak
Now we've got a great place to share User JavaScripts for Opera 8:
UserJS.orgI'll update my own userscript docs this week, and make sure to submit the most interesting stuff I have to UserJS.org.
Tuesday, 19. April 2005, 08:00:29
opera, userscript, opera 8
User JavaScript has become a fully supported power-feature in Opera 8. See the
new tutorial.
Highlights:
- designate a user JS directory in Preferences > Advanced > Content
- all js files from that directory will be used
- Greasemonkey meta-data compatibility
(slow server today though
)
Sunday, 27. March 2005, 20:07:12
opera, userscript, opera 8
Opera developer Peter K. presents a 'Google Suggest Everywhere' userscript (not written by himself BTW). It adds the Google Suggest functionality to all google.com search fields.
<
http://www.softwolves.pp.se/blog/2005-03-26>
I've tried it, and it works very well. It was inspired by the Greasemonkey script from
<
http://holovaty.com/blog/archive/2005/03/19/1826>, but redone to make use of Opera's special userscript functionality.
I've also cleaned up my User JavaScript page a bit, offloading extra userscript functions for use in my user.js framework to a new page:
<
http://people.opera.com/rijk/opera/userjs-collection.html>
The functions have been cleaned up a bit with help of fellow Opera users. And I've even provided equivalent downloadable scripts for Greasemonkey users.
Wednesday, 23. March 2005, 11:08:16
opera, userscript, extensions, security
...
I've been linked to from Cnet:
<
http://news.com.com/Firefox+add-on+lets+surfers+tweak+sites%2C+but+is+it+safe/2100-1032_3-5631009.html>
links to
<
http://people.opera.com/rijk/opera/userjs.html>
"In what could signal a trend toward user scripts, Norwegian browser maker Opera Software picked up the idea, adding the functionality to Beta 3 of Opera 8, acknowledging Greasemonkey."
Grumble... maybe I should make it clearer on my page that Greasemonkey was
not the inspiration for developing User JavaScript. This idea had come up between Jonny A. (Opera tech thinker) and Lars H., (our main JavaScript guy) in 2002 already, and the code was actually written last year.
They also quote my quote of Hallvord's 'be careful' warning.
Monday, 21. March 2005, 19:15:15
opera, userscript, customization, opera 8
http://my.opera.com/hallvors/journal/45This stuff transcends the realms of copy & paste javascripters. Real JavaScript understanding is required. But with
window.opera.addEventListener() you can truly make any website do what you want.
Wednesday, 16. March 2005, 21:22:11
opera, configuration, userscript, security
...
NOTE: I've made a webpage now to present the user.js framework script. See <
http://people.opera.com/rijk/opera/userjs.html>
Hallvord introduced Opera's latest surprise for tweakers in his Journal.
What is a user scriptBasically it is a script from a local file that gets executed before any other scripts (or event handlers) on the page, once in every document.
I've collected some more or less interesting scripts that I'd like to run on all pages, and on specific sites, in this user script: <
http://people.opera.com/rijk/opera/scripts/user.js>. I'm not yet using any versioning there BTW, it can be a different script tomorrow, or in an hour. The script is set up to easily add extra functions, and enable/disable them for all or for specific sites when you want. Don't expect me to explain specific functions, because I'm not a proficient JavaScripter myself. I'd say: experiment, share, and file bug reports if necessary.
Enabling user script in Opera 8 beta 3[User Prefs]
User Javascript=1
User Javascript File=C:Program FilesOperauserjs.js
SecurityThe script has exactly the same restrictions as a script on the page, except that it can access some User JS specific functionality (we'll get back to you on that) and that it can read the text property on any script element (normal scripts can't read the text property of external scripts loaded from other servers than the document.)
The additional privileges are available when the User JS file is initially executed and when a User JS event is being handled. Global functions defined by User JS but called from a script in the page have no special privileges.
