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February 23, 2006
Bookmarklets Old and New
Note: The bookmarklets in this entry are designed for Firefox.
According to Wikipedia, a Bookmarklet is:
"A small JavaScript program that can be stored as a URL within a bookmark in most popular web browsers, or within hyperlinks on a web page."
Here is what the bookmarklets in my browser currently look like (outlined by a red rectangle):
As you can see, it is now very easy for me to post something to del.icio.us, email a page, look up something on Wikipedia, etc. All of these bookmarklets have integrated Javascript that pop up windows for search queries or use text that I have highlighted on the screen as the query input.
I have been using bookmarklets for a long time, but had never actually written any myself. Here are 2 new ones that I hope someone will find useful. To install these, drag the links to your Bookmarks Toolbar.
1. Calculator - This bookmarklet either pops up a window asking you for an equation or uses the text currently selected on the screen as the equation and then shows you the result. This may be handier than opening a Calculator program every time you need to do a simple calculation. To test, install this bookmarklet, highlight the following text, and run it: 6 * (5 / 3) - 3 + (7 / 2)
2. ROT13 Encrypter / Decrypter - ROT13 Encryption is a very simple encryption scheme that is used on newsgroups and on my new favorite site Geocaching.com. Here is a description of how it works and why it is used. Much like the calculator bookmarklet, you can either enter the encrypted / decrypted text in a popup window or select the text on the screen first. To test, install this bookmarklet, highlight the following text, and run it: Pbatenghyngvbaf! Gur obbxznexyrg vf vafgnyyrq.
Here are the ones I use that other people have made. These are links to the pages describing the bookmarklets, not the actual bookmarklets themselves:
Posted by Chuck at February 23, 2006 02:42 PM
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