10 Great Extensions For Chrome

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10 Great Extensions For Chrome

Posted by: Matt Tags: chrome, delicious, extensions, FlashBlock, flickr, frames, Google, google dictionary, google reader, lastpass, one window, shortcut manager, Stop iTunes, Xmarks Posted date: April 27, 2010 | No comment

Ever since I switched to Chrome I have been looking for extensions to the browser to mimic what I had with Firefox add-ons. Extension development is in an infantile stage right now but it is coming on strong. I have compiled a brief list of Chrome extensions below that I have been using to enhance my Chrome experience. Since Greasemonkey support is built right into the browser I have also included user scripts from Userscripts.org. Obviously, this is not a definitive list so I hope to hear more about your preferred extensions in the comments.

Delicious Bookmarks Extension	Delicious Bookmarks Extension (Beta) – This is the official Delicious extension for Chrome and it works great. I use Delicious a lot for pack-ratting different bits of digital information that I might need later. I am hoping that as this extension gets developed a little further that the bookmarks sidebar feature that is seen in Firefox will also be added.
LastPass	LastPass – Password security is very important and LastPass helps you manage all of those passwords. LastPass is a web service that allows you to manage all of your passwords. I wrote more about that here.
Shortcut Manager	Shortcut Manager – My workflows are tied a lot more to my keyboard than to my mouse. I find that if I have to take my hands off my keyboard to move my mouse around then it slows me down. Shortcut Manager lets you assign different keyboard commands to different operations in the browser. I mostly use this to launch Quix.
FlashBlock	FlashBlock – This is a great extension that does what its name implies. Something I find very intrusive on my browsing experience is stupid flash ads that auto-play, or worse, a video or sound that auto-plays as soon as a page loads. Since I often have numerous tabs loading in the background I usually have to scramble to figure out which one is making noise. In my mind the demise of Flash won’t happen fast enough.
Stop iTunes	Stop iTunes – This is a user script that will stop iTunes from launching when ever you click an iTunes link. If you click the “View in iTunes” link under the icon on the iTunes Preview page, then iTunes will launch. I find it annoying when I accidentally click one of those links and iTunes pops up in front of me.
Xmarks Bookmarks Sync	Xmarks Bookmarks Sync – Xmarks syncs all bookmarks up to “the cloud” so that you can access them anywhere from any browser. This is a different service than Delicious since it syncs the bookmarks that are stored in the browser. I use Chrome as my day-to-day browser but my iPhone will only sync bookmarks with Safari. Xmarks keeps the bookmarks in sync between Chrome and Safari (and other browsers), therefore, keeping my iPhone in sync as well. iPhone users are probably already using this one but I will mention it anyways since I find it very valuable.
One Window	One Window – If we were all meant to have piles of windows open on our screens then the gods wouldn’t have invented tabs. For some odd reason there is no setting built into Chrome to force new windows to open in new tabs. One Window adds this function. Again, I find this especially useful with Quix. If you put a space before the Quix query it will launch a new window. This is force it to a new tab.
Google Dictionary	Google Dictionary – This is a very slick looking dictionary extension. Just select the word you want to define and invoke the extension. I use command + double click. A small bubble window will appear above the word with the definition.
Google Reader Full Feed	Google Reader Full Feed – A lot of Google Reader users are frustrated with being forced to click through to read a full news story. Some blogs like to force readers to click through to their sites to boost page views. This extension adds an orange “G” next to the title if it is a partial feed. Clicking on that “G” will display the full story within Google Reader.
Flickr CC Attribution Helper	Flickr CC Attribution Helper – I use CC licensed images from Flickr to spruce up some of the blog posts here. Part of the CC licence states that you must give attribution to the content creator. This user script adds a box of code to quickly grab the html with attribution link and image path.
Frame Blockers	Frame Blockers – I have a strong dislike for frames or tool bars that are added to websites by a third party. I wrote about a few user scripts that I use in Firefox to block these. I am not going to list all those scripts here again but you can read the original article I wrote about those blockers here.

If there are any Chrome extensions that you like to use then post them in the comments.

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About the author

Matt
I'm Matt and I share how to build an internet presence through internet business, social marketing, lifestyle design and productivity tools. While here, read about me to learn my story or find out how you can hire me.