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melvbot

Bookmarklets, these are handy little tools that can boost your search/surf habits in your browser. They're free, you don't need to install any software and they work on most browsers like Firefox, IE, Google Chrome, Opera etc for Mac/Windows/Linux.

Each bookmarklet is a tiny javascript program inside a bookmark which will look a bit different from a normal bookmark URL as it is a "javascript:" URL. The worst that can happen is you use the wrong bookmarklet for the wrong browser and you get a javascript error so don't worry too much about frazzling your computer.

Here's one for an example

Instant Translate Bookmarklet - Bmlet.com

If you look down to where it says "Download Bookmarklet" and just drag and drop that link onto your bookmarks bar and a new bookmark will appear (I have a seperate folder for bookmarklets on my bookmarks bar for easy access) saying "Instant Translate". If you go to a website thats in Thai or any other foreign language then click the "Instant Translate" bookmarklet a box should appear. By default it will have the 2 character code for English which is "en", click OK and it will use Google Translate. This works for whole pages and for blocks of highlighted text.

If anyone wants the codes for different languages I'll try and find them for you.

Theres a few sites with bookmarklets to try out like

Bookmarklet Directory - bmlet.com

Bookmarklets - Tool Categories

To get rid of any unwanted ones just delete the bookmark and it should be gone.

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The Geek Shall Inherit The Earth

Mr Smith

Hey Melvbot, thanks for the good post. Very helpful for idiots like me if you can figure it out. I have a 17 page document that I want to translate into Thai and can't seem to do it. I have been at it for over an hour and can't seem get it. Have you got any hints?

melvbot

Depends where you are, what format the documents in etc. I wouldnt trust an online translator for doing Thai very well. They give an OK outline but best to pay a certified translator for something that big.

Mr Smith

I am in Bkk at the time and the document is in MS Word and PDF. I don't need a perfect translation, just a general one would be good enough, just so they can get the idea.

melvbot

Found a few more useful bookmarklets on this page

Micro Persuasion: Bookmarklets for the Web 2.0 Jedi Master

The one I tend to use most is Map This which brings up wherever you type into the text box in Google maps, saves having to go to the site.


On this site

XHTMLed | Miscellaneous | Bookmarklets

Theres one for a basic calculator, enter 23*89 in the text box, what enter and get the answer. You can do this in the Google search box as well


Another one to look for on the same site is the Oxford Dictionary lookup, useful if you dont know the meaning of some of the big words used on Teakdoor.

Its on this geeky looking site abut halfway down.
krapplack.de


All you need to do is drag and drop them onto your bookmarks bar or into a bookmark folder.

Heres a quick video if you need a bit of visual help.

melvbot

Another mapping bookmarklet. This one works by highlighting an address on a page, then when you click the "map this address" a popup of Google maps appears so you don't need to leave the page you are on.

Bookmaplet: Easy online street address mapping

It might not work every time with Thai addresses because of the amount of variations in the spelling but for most other places it works fine.

melvbot

This is quite a handy one for sites like Google which have a pagination (next/previous) navigation. It preloads the next 5 or so pages so you can browse them faster than if you were to click the next/previous button as it preloads them all.

Small labs Inc. siteFlow: turn websites into slides

melvbot

This ones a good idea but a bit limited by the amount of results. Most sites have some sort of search function already but this makes it so you can search without leaving the page youre on.

Search site bookmarklet with YUI and BOSS / phpied.com

The Fresh Prince

Thanks Melv, just tested the Translate one on the Thai FHM site and it worked very well.

Just wish they'd named them something other than bookmarklets. Sounds a bit to much like 'wanklets'!

melvbot

Theyre also known as favelets and to the geeks applets, tiny bits of code that perform a specific task. Ive got a decent collection of them now that sit in my Safari toolbar rather than overloading Firefox with loads of extensions. I like the "Map That Address" one, as you just highlight the text, click the bookmarklet and it appears on the same page you are viewing as a popup, no need to navigate away.

Im off to dig for more.......

melvbot

This is quite a handy one for Google, after you click it you get the top 100 results instead of the usual 10. Theres also a results counter so you can check stuff like the number position of your website if you have one, handy for quickly checking if your SEO's working.

Making your Serps more useful in FFox - SEOidiot - Blackhat SEO Blog

melvbot

Im a big fan of bookmarklets as I dont use Firefox anymore, extension sometimes just dont play well with it and slow it down or make it freeze or crash.

Up until now bookmarklets have had one function, to perform the simple task its written to do. Quix changes all this by, well hit the jump and watch the video. Pretty cool and looks like its made by some crazy Dutchman

Your Bookmarklets, On Steroids – Quix

melvbot

Heres a bookmarklet for downloading YouTube vids

Download YouTube Videos the Easy Way - How-To Geek