The Connected Lawyer

A few posts ago I knocked TinyURL Creator (a Firefox extension) for the fact that it made me go through an unnecessary mouse click everytime that I used it. Because of this, I named Shrinkify my favorite URL shrinker.

Today I admit my error. Yes, in its default mode, TinyURL still makes you click a box everytime that it generates a tiny URL. However, stopping the extension from doing this is a simple as selecting: Tools > Add Ons > Extensions > TinyURL Creator > Options.  In the Options dialog box, select the box next to “Do not show confirmation dialog apon [sic] TinyURL creation.” Once you have done this, you no longer have to deal with the annoying dialog box again.

Now TinyURL Creator is back to being my favorite Firefox extension that shrinks URLs. The main reason that it moves back into first place is that the extension has been updated to work with Firefox 3. Shrinkify has not yet updated its extension.

If you are still using Firefox 2, either extension should work fine for you. If you are using Firefox 3, I would go with TinyURL Creator simply beacuse you can install and use it without any difficulty.

I have written before that TinyURL Creator is one of my favorite Firefox extensions. That is no more. I have a new favorite: Shrinkify. Both of these extensions do the same thing. Namely, they take a really long web address and convert it into something that is short and easily used.

For example, if you search for Shrinkify on Google, the search results web address is: http://www.google.com/search?q=shrinkify&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

That same address shrinkified is http://shrinkify.com/837. Similarly, the same address in a TinyURL is http://tinyurl.com/6ao2m4.

Given that both of these do the same thing and both are accessed in the same manner (right click on the web page), one may wonder why I prefer Shrinkify over TinyURL Creator. That answer is simple. When I shrinkify a web address, I temporarily get a black band across the top of my screen telling me what the URL is. When I use TinyURL Creator, I get a box that tells me the URL. With TinyURL Creator, however, I have to click the box closed to make it go away. With Shrinkify, the information goes away automatically. Thus, Shrinkify saves me an entirely unnecessary mouse click.

If you aren’t using anything to shrink your URLs, I encourage you to try one or both of these services. Both work fine and will make your URL life much more simple.

Do you use Google Docs? If so, you might want to check out the Google Docs Bar for Firefox.

According to the extension website,

gDocsBar is a sidebar extension for firefox, a perfect companion for Google Docs.

With gDocsBar, you can drag and drop multiple files into the sidebar to upload documents.

You can search and filter documents right from the sidebar.

Your Gmail credentials are sent to Google directly over SSL. Your passwords are stored in Firefox Password Manager.

If you use Google Docs, this extension seems like a great idea.

PC World gives us an article with 15 undocumented Firefox tips. If you use Firefox (and you should), this article is definitely worth a read. The article contains tips things such as keyboard shortcuts, easy searching of pages, purging your private information, and optimizing Firefox for broadband.

The tips are well written, easy to understand, and even easier to implement. Check out the article and start improving your browsing experience immediately.

Do you like Firefox and the flexibility that the extensions offer? Despite this, do you find yourself overwhelmed with trying to keep up with all of the newest extensions that are coming out?

If so, add the RSS feed from the newest extensions to your RSS reader. You can add the feed for the newest extensions here.  The most recently updated can be found here. The most popular can be found here.

Add these feeds to your RSS reader and never be in the dark about new Firefox extensions. You can also do the same thing with Firefox themes.

If you are one of those people who is frustrated when a PDF document opens in your browser when you want it to open in a separate window? Alternatively, maybe you want a choice as to whether a particular PDF opens in your browser or in a separate window.

In either case, Rick Borstein provides great step-by-step instructions for configuring Adobe Acrobat to act the way that you want it to act. Rick also points us in the direction of another cool extension (PDF Download) for Firefox that gives you greater control over how you handle PDFs from the internet.

This is a great tutorial from Rick. You can check it out here.

I have found another great Firefox Extension: Auto Copy. Auto Copy automatically copies to your clipboard the text you select in your browser. Thus, no more need to Ctrl-C or right click to copy the text. Instead, you simply select it.

A tip of the hat to Futurelawer for pointing this extension out.

My previous post on Firefox Extensions can be found here. All of my Firefox posts can by found by clicking on the Firefox category to the right.

I am a big fan of Firefox and have been using it for quite a while. One of the things that I love about Firefox is the ability to customize it using extensions. A few months ago, I wrote a post where I discussed my favorite Firefox extensions.

Lifehacker has a post that talks about the great features of Firefox that are built into the program, the stuff you can do without adding any extensions.

My favorites from the list are Tweakable search engines and Undo closed tab.

Many times I have accidentally closed a tab before I intended to. The Undo closed tab feature is a real lifesaver in those situations.

Check out the entire list. To find out more about a particular feature, click on its name in the list.

If you use multiple computers, you have likely been frustrated by the fact that your browser bookmarks aren’t the same or that two browsers are not set up the same way.

Once again Google, has come to the rescue with Google Browser Sync. In Google’s own words:

Google Browser Sync for Firefox is an extension that continuously synchronizes your browser settings – including bookmarks, history, persistent cookies, and saved passwords – across your computers. It also allows you to restore open tabs and windows across different machines and browser sessions.

I recently installed Browser Sync. Like most Google products, Browser Sync works simply and easily. Installation was a breeze and the sync process was seamless. After using this extension for only a short period of time, I am sold on it.

I received some questions on the Bug Me Not aspect of my favorite Firefox Extensions post. Therefore I will go into Bug Me Not a little more extensively.

Bug Me Not describes itself in its FAQ as:

BugMeNot.com was created as a mechanism to quickly bypass the login of web sites that require compulsory registration and/or the collection of personal/demographic information (such as the New York Times).

In a nutshell some users register for websites that require registration. These users then share the information with the Bug Me Not website, which makes it available to anyone who uses it site. This means that anyone can access the particular site by using the other information rather than having to register for themselves.

According to the Bug Me Not website, the most popular site include the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and IMDB.

Some people may question whether it is ethical to use a service such as Bug Me Not. If this question interests you, you should join the discussion. On the flip side, Bug Me Not will voluntarily block a site from its service if:

• The users pay to access information on the site; or
• The site requires users to register to post comments, but does not require registration to view information; or
• There is a risk of fraud.

I myself take a two pronged approach. On sites I regularly use that require registration (for example Chicago Tribune) I fill out their registration. I figure that they are regularly providing me with information. I can provide them some information about their readership.

If, however, the Dayton Daily News has a interesting news story one day, I don’t want to have to fill out a complicated form to read a single news story in a newspaper that I will never read again.

To use Bug Me Not, you can go to their website and search for the website you are using. Alternatively, you can install the Firefox Extension for Bug Me Not. This extension allows you to log in to website simply by right clicking in the user name field and choose Login Using Bug Me Not.

Both the extension and the service are easy to use. If you have ever been frustrated by one of those mandatory registrations, then this extension and service are for you.