Useful Gmail tools

[gilana]

I use Gmail, and while I really like it, there are some things about the interface that could be better. I use Firefox as my primary browser, and I've found some extensions that make the Gmail experience much better for me, and thought I'd share.

The ones I use are all Greasemonkey scripts. Greasemonkey is a Firefox extension which lets you to add bits of DHTML ("user scripts") to any web page to change its behavior.

The first is Gmail Action Links. It puts some "action" links next to the "select" ones built into Gmail, so you trash messages or mark them read and unread with one click instead of using the drop-down. If you already have Greasemonkey installed, right-click here to install this script.

The other one that I've just added is Gmail Macros. This adds some keyboard commands to Gmail, including multiple-actions commands ("p" for purge — mark read and archive in one keystroke!). Pressing “g” brings up a display that let you start typing in a label name to go to it (special names like “Inbox” and “Trash” work too). Pressing “l” does the same for applying a label to a conversation. Install here.

I'm so used to these now that a computer without them feels broken. Hope this is helpful for someone else out there!

I've got lots of other cool Firefox and Greasemonkey extensions installed — anyone want to know more, or share your own favorites?

Comments

[androidqueen.livejournal.com]

dude! thanks!

[quilla.livejournal.com]

*eyes glaze over*

but dude that's so cool. i LOVE using a keyboard for everything, so this is exactly my cup of tea. but techytools. O_O i ph34r them gr8ly.

[gilana]

I know it looks complicated, but it's really not that bad. Do you know what version of Firefox you're using? I think that's the only bit that might be complicated about installing greasemonkey. After you have that installed, you just right-click (or control-click on a Mac) on the links I posted and it will give you an option for "install script". Hey Presto! Of course, there's no real documentation for what keys do what on Gmail Macros, but as far as I'm concerned, the "purge" alone is brilliant.

[quilla.livejournal.com]

i'm using 1.0.07 at work. dunno what it is at home.

i didn't realise what "purge" meant; in my head, it means delete forever, as it does in the case of certain databases. but oh! i'm bloody lazy about archiving which is why i have pages and pages of inbox, which i despise. so 'purge' is pretty brilliant.

i am, as always, terrified to getting too used to something. how i miss a scroll-button-equipped mouse at work.

[awhyzip.livejournal.com]

I wanna get rid of the "Google-Chat" boxes that appear whenever I mouse over a contact's name -- of at least make them a hell of a lot smaller. They cover way too much up!

Do you know any greasmonkey scripts about this?

[gilana]

Huh, I don't have those yet -- I know they're rolling out the Google-Chat feature in stages. I get most of my Greasemonkey scripts from userscripts.org. Didn't see anything there yet, but it might take a few days for someone else to get fed up with it and write a script :)

[gilana]

Just saw something posted this morning. I can't get it to install myself, but you could give it a try. Article was at <http://blogs.zdnet.com/google/?p=102>.

[metahacker.livejournal.com]

anyone want to know more?

Yes, please. I'm only slowly starting to use FF more and more (at work, where Safari isn't an option), so I haven't really looked over Greasemonkey for cool extensions...

[androidqueen.livejournal.com]

sexy keyboard. i have one myself. :)