• next »
    Gmail

    Lifehacker Code: Better Gmail (Firefox extension)

    By Gina Trapani, 1:00 PM on Mon Apr 16 2007, 526,536 views
    Gmail's good, but it could be better. We've featured several Greasemonkey scripts that enhance Gmail in lots of different ways - like adding saved searches, attachment icons, label colors, keyboard macros, a filter assistant and right-click conversation previews. But not everyone wants to install Greasemonkey and hunt down all those scripts. To save you the time, I've compiled the best Greasemonkey scripts for Gmail into one handy Firefox extension, called Better Gmail. After the jump, put your Gmail on steroids with Better Gmail.

    UPDATE, November 8, 2007: The Better Gmail extension is only compatible with the original Gmail interface, not the new version of Gmail currently being rolled out. If you're using the new Gmail interface, download Better Gmail 2, or click the "Older Version" link on the top right side of the page in your Gmail account to use Better Gmail.

    Better Gmail Firefox extension

    Version: 1.1.3
    Updated: May 22, 2008
    Released: April 16, 2007
    Creator: Gina Trapani, using scripts by Mihai Parparita and others, compiled using Anthony Lieuallen's Greasemonkey Compiler. download-button1.png
    Also available at Mozilla Add-ons. License: Better Gmail is licensed under the GNU General Public License as specified by Anthony Lieuallen's Greasemonkey Compiler. All user scripts are copyright their original authors and maintain their original license as specified by their original author. (User scripts are located in the content/user_scripts folder in the Better Gmail .xpi package.)

    What it does: Adds a menu of optional extra features to Gmail. To view the enabled features and get more information on each, in Firefox's Add-ons dialog, click on Better Gmail's Preferences dialog, as shown: See a full run down of each extra feature below: Installation: Click the Better Gmail download link above in Firefox. A yellow bar will appear across the page that reads "Firefox prevented this site (lifehacker.com) from asking you to install software on your computer." Click the "Edit Options" button and allow lifehacker.com to ask you. Then, click on the link again. Press the Install button in the dialog box, and restart Firefox.

    Usage: Once Better Gmail is installed, go to your Gmail account to see the enhancements. To turn a feature on or off, visit the extensions Preferences dialog and select or deselect the appropriate checkboxes. Refresh Gmail to see the changes.

    Security Notice: Userscripts.org reports that malicious scripts that steal cookies - including a version of Conversation Preview, which is included in Better Gmail - are floating around. Better Gmail does NOT include a cookie-stealing version of the script - it's clean.

    Credits: Better Gmail is a compilation of user scripts written by several Greasemonkey scripters. The full list of Better Gmail user scripts and their authors is as follows: The user scripts were compiled using Anthony Lieuallen's Greasemonkey Compiler. I modified the output of the compiler to include multiple scripts with the ability to enable and disable individual scripts.

    Known Issues:
    • This version of Better Gmail is only compatible with Gmail's classic interface. If you're using the new Gmail UI, you want to download and install Better Gmail 2.
    • If you have Conversation Preview enabled, the contacts area of a new Gmail UI account will be blanked out.
    • Localization only applies to Options dialog; does not extend to English words hard-coded into the user scripts.
    • Better Gmail does not work in Gmail's Basic HTML view. It works in Standard View only.
    • Gmail Super Clean's options are not configurable; Better Gmail's version enables ads and sets the default font face to Arial (not Lucida, for Windows-friendliness.) Unlike the script version, the logo is not customizable in Better Gmail.
    • Disabled the Filter Assistant's auto-update, which won't work without Greasemonkey installed.


    Changelog:
    • Version 1.1.3: Added Firefox 3 support; Fixed Folders4Gmail.
    • Version 1.1.2: Fixed bug with non en-US locales.
    • Version 1.1.1: Updated Folders4Gmail to the version which supports IMAP-like back slashes in label names.
    • Version 1.1: Added Slovak and Lithuanian translations and updated Portuguese (Portugal), Portuguese (Brazil), Polish, Dutch, Hebrew, and French translations, courtesy of the excellent community at Babelzilla.org; Removed Saved Searches (contact); bug was preventing users from logging onto new Gmail; Removed Bottom Posting in Replies (no longer supported by developer); Moved Fixed Font to Messages tab; Added GrandCentral Voicemail script.
    • Version 1.0.1: Updated Folders4Gmail to fix broken image problem; Updated ComposeTo to handle bug when email addresses appeared in iframes (Thanks, Tim!).
    • Version 1.0: Added Folders4Gmail; Added Better Gmail Options dialog to Firefox's Tools menu; Fixed Super Clean script broken images due to bandwidth problems (included images within extension); Made Google Calendar link Google Apps for Your Domain compatible; Major performance improvements (only iterates through checked scripts); Code reduction in relation to skins; Added Advanced... button to set user script preferences (currently your custom domain and attachment word triggers); Added checkbox dependencies - if user checks a script box, it's conflicting/redundant script automatically gets unchecked (Attachment icons big/small, Signature Float and Bottom Post, Saved Searches cookie/contact).
    • Version 0.9.1: Restored the Label Colors script which was inadvertently removed from the interface in 0.9; Added localization information to chrome.manifest files (thanks, Marc Stewart.)
    • Version 0.9: Added translations for 19 languages (Italian, Spanish, French, German, Chinese Simplified, Japanese, Polish, Portugese/Brazil, Portugese/Portugal, Hebrew, Czech, Swedish, Dutch, Hungarian, Danish, Catalan, Arabic, Romanian, Indonesian.) Restored One Click Conversations; Added Forward Thread and Inbox Count Display First; Added SeaMonkey support (thanks, Aaron!); made Attachment Reminder and Compose To configurable in about:config; Changed about tab to HTML iframe.
    • Version 0.8: Enabled extension localization; made several performance improvements; added the Mac skin, bottom posting and Google Reader integration; removed One-click Conversations which broke when Gmail updated its interface; reader Laran fixed bug with conversation preview which would be smushed up far right if the message wasn't labelled (included this fix, thanks Laran!); changed license to the GPL and clarified terms; removed envelope icon from Gmail Compose script; security/encapsulation improvements as well as code readability.
    • Version 0.7: Added Gmail Compose, Fixed Font, Hide Labels, TinyURL, Google Calendar Link, and Bigger Attachment Icons. Added new tabs to interface to make room for more features.
    • Version 0.6.1: Fixed bug where skin would get applied to all sites introduced in 0.6.
    • Version 0.6: Performance improvements (reduced array iterations, released array memory on unload); Added disk usage progress bar; changed array of arrays to array of objects; Approved by Mozilla Add-ons.
    • Version 0.5: Added Gmail Revisited skin and Smart Mark as Read button; Fixed skin bug.
    • Version 0.4: Added Air Skin. Fixed several Javascript warnings. Added tabs to options dialog. Made skin options radio buttons (instead of check boxes). Removed original Macros script and kept only the Brent Nef version.
    • Version 0.3: Added Gmail Super Clean, Hide Invites, One Click Conversations, and Unlabelled. Changed dialog box to scroll down on the more info links. Updated to the most recent version of Filter Assistant.
    • Version 0.2: Added Gmail Secure, Signature Float, Gmail + Google Reader, Macros mod, Saved Searches mod, Date Search, Spam-count Hide. Added script explanations to dialog box, as well as Deselect All and Select Defaults buttons. Fixed a bug that occurred when clicking on script homepage links.
    • Version 0.1: Released.


    Bug reports and feature requests: Got a favorite Gmail Greasemonkey script you'd like included in Better Gmail? A bug, a critique, a suggestion? Leave a comment here. Newcomers, here's how to get a comment login. — Gina Trapani

    Loading comments ...