Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with extension

Help solve the mystery of the missing extension.

cirrostratus — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:10:07 -0800

After reformatting my old reliable xp machine I lost a very useful firefox extension. How can I track it down again? I've been unable to find the extension on either Google or Firefox's website, mostly because I can't remember what it was called.

Basically, all the extension did was let you draw a rectangle on a page and then every link within that rectangle would open in a new tab.

Firefox normally lets you highlight things and open them in new tabs but this extension was better because it let you draw a rectangle instead of highlighting.

Any ideas what this extension was called?

Alternatives to Sage Too?

Doofus Magoo — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 18:57:05 -0800

Are there any good alternatives to the Sage Too Firefox extension? I've been using Sage and Sage Too for RSS feeds for several years now. Having recently reinstalled Firefox, I was planning to install Sage Too until the EULA appeared (reproduced below in its entirety):

Anyone using any type of ad blocker is prohibited from installing and using this add-on.

What's a good alternative to Sage Too? I'm probably more interested in a Firefox extension than reading them via a website, but other than that I'm pretty flexible.

Script/extension to display third-party shipping costs on Amazon?

IndigoRain — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 01:27:07 -0800

I am looking for a Greasemonkey script or Firefox add-on that will show me the shipping cost for Amazon third-party items in search results. Example: I found a bottle of Aloe Vera gel for $10.37. Thinking there had to be a better deal, I scrolled down the search results page and found a larger bottle for $8.79, making it look like the better deal. Once I clicked into the second link, the price instead was $8.79 + $8.22 shipping, making the first bottle the actual better deal.

I want a script that will get that $8.22 shipping cost (you can see where it is displayed on the page here - just above the shopping cart button) and at least display it on search results pages, if not add it in to the original cost. If this isn't possible I would also welcome a script that simply indicates on the search results page whether a product is a third-party item (indicated at the above link by the text "Ships from and sold by CosmeticMall.com") or shipped directly from Amazon.

Failing the existence of this script, I don't know javascript, so is this something I could do myself using the Platypus extension?

I found the Amazon TotalUsed 2.0 script but it doesn't work. Unfortunately, even if it did work, I'm not sure if it would only display shipping costs for items shipped by Amazon using their standard shipping prices, or also be able to retrieve third-party shipping costs.

Can I make Firefox 3.5 ignore my visits to certain domains?

joshrholloway — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 12:19:49 -0800

Can I make Firefox 3.5 never remember history (but still save cookies and cache pages) for certain domains automatically but remember history normally for everything else? Basically I'm looking for a seamless and automatic way for Firefox 3.5 to simply not save history information when I am browsing on certain domains that I specify, but act normally on all others. For example, if I could enter a domain filter like *.facebook.com*, it would never save any history info from Facebook, any Facebook subdomains, or any Facebook pages. However, I don't want it to affect cookies or caching. Is there an extension or a hack I can do to make this happen?

IIS SSI's?

Mr. Anthropomorphism — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 13:31:23 -0800

How do I get Server Side Includes working in pages with a .htm extension on IIS? It's supposed to be straight forward—you pretty much just add the extension according to every resource I can find online—but it's just not working.

I'm working indirectly with the server, I have to go through an admin that doesn't know much about the specifics of IIS and I'm an Apache guy.

Initially they weren't working at all, until the server admin found a universal kill switch somewhere that disabled SSI's on all sites. Now they work fine if I use an .shtm extension, but not .htm even though that extension has been set up.

Is there somewhere else I need to look?

software for unknown extension

infostud — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 08:25:56 -0800

What software will open a .wls file? Searching reports that something called "602 PC SUITE" will do so, but that piece of software doesn't seem to exist, and the company that allegedly makes it doesn't have anything named that or similar.

Is there a LeechBlock for Chrome?

SouthCNorthNY — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 22:03:48 -0800

Is there something like LeechBlock for Chrome? Or should I just stop using Chrome?

Need help extending a wireless network

terrapin — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 04:56:45 -0800

I need help extending a wireless network either via an Airport Express or an ancient Linksys (BEFW11S4 ver. 2). I have limited experience setting these things up but do okay with my mac-only setup at home. Here's what's gong on:

The small cooperative market where I work has a Netgear FS108 router connected to a Linksys WRT54G2. This is set up in the office basement in the absolute furthest place it can be from where the customers use the service in the cafe upstairs and across the building. It is connected to a computer running XP, I believe. I am new at this place and have suggested we extend the network so that the wifi is useful. They love the idea and asked me to do it. errrrr.

So I brought an Airport Express I have at home and gave it a go. Immediately I ran into WDS issues and working at the cash register meant I had no time to really search, read, etc. When I got home I did some research and found a few OLD articles (1, 2) about how to accomplish what I want to do. But each article also has hundreds of comments with people either disputing the original author, others saying it worked perfectly, and still others saying it worked but they needed to do x,y and z.

I also have an old Linksys BEFW11S4 ver. 2 that I have had in the closet since 2003. I have not used it since I switched to Mac that year. I have no idea what firmware is being run on any of these items. I am happy to upgrade the firmware for the BEFW and/or the AE, but as a new employee I would rather not flash the WRT54G2 unless absolutely necessary. Or some reassurance as I don't really understand it. I *think* I read that the BEFW doesn't have the ability to flash the firmware, but I can't say for sure.

If it helps, there is CURRENTLY no security on the wireless network. For the time being that isn't going to change, and so I would appreciate that part of the equation be left out of this discussion.

Thanks for reading this far. I could really use some help and instructions in an easy-to-follow way.

iCal Data Recognition for Firefox?

sjuhawk31 — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 07:31:12 -0800

Is there a Firefox extension that makes it play with iCal like Mail does in Leopard? One of my absolute favorite things about OS X Leopard is the data recognition in Mail that allows you to hover over dates and make iCal events out of them. Is there an extension for the 'fox that lets you do the same thing?

firefox isolation extension

dbooster — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 01:33:15 -0800

I'm looking for an extension that on any web page will allow you to click on a frame and black out everything else on the page, kind of like Pages 09 does when you go to full screen mode. One of the nice features of Safari on the iphone is that double tapping on any frame will zoom in, filling the window with just that frame. On my iMac zooming in would be unneeded, but blacking out everything except that frame would be fantastic. Anyone know of any that does anything similar?

help! china passport expires in June and I need 1 month more to get Indian Visa for my trip

I like to eat meat — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 01:13:39 -0800

I'm a US permanent resident with a Chinese citizenship and my passport expires in July 2009. I already booked a trip to India leaving on February 7th, thinking there was plenty of time to get my Indian Visa. I just found out while applying that I need to have my passport valid for 6 months beyond the date of visa application. Please help me save my trip! More inside Apparently China will not extend passports anymore, I have to apply for a new one with a 40 day turnaround.

Anyone have any idea what my options are? I am OK with paying any types of fees necessary to make this happen.

Anyone have any experience/recommendations for expediting a Chinese passport renewal? Or if it's possible to get them to let me slide a little on the Indian side since my expiration date is only a few weeks past their deadline?

I live in San Francisco if that helps - Indian consulate and China consulate are both here.

Thanks in advance hive mind!

wifi router can't make it through walls: what's the most effective way to extend the range of our wifi cloud?

krautland — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 11:44:00 -0800

our new belkin router doesn't have the power to make it all the way through the house. are range extenders good? which one should I choose? (more inside) I gave my parents (in germany) a wireless router for their mac/pc mix household. it's this belkin G (802.11g), their basic model. unfortunately the router has to sit in a room in the far corner of their house and thick german cement walls (no plywood here) are ensuring the signal doesn't make it all the way across the house into the attic or kitchen. the signal currently covers half the house, so getting through the walls is not completely impossible, they just do to the router what a pair of massive mittens would do to your dexterity.

I'd like to extend that range so that certain rooms they use as offices are covered by the signal. belkin seems to offer a universal range extender but the german amazon page for that product has a user opinion stating that said extender doesn't really work if it's more than a couple feet from the router itself. I wonder if the hivemind has an opinion on this...

I'm not married to using belkins to extend the range of the router but I am married to the router since exchanging it would be rather difficult for me right now.

what's the most effective way to extend the range of our wifi cloud?

Help me open a file.

acidic — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 13:18:50 -0800

Was sent an "untyped binary data" file with no extension. It's audio. Using a Mac, I've tried adding the .mp3, .aac, .wav extensions, and it won't open. What now? - What extensions have I failed to try? This is recorded audio of some sort.

- Am I changing the extensions correctly? I just select+click on the file and manually add the extension.

- Is there a program that will figure it out for me?

MacBook with dead logic board: how to proceed?

sparrows — Wed, 28 May 2008 08:51:38 -0800

Logic board died on my friend's two-year-old MacBook (one year out of warranty). Should she pay for repair ($700 + labor), or sell the carcass for parts and buy, say, a used iBook? She's kept it in flawless condition and the screen is perfect (no bad pixels), so maybe she could get a decent amount selling it for parts? She does not have an eBay account and is not in an active Craigslist area.

I don't know the exact specs, but it's whatever was the least expensive new white MacBook in early summer 2006. (Its HD is 80GB, and I know she got the stock drive, if that helps.)

She does not have much money and this is her only computer (in fact this is her FIRST ever computer). The 700+labor quote is from an Apple Authorized Repair Center (she's a long drive from the nearest Apple Store).

Ugh. :(

Is there any version of the Search marker Firefox extension for 3.0?

V-Turn — Wed, 21 May 2008 09:57:57 -0800

Search Marker is no longer maintained. Does anybody know if a similar extension that is still alive? As this extension is not compatible with Firefox, I have three options :
1. stop using it
2. hack it so that Firefox thinks it is compatible with 3.0 (I have no idea if that's going to work or not)
3. get a replacement

I was wondering if the Metafilter crowd could help with #3!

Thank you.

Penalty for not filing U.S. income tax, if one will receive a refund?

lorimer — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 09:09:30 -0800

U.S. tax question: if I'll definitely be receiving a refund rather than paying tax, what will happen if I neither file nor file an extension by the end of the 15th? (Will it just mean that I won't receive my refund until I do file -- or will it mean a fine/fee that reduces my eventual refund?)

How does paying federal taxes late affect my 2008 rebate?

Anonymous — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 06:03:17 -0800

If I file my federal taxes on time, but pay late, will it affect the timing of my 2008 rebate? What do I need to do to pay the taxes late? I'm not going to have a problem filing my taxes on time; the forms have already been completed. Unfortunately, I owe quite a bit this year and can not come up with the money by April 15. Everything I can find on the internet on the subject seems to only address filing for an extension to file, which I don't think I need to do. So, three questions:

One, is there any distinction between filing for an extension (for filing) and paying late? In order to just pay late (which it appears will get me a 0.5% penalty per month, which I can live with) do I just send in my return without a check? What happens then? Will the IRS send me a bill?

Two, will doing what I need to do to pay late (whatever that may be) affect the timing of my stimulus check? It looks like if I owe the IRS money by the time checks are sent, the amount of my check will be reduced by the amount I owe, but will the timing be affected? The amount I owe is roughly $800, and my rebate check will be more than that, so given that the rebates are being made (for those of us with direct deposit) within a month of April 15, I'm thinking the "easiest" option would just be to let them deduct the amount due from the rebate. Is that a viable option, or will my rebate not be processed until my 2007 taxes are paid in full?

Three, If taxes are due (and a refund not made), is getting a direct deposit of my rebate an option? Do I just complete item 74 (bank info) on the 1040 even though it isn't technically applicable to my 2007 return?

paragraph width in firefox

primer_dimer — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 04:50:59 -0800

Is there a plugin/extension/script for Firefox that automatically resizes text columns to make them a comfortable width to read? I spend a lot of time reading large blocks of text on the web, and I find myself constantly resizing the browser window (firefox) in order to make a particular block of text a comfortable reading width (the oft-quoted 80 characters). Does anyone know of an extension or greasemonkey script that will do this automatically, as I switch between tabs?

I want to download all files from a page, but there's a catch

entropic — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 07:42:29 -0800

How can I download a bunch of .pdfs from a webpage all at once? The page I'm looking at is a list of .pdfs available (for a class I'm in - course materials), with a link to download each .pdf file. I've tried using the Firefox extension downthemall, but there's a catch - the links I click to download the .pdfs individually are javascript popups that look like this: javascriptf:pop('docs/12004/andes_vegetation.pdf','yes',",",'12004'); Is there a way to grab all of these at once, or am I doomed to clicking each and every link to open a new window, save as, etc.?

How do I open certain sites in IETab?

Rabulah — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 07:36:27 -0800

I use Firefox. I want to be able to open certain sites in IETab/Internet Explorer automatically. I can do this quite easily if they are bookmarked, but I want to be able to do it every time I come across a link to the site. Example 1] I'm browsing the web, and I come across a link to foo.com. Normally, when I click the link to foo.com, it will open in a normal Firefox tab. I want to be able to just click the link to foo.com, and have it open in IETab/Internet Explorer automatically, without having to right click and choose "Open in IETab", or copy the URL from the address bar and paste it into Internet Explorer.

Example 2] I do a Foo.com search from the Firefox search bar. I want the search tab to open in IETab/Internet Explorer automatically.

I have been using IE View Lite, which will load the site in IE after half a second, but Firefox still starts to load foo.com before IE View Lite takes over, which I don't want. I want Firefox to never load foo.com AT ALL.

How can I get this functionality? Example 2 is the more pressing problem, if that makes any difference.

How does one commission a Firefox Extension/ Greasemonkey script?

Smarson — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 10:04:11 -0800

How does one go about hiring someone to create a specific Greasemonkey script or Firefox extension for them? As per a previous post, I'm in the market for a web browser with gray-scaling abilities (a la ghostzilla). Ghostfox wasn't the answer and searching through numerous Greasemonkey scripts and Firefox extensions yielded nada. So how does one go about commissioning a script or extension from the developer community? Anyone have experience contracting or being contracted to work on a such a project? What kind of fee is associated with this kind of labor? Does it matter that I would want this script/extension to be available to everyone?

Hacking Firefox's Send Link command?

Cool Papa Bell — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 13:51:38 -0800

How do you add an email address and subject line entry to Firefox's "Send Link" context menu command? 99 percent of the time, I'm emailing myself for future reference. It'd be easier if the email address and subject line were pre-populated for me. Is there an easy way to do this, or an extension that does this?

Do you have to file taxes if you ask for an extension?

stuffedcrust — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 19:40:16 -0800

Tax Filter: If you are not required to file your taxes, and you file an extension, do you have to file your taxes? Other tax questions inside I'm helping my friend with his taxes. He doesn't have to file but is waiting on his w2 to be resent to him to see if he should. If he files for an extension does he still have the option to not file?

He didn't file in 2005, can he still file even though he didn't submit an extension?

Other than the hope and lifetime learning credits I was told there was a deduction you could make if you were a full-time student. I'm not talking about deducting qualifying school expenses on line 35, but something else.

Firefox extension to control HTML forms?

Blazecock Pileon — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 07:19:20 -0800

Can a user install an extension, preference or script to have Firefox manipulate an HTML form element on loading, e.g., having a SELECT's default OPTION set when visiting a certain page. If a user visits a webpage that, for example, requests selecting a drop-down menu containing different server names, I'd like to have the user be able to set his or her default server and then have the pull-down menu set upon each visit.

I don't have the option of doing this server-side, or setting cookie variables, since I don't administrate the web server or application.

Thanks for any advice!

Always open with...

Null Pointer and the Exceptions — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 09:20:19 -0800

In OSX how do I get files without extensions to be recognized by something other than Excel? Ideally I'd like them to be opened by the shell, or perhaps a new session in iTerm but iTerm is greyed out in the Choose Application menu.