LifeHack.org has a useful post today with 17 Firefox Extensions That Make Blogging Easy – broken down into Collecting, Writing and Images.
I hate lists like this – I end up spending half my day having to install and test great new tools which are supposed to make me more productive but in the short term which are wonderful distractions!
PS: The Split Browser extension is going to be VERY useful. I quite often wish I didn’t have to flip back and forth from one tab to another while writing a post or newsletter in one tab and researching what I’m writing i another. This is great – why didn’t anyone tell me!
What else don’t I know about?!? What are your favorite Firefox extensions?
ScribeFire (formerly Performancing FireFox) totally rocks.
I’ve got Firefox 1.something on my computer at home along with the latest version of IE – for some reason I like and use IE more, even though I use Firefox at work. It might be the (x) close button on each tab, perhaps.
This list is really tempting me to waste some time with installing the latest Firefox and checking out what it can do. It would be nice if Firefox had a ton of these already available – all you had to do is checkmark it or something along that line.
“I quite often wish I didn’t have to flip back and forth from one tab to another”
I’ve often wondered why you don’t go with a multi monitor setup, I’m certainly not alone in saying it’s productivity booster.
I feel like I owe you money now for turning us onto the split browser window! :)
I’ll say that some of the plugins on the list were new to me, so thank you. A couple I already had installed, so can attest to their greatness.
As for my favorite extensions, the list seems endless (41 installed with 22 active). So, I’ll narrow it down to the plugins I actually use every day.
Web developer (everyone should know about this one)
Spellbound (not too keen on Firefox’s new spell checker)
SecurePassword Generator (can be used for more than just passwords)
PDF Download
Minimize to Tray
DictionarySearch
SEOpen
I’m sure there are a few others, but that’s all that comes to mind right now. :)
~ Teli
coComment is very useful for me :)
Wow, thanks! SplitBrowser is the extension of my dreams.
Hmn. It’s gotta be Firefox Portable (not a plugin :). I get to carry it around and use it anywhere on a USB drive without having to ‘download’ and ‘install’ Firefox, which undoubtedly would not have all the customerization & bookmarks I have stored =P.
I too use split browsers – the other plugins I do not see any other reason to use most of them
This split browser is now my all time favorite extension. I think I surprised my daughter when I suddenly shouted “yes!” haha.
Thanks for the screen splitter Darren! Very useful when writing posts for the blog.
FT
Not sure what happened to my previous comment, but the split screen plugin is definately cheaper than two monitors.
Actually two monitors is a great way to increase productivity. I don’t know how many people are using that kind of setup to blog, but it would be interesting to find out.
45n5 – oh i do have multi screens on my desktop – but on the road on the laptop the split browser will be particularly useful.
I find CoLT very useful for creating links in posts. Here is the link on Mozilla. https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1812
This Split Browser rocks…
I connect to several IM services with meebo; and loading another Firefox was kinda ridiculous…
Darren!
One question i would love to get answered by your readers is that do they prefer a 3-column blog layout (like TechCrunch’s) or the ‘good old’ 2-column layout (like yours). I’m sure this would be of GREAT help to budding professional bloggers of tomorrow.
My take on this is that new bloggers should stick to 2-column layout in which the sidebar should be used ONLY for navigational purpose, feed subscription, archive, recent posts list and comments, etc
Once a blog starts getting huge traffic, the blogger can go for a 3-column layout where he can use one sidebar for navigational purposes and the other sidebar for advertisements, widgets etc.
What’s your opinion?
This coComment extension is really interesting… I’d never heard of it before. (yes, I’m testing it out by commenting here)
Everybody should give Windows Live Writer a try, especially after the latest version just came out… it’s phenomenal, especially the image handling.
It only works for people using Windows, of course.
Picnik is amazing for taking screenshots and editing them.
The add-on I use the most is for Clipmarks. While this is not primarily a blogging tool it can be used as such and has in-built features that make blogging easier. When you find something online that you want to add to your blog you can just ‘clip it’, add your own comments, click “Post to Blog” and you’ve just updated your site with fresh content.
The Mozilla add-on can be found here.
A great selection. Gonna try some of them.
Also very handy:
– Snap Links (draw a rectangle, and every link inside opens in a new tab)
– Screen Grab! (taking screenshots the comfortable way)
– ColorZilla (nice small ColorPicker)
– Better GReader
– Adsense Notifier
Good lord man, I spend most of my day trying to avoid lists like this. And you go and post a link to it. Sigh.
Ditto on Scribefire being awesome. I love it!
I prefer using Windows Live Writer for writing blog posts. I’ve tried various Firefox extensions for blogging but have never really been satisfied with the results. Live Writer has the look and feel of MS Office which I like. :) Anyways, no matter what solution people use, any client application is better than the default one for posting in blog software.
I tried the split browser extension a while back. I found the idea wonderful but logistically it did not work out for me. I use a laptop exclusively and the screen is just a tad small for effective split browsing. I also kept accidentally activating the split screen when using my touch pad to move the cursor. I ended up removing the extension because of my touch pad-related frustrations. I guess if I got around to buying a trackball…. Maybe after a few more AdSense clicks!
Thanks for recommending SplitBrowser. It is a time saver.
I saw this earlier as well. Very cool extensions Especially the split browser extension.
I agree Darren…Split Browser is indeed very awesome. I’ve been using it for a couple weeks now and I totally love it. It’s really been a huge time-saver when posting and such. And it’s especially good for those times when I get a little “too absorbed” in Wikipedia. :P
If it’s helpful to anyone, here are the 5 Firefox extensions that have worked the best for me when blogging.
Five Awesome Firefox Extensions:
http://www.aaroncook.com/2007/06/five-awesome-firefox-extensions.html
Shine on,
Aaron
PS: Darren, I’ve updated the post with a link here to yours now that I see you blogged about it as well.
Hi Darren,
Split browser extension rules. Thanks for the post.
Best Regards,
Sheila