If you are using Firefox on your Windows PC, you can get much more than what web developers created for you on their webpages. Greasemonkey is a user extension that helps you customize the way you view websites on your Firefox. It is an extension that helps augmented browsing by allowing users to install scripts that make on-the-fly changes to web page content after or before the page is loaded in the browser.
To use it, you do not need to know JavaScript – there are dozens of scripts available on the Internet that you can use to customize the way websites look on your Firefox. For example, it can scan webpage for technical words and provide you with their meanings when you hover your cursor over it. This article is about what is Greasemonkey and how to find Greasemonkey scripts that suit your needs.
What is Greasemonkey
We talked about Greasemonkey in the above paragraph. Basically, it is an extension for Firefox browser. It allows you change the way websites function when you open them in your browser. The browser should be Firefox or something that is based on Firefox code.
NOTE: Not all browsers using Mozilla code will support Greasemonkey. For example, TOR will not, but EPIC may.
The extensions starts running when you load a website or when you leave a website – based on how the user script is programmed to give you the desired performance. Greasemonkey is available for download in Firefox extensions store as well as on sites like softensonic. If you are already using Firefox, the best and safest method would be to download Greasemonkey from the store. That way, you will steer clear of fake software that may ruin or hack your computing.
How to use Greasemonkey Scripts
Installation of Greasemonkey scripts is easier than you thought. Just as you add any extension or anything software, when you find a greasemonkey script, click the install button against it or anywhere on the page. If possible, you may also drag and drop the script to the current website where you want the script applied.
You can create your own scripts too. Click on the down button next to greasemonkey, click on create new script and write your code in the second textbox. You can then specify the websites you don’t want to run the script on, by entering their URLs – one per line – in the Exclude box. Note that you can only use Javascript to create Greasemonkey scripts.
But remember one important point – always download and use scripts from sources you trust completely!
Where to find Greasemonkey User Scripts
Some scripts are present on the Greasemonkey website: www.greasespot.net
There is a huge repository for Greasemonkey user scripts at: www.userscripts.org
When installing Greasemonkey scripts, make sure they are from the above two websites. If you see scripts on third party websites, try to keep away unless you fully trust the websites.
How to turn off Greasemonkey scripts on certain websites
To turn of Greasemonkey without removing it from Firefox, just click the monkey icon that appears towards the left side. The Greasemonkey icon is two parts: one is the monkeyface and other is a drop down list indicated by a down key. To toggle using and not using Greasemonkey, click on the monkey face icon.
Another option is to open the Extensions tab and disable it from there. You can later enable it when you wish to use it.
Greasemonkey: Useful Resources
- FAQ: http://wiki.greasespot.net/FAQ
- Troubleshooting Information: http://wiki.greasespot.net/Troubleshooting_(Users)
- To share script: http://wiki.greasespot.net/User_Script_Hosting
You can check the source code of GreaseMonkey on GitHub.
Now take a look at these 5 useful YouTube GreaseMonkey Scripts.
