User:Penubag/optimum toolsets

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Here is a list of tools that I use and recommend. Use this to your advantage! }}

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=Firefox=

Remember that each addon can be configured to your liking (Tools>Addons>(select addon)>Options)

This list is in no particular order.

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|+[https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/ Firefox Addons]

Addon nameDescriptionGood forDownload link
Split BrowserYour browser can split tabs onto different portions of the screen. It's like having multiple monitors and great for typing and researching at the same time.Wikipedia; researching, multitasking[https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/4287]
QuickNoteThis addon allows you to open up the left-hand sidebar to jot down notes that can be recalled. Very convenient when researching and compiling a bunch of factsWikipedia; researching[https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/46] note:You may have to customize your toolbar to see this addon before using. To customize, rightclick on a toolbar button (like the refresh button) and click "Customize..." to drag it out of the box
XUL/MigemoUpgrades the findbar to allow searching in regular expression and foreign words with the keyboard. For example: You want to find sól, you only have to type sol, or if you want to find たいおtype taio. This addon also highlights the words on the scroll bar. Also see Find In Numbers [https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/6738]Wikipedia; browsing; searching[https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/5239]
FasterFoxMakes Firefox preform faster by tweaking network and connection settings. I've noticed some page loads to be ~2x faster. You no longer need to be envious of Google Chrome users!browsing[https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/9037] note:You must have an account at Firefox Addons and be logged in to download
SiteDeltaThis addon will notify you with a message (akin to the Downloads complete message) if any page on its list has been changed or updated since your last visit. This is very useful for monitoring pages like blogs, your Wikipedia watchlist, special pages (like user contribs, logs), and others. If you keep Firefox minimized, it will still notify you while you are typing a report, watching a video, or otherwise not using Firefox.
There is a defferent version, Update Scanner, which has a nicer GUI but has slight issue when monitoring the watchlist since it notifies you when text is also removed, so when your watchlist removes entries, you will be falsely notified. Update Scanner: [https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3362]
monitoring pages, Wikipedia[https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/4337]
Research WordThis addon will allow you to quickly find out more about any word you highlight and rightclick. You can choose Wikipedia, dictionaries, images, and custom databases.researching[https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3803]
Tab Mix plusThis allows you to configure tabs any which way you can ever think of. A useful function is that it backs up all your tabs so if you close one, it can be retrieved later. Other useful features include cloning tabs and load bars on tabs. If you have this, you can get rid of most all your other tab related addons.browsing[https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1122]
Yahoo! Mail NotifierThis addon will notify you with whenever there's a new message in your inbox (akin to the Downloads complete message). This is handy because I no longer have to have Yahoo! as my homepage and constantly check my inbox. There's also one for Gmail but you'll have to search for it.email[https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1264]
QuickPageZoomEnlarges the screen with nice toolbar buttons. Firefox has a built in zoom but it only increases the text size. This will increase the size of images (and svg), tables, movies, etc all proportional to the text.browsing[https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/6715]


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|+ Addons that aren't as useful but nice to have nonetheless

Addon nameDescriptionDownload link
Organize Status bar, Menu EditorDownloading a lot of addons clutter your context menu, toolbars, and menus. With these 3 addons, you can remove and organize unnecessary buttons, links, and menus.[https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1759], [https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/710]
Adblock Plus: Element Hiding HelperThis helps you make your own blocking filters[https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/4364]
Blank Your MonitorMakes your screen black which is easy on the eyes at night. Options are configured under Tools>BMY Options[https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/7166]
ColorZillaAllows you to capture the exact color output from the browser. Great for graphic artists who need the exact color to match.[https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/7166]
Download statusbarA much better and neater UI than the Firefox default. Your downloads in progress are displayed in a status bar rather than a window.[https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/26]
FirebugThis is such a useful addon for web developers, it's a must have. So many tools will be open to you once you have this. But, don't load this if you don't web develop since it slows flash down a little.[https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1843]
ErrorZilla PlusThis is another extremely useful addon that should become a Firefox default. When a page cannot load, this will modify the error page and allow you possibly load the page anyways in alternate ways[https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/5398]
StylishYou know how you can customize Wikipedia through your monobook.css? This lets you customize anything through "firefox.css". The browser, individual pages, etc. There are also wealthy amount of presets. You have to try this to know what it is! [http://userstyles.org/styles/5060 This is beautiful] and [http://userstyles.org/styles/192 this is useful].[https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/2108]
Menu Icon PlusPuts icons on most of the menus. Visually appealing. Can be customized.[https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/8266]
 
There are addons that let you download anything on a webpage from Youtube videos, streaming music, and anything coming from firefox. They all have their pros and cons so I'll let you research. 



=Wikipedia=

=monobook=

Copy the code into Special:Mypage/monobook.css or Special:Mypage/monobook.js

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|+ monobook.js/css

Code nameDescriptionCode
histcombTrims history pages and truncates them. Color codes your entries. Install in .jsimportScript('User:Alex Smotrov/histcomb.js');
TimePuts date and time in UTC on the top right corner. Better than the gadget version in my opinion.importScript('Wikipedia:WikiProject User scripts/Scripts/Time');
User contribs appsImplements very useful tabs when viewing user contibs such as a link that counts edits, shows what hour the user typically edits (example), and, the most useful feature in all the codes for Wikipedia, show/hide top contrib, which shows what pages the user is the most recent editor to, useful on your own contribsimportScript('User:ais523/editcount.js');
Admin rightsHighlights the names of administrators. Useful for knowing who to respect ;) The highlight color can be changed at .css ([http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User%3APenubag%2Fmonobook.css&diff=222890408&oldid=181285141 example])importScript('User:Ais523 non-admin/adminrights.js');
Friendly TagAdds a tab that let's you quickly tag the article with amboxes and such.importScript('User:Ioeth/friendlytag.js');

=Tools=

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|+ Wikipedia tools

CategoryDescriptionlink
Page view rankersFind out how often a page on Wikipedia's been viewed[http://wikirank.com/en], [http://stats.grok.se/]
CategoriesCatgraph: show which category links to other categories in a nice graph[http://toolserver.org/~dapete/catgraph/]
RCThis recent changes list is sure to have vandals all over it. This shows only anons editing in mainspace edits at special:recent changes[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:RecentChanges&hideminor=1&hideliu=1&namespace=0]
historyThis tool tells you who is the primary contributor of a Wikipedia page among other stuff[http://vs.aka-online.de/cgi-bin/wppagehiststat.pl]
Expand templateThis will open up the coding to all those complicated templates like {{CURRENTDAY}} and view their sourcelink

=Online Apps=

=converters=

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|+ Online converting tools

DescriptionNotesLink
Image to ascii artconverts any image into ascii charactershttp://asciiconvert.com/
Text to stylized ascii artconverts text into big ascii art, good for edit noticeshttp://www.network-science.de/ascii/
Image to vector graphicsThis will convert any image (even photos) into a vector version automatically after you guide it through some steps. This website provides 2 free conversions per email address...time to make more email accountshttp://vectormagic.com/home
URL to shorter URLIf you have a huge URL to paste, it's an eye sore. This'll shorten the linkhttp://tinyurl.com/
TranslatorsTranslate foreign wordshttp://translate.google.com/?hl=en&sl=fr&tl=en, http://babelfish.yahoo.com/
Text to graphical textturn text into a pretty graphichttp://cooltext.com/
Media converterConvert any sound format into another as well as extracting music from streaming videos etc. Good alternative to Audacityhttp://mediaconverter.org/


=tools=

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|+ Online tools

DescriptionNotesLink
See website in a different browserWant to see how a page looks like in Safari, Internet Explorer, or Opera? This website will offer many different browsers to see fromhttp://browsershots.org/
Make graphsMake line, pie, bar, or coordinate graphs, even in svghttp://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createagraph/
History archiveLike the history tab on Wikipedia? You can see past versions of any website with thishttp://www.archive.org/web/web.php
Screen castingScreen cast with a Firefox addon, Capture Fox. Captures the entire screen output but has low frame ratehttps://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/8090
File hostingUpload files onto this host. Possible to share with othershttp://www.filefactory.com/
Image OptimizerDecrease file size of images and increase page load speeds without losing qualityhttp://tools.dynamicdrive.com/imageoptimizer/index.php
Checks to see if a website is downSometimes you can't load a page because there's a problem with you, or sometimes a problem with the webserver. This will tell you.http://downforeveryoneorjustme.com/

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