Enhance Websites in Firefox with Greasemonkey

Greasemonkey is an extremely versatile add-on for Mozilla Firefox which allows users to install scripts that can make modifications to most HTML-based websites.  Greasemonkey can greatly enhance a website by changing the layout, adding new features, or increasing ease-of-use.

To install Greasemonkey, head on over to the Firefox Add-On Greasemonkey page and click “Add to Firefox”.  After restarting your browser, Greasemonkey will be active and ready to accept scripts (it should be noted that Greasemonkey will have no installed scripts by default).

Installing a Greasemonkey Script
Installing a Greasemonkey Script

Now that you’ve got Greasemonkey installed, you can add some scripts to enhance your favorite websites.  Websites such as userscripts.org have hundreds of scripts freely available, and if you have experience programming Javascript you can even write your own.  When you find a script you’d like to use, simply click the “Install” button and then approve it in Greasemonkey by clicking Install again.

Since Greasemonkey uses Javascript to make modifications to webpages, the changes can be applied on-the-fly just by activating a script and refreshing the page.  If you ever want to disable Greasemonkey, it is as easy as clicking the little monkey face icon in the Firefox statusbar.

Want to find some great Greasemonkey scripts?  Check out userscripts.org (sorted by script popularity) or search for your favorite websites there.  Some of my personal favorites are the Inline MP3 Player (automatically adds a flash-based player with controls to MP3s) and Textarea Backup (automatically saves textarea information in the event of a browser crash or accidental navigation away from the page).

Have a great Greasemonkey script?  Share it in the comments!


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5 responses to “Enhance Websites in Firefox with Greasemonkey”

  1. […] Step One – Prerequisites: To enable this feature, you’ll first need to be using Firefox with the Greasemonkey add-on installed.  Greasemonkey lets you to install user-generated scripts that can customize the way a webpage is displayed.  [New to Greasemonkey? Check out our guide.] […]

  2. […] you prefer to use Greasemonkey (a Firefox add-on that allows you to run user-created scripts to modify websites), check out the […]

  3. […] Greasemonkey allows you to install small scripts which can dramatically change the way a website looks or functions.  This add-on is one of the single most useful on this list, and many Greasemonkey scripts eventually work their way into independent add-ons.  Greasemonkey can help you manage multiple gmail accounts, turn you into a Facebook power user, and let you automatically watch YouTube videos in high definition.  Check out our full guide to Greasemonkey. […]

  4. […] I had to work out with my new web browser of choice.  One of my favorite add-ons for Firefox was Greasemonkey, which allows for the installation of scripts that modify and enhance web pages on-the-fly.  There […]

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