CoLT: Copy hyperlink text/details

CoLT is a very useful Firefox add-on to help you copy the text and the actual URL of a hyperlink in a variety of ways. Let me just put in the add-on’s brief straight from its homepage:

CoLT (short for "Copy Link Text") makes it easy to copy either a link's text, or both the link text and its URL in a format you specify. This non-invasive extension simply appears as context menu items when you right-click a link. Fully customizable!

The add-on can be installed from https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/colt/.

Techbits #17: Screengrab from Browser

What is a Screengrab?

As the term itself indicates, it is like a screenshot and grabbing the screen into the form of something like an image.

What is it useful for?

The screens can be used in a variety of scenarios like presentations, documentation, troubleshooting and so on.

How is this (screen grabbing from browser) different from PrintScreen / Alt+PrintScreen?

While PrintScreen/Alt+PrintScreen can be used to capture screenshots of the entire desktop/window, screen grabbing from browser means taking a snapshot of the webpage/website as it appears when you visit it. That means, you’ll be able to capture and save a webpage as an image. Depending on the tool, there are additional options which can be used to determine:

• if the visible portion of the webpage is to be copied/saved
• if the entire webpage is to be copied/saved
• if a selection is to be copied/saved i.e. it prompts you for a selection and you’ll be able to select an area of a webpage
• type of the image like PNG/JPEG/GIF/BMP

Alright; now that I understand the concept, which tools can I use to screengrab?

Provided below is a sample list of Firefox add-ons that can be used:

Screengrab - http://www.screengrab.org/
FireShot - http://screenshot-program.com/fireshot/
Pearl Crescent Page Saver - http://pearlcrescent.com/products/pagesaver/

If you use some other browser like Chrome or IE, you can search for similar or equivalent add-ons in respective browser's add-on library.

Techbits #5: Browsing difficulties due to improper text font, size or color?

Tired of tiny text while browsing? Feeling difficulty reading text due to font and background color?

Zoom In : Ctrl + (hold Cntrl key and press + key)
Zoom Out : Ctrl -
Zoom Reset : Ctrl 0 (Zero)

If you are a Firefox user, you can set zoom size percentage and background color either on a a per-site basis or global level through NoSquint.

There are also other add-ons available for improving the readability like Readability. In a similar manner, readability enhancement extensions are available for Chrome as well.

Techbits #3: Firefox & its wonderful world - make it yours too!

Firefox - one of the best open source tools that one can come across and which has gained a lot of widespread acceptance. Its rich repository of "Add-ons", driven by and contributed by communities all over, is a huge plus above all. It makes browsing so much more productive and delightful. It is your friendly neighborhood spider on the web and keeps you safe on Internet. Tabbed browsing is another feature that was available since quite a while. Yes, there are a lot of beautiful adjectives used here but not without a reason. I'll halt here though we can keep going on & on, and talk about many more of its features & aspects.

For those migrating from Internet Exploder - err, Explorer, there would be a bit of Newton's first law (inertia) coming into picture. But, I'd like to encourage you to make that first move after which you can feel the change yourself. And, yes, there's Chrome as well alongside - let's not divulge into the war of which one is better though. Personally, I've been a user of Firefox since almost its inception in 2005.

Why wait? Go to http://www.firefox.com/ and try Firefox now!

Provided below are some of the helpful Firefox Add-ons that I use and benefit from.

1. Enhance your tab browsing capabilities using Tab Mix Plus
2. Irritated by ads and banners? Go for Adblock Plus
3. Have a site that works only with IE? Embed it in Firefox through IE Tab 2
4. Hide almost anything via context menu 'Remove Object' through Nuke Anything Enhanced
5. Save Web pages or specific sections (text/image), and organize in a collection using Scrapbook
6. Save webpages (visible portion or complete) as images through Screengrab
7. Deal with all the included JavaScript (JS) & Stylesheet (CSS) files very easily through JSView
8. Powerful set of tools to assist primarily with your web-based development using Firebug
9. Backup your profile (settings, add-ons etc.) through FEBE
10. Easily copy a hyperlink and/or its text in various formats using CoLT
11. Protect your privacy - see who's tracking your web browsing and block them with Ghostery
12. Restart Firefox with ease using Restart Firefox
13. Allows URI texts written in webpages to be loaded by double clicks using Text Link
14. Manage and accelerate your downloads using Down Them All

There are many many more Firefox Add-ons available that you could choose based on your choices and requirements.