Bookmarklets: Weapons for the seeker
Sharp bookmarklets
  
Bookmarklets: Weapons for the seeker
Have some sharp blades, fellow seeeker...

First published at searchlores in October 2005. Version 0.07


Translate, search, do weird stuff... bookmarklets galore!

Introduction

Bookmarklets

Searching...   Translating...   Other bookmarklets  


Introduction   

Mmm, I see, you are leaving... you are preparing your seeker's rough sack... don't forget the bookmarklets he.
Just wait a moment, the following is something you HAVE TO head before adventuring further alone on the deep deep web...


Bookmarklets! The secret weapons of any good seeker. Simple javascript "bookmarks", that will help you searching MUCH more effectively during your long travels on the wide and deep (and nasty) web.

JavaScript must be enabled in your browser in order to use bookmarklets

Bookmarklets are
Easy to store (just simple bookmarks, duh)
Powerful (you will be amazed)
Portable (upload regularly your bookmars somewhere: "File --> Import & Export --> Export Opera bookmarks" and then download them wherever you are "File --> Import & Export --> Import Opera bookmarks"). (Of course you can also always bookmark (or remember) this very page and then 'load' the following useful bookmaklets on the fly)

"Python power and javascript and the seeker is well equipped"
(Ancient seekers' proverb)                                        


Each bookmarklet is a small (or big, there's no limit :-) JavaScript application contained in a bookmark which can be saved and used the same way you use your normal favourites or bookmarks.
They have some POWERFUL advantages vis-à-vis full-fledged software applications:
1) You don't need to install any software whatsoever (advantage coz that could easily be some dangerous malware)
2) You can check the code (usually just a couple of javascript lines, or whatever, anyway in plain sight)
3) Bookmaklets allow you to both easily modify how you will see your target's webpages (for instance in what language), and to search more quickly (for instance repeating a given search using another search engine).

They say each seeker has his own special collection of powerful 'killer' bookmarklets, and while this is probably true, a 'common set' of powerful (if maybe simple) bookmarklets could still be useful for all my readers.

I have recognized the due provenience (and given kudos) everytime I could ascertain it. I didn't bother giving credit when the bookmarklet is available on the web under a zillion different (and at times quite unlikely) paternities. But I'm ready to be corrected if needs be.

Please do, pray, note that bookmarlets are bookmarks (duh). Hence in order to work they must first be bookmarked! (Rightclick on the link and chose "bookmark link").
It would definitely be a rather good idea to organize your bookmarklets. Create a subdirectory "bookmarlets" among your bookmarks. Name it for instance _bookmarklets (with underscore) in order to have it alphabetically prominent at the top of your long list of bookmarks.
Subdivide into sub-subdirectories if necessary (for instance 'linguistic', 'searching' and so on). Be organized, young seeker!
You'll suddendly need that darn, almost forgotten, bookmarklet, and you'll better be able to quickly find where the helicon you did put it.

To make the bookmarklets work on pages throughout the www, right-click on the links below and choose Bookmark link, or Add to Favorites, or whatever, from the pop-up menu (or the equivalent on non-Windows machines). You can also directly drag the link into your "Bookmarks", "Links bar" or "Favorites" menu. When and if a security question pops up, simply answer 'Yes'.
The code is then integrated in your browser. Now, wherever you are on the web, you can use the bookmarklets simply clicking on them.


This page's purpose is to give you a starting kit of useful bookmarklets and allow you to easily win your future web battles :-)

Your contributions are of course both needed and encouraged, dear lazy ones...

Searching bookmarklets   

Transfer   Wayback   Site   Backlinks  


Transfer search (search with one engine and use same query with another one). You have to 1)bookmark these bookmarklets; 2) search first with one search engine!
(I took part of the following names from searchenginesshowdown, but the javascript was taken from the web at large)

Wayback search.
Search the Wayback Machine for copies of the page.
Site search. Select text and then use your bookmark
So you have to bookmark these bookmarklets first, not just click on them, duh


Backlinks search
You have to bookmark these bookmarklets first, not just click on them, duh


Translating bookmarklets   



Highlight target text and use the following bookmarklets to let systran (pretty awful) translations "help" you... but first bookmark those that may be useful for you

From weird languages into english
from spanish (langpair=es|en')
from french (langpair=fr|en')
from italian (langpair=it|en')
from german (langpair=de|en')
from portuguese (langpair=pt|en')
from CHINESE (langpair=zh-CN|en')
from JAPANESE (langpair=ja|en')
from KOREAN (langpair=ko|en')


From english into weirder languages
english into french (langpair=en|fr')
english into spanish (langpair=en|es')
english into italian (langpair=en|it')
english into german (langpair=en|de')
english into portuguese (langpair=en|pt')
english into chinese (langpair=en|zh-CN')
english into japanese (langpair=en|ja')
english into korean (langpair=en|ko')


Of course for a good translation approach you should have a look at our Linguistic station, and -maybe- at the essay Das grosse européenne bellissimo search together -perhaps- with the How to find useful searchstrings in (almost) any language snippet. Also, for some languages, there are better ad hoc tools (e.g. - for japanese - there's an incredible useful perl script for jappo-english on the fly 'hovering translations': http://www.rikai.com/perl/Home.pl
Try it for instance onto http://www.shirofan.com/ See? It "massages" WWW pages and places "popup translations" from the EDICT database behind the Japanese text!

Other bookmarklets   



ElKilla bookmarklet (by ritz)
El_Killa(1) (no more clicking, press DEL to delete and ESC to cancel)
El_Killa(2)

the source:
javascript:

var lastEL=document.body;
var lastStyle=document.body.getAttribute('style');
var EL_KILLA=1;

function hover(x){
e=x.srcElement;
if(EL_KILLA){
window.status='press DEL to delete '+e.tagName+', ESC to cancel.';
lastEL.setAttribute('style',lastStyle);
lastEL = e;
lastStyle = e.getAttribute('style');
e.setAttribute('style', 'border:2px dashed red');
}
};

function key(x){
k = x.keyCode;
if(k==27){
EL_KILLA=0;
window.status='';
lastEL.setAttribute('style',lastStyle);
}
if(k==0 && EL_KILLA){
lastEL.setAttribute('style',lastStyle='display:none');
window.status=lastEL.tagName+' deleted.';
}
};

window.status='busy..';
document.onkeypress=key;

a=document.getElementsByTagName('*');
for(i=0; a.length!=i; i++){
a.item(i).onmouseover=hover;
};

window.status='done. point and press DEL on any element. ESC to cancel.';
void(0);




the KROPSLA


Sourceror2 bookmarklet (by Mordred & rai.jack)
try it right away
Right click and, in Opera, select "bookmark link"

javascript: z0x=document.createElement('form'); f0z=document.documentElement; z0x.innerHTML = '<textarea rows=10 cols=80>' + f0z.innerHTML + '</textarea><br>'; f0z.insertBefore(z0x, f0z.firstChild); void(0);
javascript:document.write(document.documentElement.outerHTML.replace(new RegExp("<","g"), "<"));



Another interesting bookmarklet (also for password breaking purposes) is this "word frequency" bookmarklet
word frequency


"Whois" bookmarklets


Whois Source

Whois uk (specializes in .uk domain names)

Whois nl zoekt in de database van de Stichting Internet Domeinregistratie Nederland.




More about bookmarklets in the javascript bookmark tricks essay.


Your contribution, suggestions, critics, additions and bookmarklets would be welcome, lazy ones.

Petit image

(c) 3rd Millennium: [fravia+], all rights reserved, reversed, revealed and reviled