JavaScript snippets like you’ll see below expand the functionality of your browser without requiring any additional installations. They’re used to expedite tasks that would normally take several clicks to complete. You’ll grow to love using bookmarklets for many reasons:
Updates are never needed (unless to customize). They’re highly customizable so that they work exactly how you want. System resource usage is extremely low compared to full-fledged browser add-ons.
How To Use Bookmarklets
Using a bookmarklet is as easy as clicking it. It’s the setup process that might confuse some people. On this page are bookmarklets written in their JavaScript form. This isn’t how you’ll see them in your browser once you’ve “installed” them, but you need to see them this way in order to get them added to your browser window. Here’s what to do – highlight the bookmarklet code that you want (only the code, nothing else), copy it, and paste it into a new bookmark in your browser. For example, in Chrome, right-click the bookmarks bar and select Add page. Name the bookmark, but in the URL area, paste the JavaScript code. Use the Save button to save the bookmarklet right where you clicked. Tip: There are several situations where a bookmarklet might come in handy, so having a single folder on the bookmarks bar where you store all of them is a great idea.
12 Best Bookmarklets
Search Any Site
If you’re always searching through a particular website, but you hate opening it to use their search box, click this bookmarklet to run a site search on Google. What this does is it lets you type into the pop-up box anything you want to search on the website in question. Note: This bookmarklet needs to be edited to fit your situation. Erase online-tech-tips.com and replace it with the address to the site you’re researching.
View Wayback URL
If the webpage you’re wanting to read is no longer available, is throwing an error, or the website as a whole has been taken down, you might still have luck finding it on Wayback Machine. Select this bookmarklet to see if there’s a recent archive of it on Wayback Machine, from where you can view the page or entire website just as if it were live.
Gmail This
If you love Gmail, you’ll love this email bookmarklet. Click it while on any page to instantly open the Compose box from Gmail and autofill the page heading into the subject field and auto-paste the URL into the body. All you need to do is address it and send it off.
Share On Facebook
The Facebook bookmarklet makes sharing links on Facebook easy. Visit the page you want to share with your friends, and then click this bookmarklet to open the Share on Facebook page where you can add text, tag friends, limit who can see the post, and insert emojis before sharing. If you share a lot on Facebook, this will quickly become your friend.
Paywall Bypass
A paywall is the last thing you want to see when trying to read a news article, but you’re not without hope. Using Outline.com, this bookmarklet can bypass paywalls on some websites in just a few moments. Tip: This is just one method of several that can help you get around a paywall.
View Hidden Password
Can’t remember the password that your browser saved? If all you see are asterisks (which is normal) but you don’t know what they translate to, click this bookmarklet for a pop-up that shows your password in plain text.
Shrink URL
Sharing really long URLs just isn’t pretty. Use this URL shortener bookmarklet to instantly convert the page’s URL into something much cleaner, courtesy of Shrunken.com.
Enable Right-Click
Some websites have right-clicking disabled, which can be rather frustrating if you want to save an image. Use this bookmarklet to instantly unlock the restriction.
Enable Text Selection
Similar to the bookmarklet above, this one lets you select text on sites that don’t let you.
Find Shared Logins
Need to get into a website but you don’t have a user account? Maybe you were banned or you don’t want to go through the sign up process. Either way, use this BugMeNot bookmarklet on the site in question to see if there are any public user accounts that you can sign on with.
Download Full-Size Instagram Image
One easy way to download a full-size version of an image on Instagram is with the Instantgram bookmarklet. Open the image you want to isolate from the page and then click the bookmarklet to launch the full-size version in a new tab. This bookmarklet is far too long to store here on this page, so go over to the Instantgram website and drag the button at the top into your bookmarks bar to use it.
Convert Page To PDF
Saving a web page to a PDF file makes it super easy to share and store. From any webpage, just click this PDF bookmarklet to start converting it on the Web2pdfconvert.com website. You can download it to your computer or save it in Dropbox or Google Drive.
