Gmail 2.0 saw some nice design updates but the overall look of Gmail has been the same. But, thanks to a Firefox extension called Stylish, it is possible for a Firefox user to completely overhaul the look of Gmail.

Stylish is a Firefox extension that can load user created scripts that can change the look and feel of any website. Just like Greasemonkey changing the user-interface options via user-created Javascript, Stylish lets you change the look and feel via CSS. There is a huge number of popular Stylish scripts out there. (look at the Related posts section in the bottom for my collection of Greasemonkey scripts for Gmail 2.0, Google Reader, etc.)

Here is how you can pimp your Gmail in 2 easy steps:

Step 1 - Install Stylish Extension:

Grab the Stylish Firefox extension from the newly updated Firefox add-ons website and install it. Restart your browser.

Step 2 - Install Re-designed Gmail Stylish Script

Scroll down in this page until you see a title named ‘Install Options’. Install the script and login to Gmail. Voila!

That’s it. Enjoy the new look.

Why would I want this?

• If you are looking at your monitor all day long, darker themes are supposedly easy on your eyes
• The new look just rocks. Look at the screenshots.
• You can always turn this off with a click and go back to your old ways or even switch back and forth

The script is being constantly updated so check back every few days to load the new version as the bugs are getting squashed. The comments in that page indicate the ‘Remember the Milk’ extension as incompatible but I am using it with no problems. There are many Stylish/Greasemonkey scripts for Gmail but this has to be the best one so far.

Boy, it looks gorgeous. Now, here are some screenshots of my inbox

I have just recently adopted the Inbox Zero methodology coupled with GTDInbox Firefox extension. It really is a lot less stressful to look my Inbox now.

Sorry my posting has been light lately. Just busy with some projects and stuff around the house.

Have a great weekend!

Hello newcomer, did I say welcome to ShanKri-la yet? Before you move on, just wanted to thank you for visiting and we hope you come back and see us again!

Sorry I went missing for a couple of days. I really should consider writing some posts ahead of time for days such as this but it feels like going to the dentist. I just love to write at the spur of the moment.

Top Commentators Edition

I decided to see what’s being written by our top commentators this month and found some real gems in there.

• Streaming Video over the Internet/LAN - Rakshit Khare
  Rakshit shows you how to stream video from your computer via Internet/LAN. I can see some folks finding this useful.
• AdGridwork Has Opened Their Blog For Business - Troy of Free Website Project
  I have used the free advertising network AdGridwork before and didn’t have much luck with it. It looks like they have undergone some nice changes and you can read all about it from Troy’s post.
• Best of: Firefox Greasemonkey Scripts - Kyle of SlickMania
  Need I say more? I love Greasemonkey scripts and this post is heaven for me. One of the most comprehensive collection of best Firefox Greasemonkey scripts around. Great work Kyle!
  
• SponsoredReviews Brightens Up The Place - Mark of MeAndMyDrum
  I just recently got my first SponsoredReviews offer but after the Google PR slap I am not sure if it’s a good idea as their reviews require a no ‘no-follow’ links to the sponsor. Mark has written a post on some new improvements there. Also, a belated happy birthday for blog’s first birthday.
  
• Photobucket Improves Slideshow Tool - Brown of Brown Thoughts
  I have used Photobucket a lot in the past and they have come up with some new improvements. Read all about it in Brown’s post. Don’t forget to checkout the funny slideshow he has made!
  
• Encrypt Folders with Folder Encryption - Madhur Kapoor
  Learn how to encryot complete folders in your system with Madhur’s cool post.
• Create Online Flip Books From PDF Easily - My post at Techie-Buzz
  As the title suggests, you can now create some cool online flip books with this service. Very neat.

That’s it for this week and hope you enjoy whatever’s left in the weekend. We are off to P.F.Changs for lunch to celebrate a friend’s birthday.

Firefox 3 has been getting a lot of coverage here. We saw the release of Firefox 3 Beta 3 , which I am really fond of as well as the new Firefox Add-ons site that’s about to debut with the release of Firefox 3.

Let’s look at some of the Firefox Extensions that I came across this week.

• Quick Preference Button: If you tweak of lot of your options time everyday and if you are tired of clicking through to find various options, this extension gives you a menu option to quickly access your various preferences. Not sure if it justifies another extension to get this functionality but some may find it useful.
• Platypus: How would you like to create your own Greasemonkey scripts? That’s right. This extension lets you make changes to a web page as you see it, like remove parts you don’t like, rearrange the layout a little, insert your own HTML code, etc and save it as a Greasemonkey script so you get the changes everytime you visit a page.
  This sounds like an awesome tool and I will have to set aside some time to maybe come up with some examples to show you.
• iGoogleBar: A treat for the Google apps addicted user - this changes the top apps bar in Google Apps to use favicons as well as act as triggers to the iGoogle Gadgets. They also show unread counts from Gmail and Google Reader. For eg. you can see the iGoogle gadget for Google Calendar right from within Google Docs.
• Twitterfox: I am a late adopter of Twitter and find it very interesting in the last couple of days I have been using. I use the Samplace extension for GChat & to keep track of Twitter updates but this Firefox extension is also a really cool one of you just want to follow tweets. Yes, that’s what they call the twitter updates. Add me (KIntheHouse) if you are on Twitter too.
• 8aweek: It seems employee spends an average of 8 hours a week in the Internet. This extension tracks your Internet activities and shows you a neat graph of where you spend most of your time and helps you restrict time wasters and get more productive.I know, you are probably thinking ‘they underestimate the power of Internet’. It should have been named more like 19aweek.
• Multi-Sidebar: As the name implies, this extension lets you create multiple sidebars at the same time. Useful for times when you really can use more than one. [via CyberNet]

I would love to hear from you if you have used Platypus or already have examples of its uses. Also, I have been thinking about maybe showing my Twitter updates in the sidebar and kind of use that as a sideblog for things I don’t get to link here normally. I am sure there are WordPress plugins out there that make this easy, but I would like to hear from you if you have any thoughts on that.

Also, it looks like Feedburner is having some problems this morning as it seems to have dropped the RSS subscriber numbers for me from around 350 to 180! I hope I didn’t piss off my readers to see such a drop in a single day..

GmailThis! has to be one of the most useful bookmarklet’s I have in my browser toolbar. It let’s me open a Gmail compose window with the Subject line and the email body with the URL of the website I am currently at, already filled in.This makes it so easy to email anyone an email with just the link or send an email with the link in context already pre-filled for you. If you do this a lot, you can imagine how much time this will save you from not having to open up Gmail, compose an email, go back to the site you were at and copy the url, fill in the subject line and then paste the link to the website. All this happens with a click on this bookmarklet.

How do I use this?

1. Drag to your browser bookmarks toolbar.
2. Make sure you are logged in to Gmail already
3. Click on ‘GmailThis!’ bookmarklet you just created to send this post to someone you know.

Here is a video showing how to use this:
How to use GmailThis!

Tips & Tweaks

I have to thank Daniel Mertens for asking this question in the comments in my post on Top Greasemonkey scripts for Gmail 2.0. He asked me if there was a way to have separate buttons with the ‘to’ address filled in with frequently used email addresses. I didn’t know of a Greasemonkey Script that did this but figured I could tweak the GmailThis! script to do just that.

It is a very simple tweak and those who are familiar with tweaking javascript would have no trouble following this. And you probably already know how to do this.

For those who are new to it, I will try to make it as straight forward as possible and if you break it you can always start over with a fresh copy and try again.

A Look inside GmailThis!

Let’s take a look at the javascript code that makes up the bookmarklet. You can get this code by right-clicking on the bookmark and choose Properties. You will find this code in the ‘Location’ field.

Does it make your head spin? No worries. You can see in the picture where to grab this code.

Let’s look at the part that we are interested in changing.

that’s the part that adds the Url of the webpage you are in to the body of the email.

A few parameters you can add to autofill are ‘to’, ‘cc’, & ‘bcc’. For eg: if you want to create a bookmarklet to email your wife with the link and subject autofilled, you would add this string to the above bookmarklet:

‘&to=’ + escape(’yourwifesemail@web.com’) +

This is what the whole script will look like with the above code inserted:

That’s it!

You create copies of this bookmarklet, rename it and then change the code with the new email updated for every script to create multiple bookmarklets, each for your frequent contact.

GmailThis! for hosted Google Apps

While looking around to see if someone has already posted about this, I came across a thread in Google Groups which showed how you can change the above script so it works with Gmail for your hosted Google Apps.

If you replace the [MYDOMAIN.COM] with your own website url, this bookmarklet should work for your Google Apps Gmail. I haven’t tested this bit but the thread seems to suggest it should work.

If there is any better way of doing this, I would love to hear it in the comments.

GmailThis! Script Credit: Doug

GmailThis! for hosted Google Apps Credit: Google Groups thread

Update: Apparently, I can’t add javascript code displayed in posts just with the <code> tag. I have resorted to doing screenshots instead and I have to find a way to display actual code in the future. If you know how,  I would love to learn how from you. In fact, I am going to ask Doug as he is displaying it right now in his post. Not sure if he uses WordPress though.

I just recently featured Top Greasemonkey Scripts for Gmail 2.0 last week and it was well received. It just goes to show how many people are looking for useful enhancements to Gmail.

One of the most popular script is the Google Account Multi-Login script. The script lets you switch between multiple Gmail accounts without having to log out and sign back in.

The script author has updated this script yesterday with a very important security fix. Here is his words from the update log:

UPDATE (01/13/08): Patched a security hole which could potentially allow a malicious site to steal your passwords. Anyone who has installed this script should reinstall immediately.

If that’s not reason enough, the new script version has an option to prompt for password each time instead of storing it. I have been a little queasy with the script storing passwords for me but I gave in for the ease it offered me in switching between multiple Gmail accounts.

Now, I can’t be happier that I have the option to not store the passwords. I strongly recommend anyone using this script to update immediately.

Google Account Multi-Login

Pongal(?) is an Indian festival celebrating the prosperity bestowed upon us by the sun and rain. It is roughly equivalent to Thanksgiving here in the US. Today is that auspicious day and I would like to wish Happy Pongal to everyone celebrating it!

Gmail has been seeing some excellent improvements lately with color coded labels, improved Ghat features, improved performance, etc.

We can say some of these new features were actually been driven by the community through Greasemonkey (?) scripts to improve Gmail functionality. Gmail team is smart enough to recognize some of these scripts and actually integrate into Gmail.

But, when Gmail updated their code to what’s been dubbed as Gmail 2.0, a lot of Greasemonkey scripts broke. Now, the script authors are coming around to rewriting them and when I looked around today I found so many awesome scripts that have already been updated.

Here’s a few for you Gmail & Greasemonkey fans in no particular order!

• Modified Gmail Macros v. 2.0 - This script provides extra customizable keyboard shortcuts and macros. It is one of the popular scripts loved by Gmail users.
• Gmail - Insert HTML Signature - 2.0 - I have dearly missed HTML signature since Gmail 2.0 broke existing scripts. Mark Bigelow has got this script working and it is even better than before. You can easily select from your set of signatures from the left side bottom just like labels! Awesome implementation, if you ask me.
  I used Gmail Signature Float script but it hasn’t been updated at the time of writing this to work with the new Gmail code.
• Folders4Gmail - You can organize labels into subfolder like hierarchy. Create a parent label like Home and then create sublabels like Home\Bills, Home\Receipts, etc. I thought I never needed folders but this makes using labels so easy to use with the new colors!
• Enhance Gmail - This is one of my new favorites. It integrates Google Calendar and Google Chat ( a better flash version) neatly into Gmail so you can access them without leaving Gmail. The script author just updated this script to display the Calendar below Gmail instead of in the side (not everyone has a widescreen monitor) and I love it!
  You even get options to customize width of Calendar and turn on/off GCal or GChat integration independently.
• One Click Conversations for GMail - Works with both new and old versions of Gmail. Easy one click of messags to preview email and now it adds an icon by the sender name to see all emails by the sender! Nifty.
• Gmail Real Estate (Minimize Header, Nav or Ads) - Enables hide and show capability to the header, navigation & ads to maximize your real estate! Very helpful if your laptop screen real estate is limited.
• Gmail Beautifier - You could use this to collapse the ride side bar when you are reading messages. Again, helps with the real estate while reading messages.
• Gmail Account Multi-Login - Do you use multiple Gmail accounts? Don’t we all? With this script, you can easily switch between Gmail accounts through a select box at the top without ever signing out. (it’s probably not secure but a huge time saver if you are careful)
• Gmail Quota Graph - Totally frivolous but if it’s your thing to keep track of Gmail’s quota increases, this one neatly displays a graph for you.
• Gmail Label Hider - If there are some labels in your inbox you don’t want someone peeking over shoulder to see, this script can help you with that. Just rename your label to start with ‘x_’ and you won’ see it.
• Gmail Contact Book - Adds a contact book besides the To, CC, BCC when you compose an email.
• Gmail attachment reminder v3.0b - If you have a word ‘attach’ ed/ment in your email body, this will prompt to remind you to attach a file. I so need this one.
• Gmail in Blue v3.0 - A clean blue skin for Gmail. Removes footer, ads & logo. Adds some nice hover effects on messages and incoming email gets highlighted by yellow momentarily. Very nice and one of my favorites!
• FB Gmail - If you are FaceBook user, get FB notifications right in your Gmail with this script.
• Gmail v2 Tango 0.1 mod - Modifies the Google links at the top of Gmail to much nicer and useful links.
• Gmail Full Width 2 - Again removes ads and makes your reply screen to full width. Not that it also removes the Map This option if you use that often.
• Gmail Fixed Navigation for Newer Gmail - Makes your sidebar fixed for easy access to labels and other options when you are scrolling up and down.

My last post on Top 15 Greasemonkey Scripts for Gmail & Google Reader was really well received. So, I figured you are looking for scripts for the new version as well.

Whew! I started this list with half a dozen scripts that I use and I kept finding more cool scripts and this ended up with 17 scripts so far that works with the new Gmail 2.0!

Just don’t go crazy and install them all just to find Gmail crawl to a stop. Try them out and keep the ones you really need and uninstall the ones you don’t need. Also, keep in mind that some these scripts may not play nice with others. So, if you find something now working try disabling others and then enable one by one to see which one breaks the one you want.

Have I missed a script you love and use? Let me know and I’ll update the list with it. Bookmark this post if you’d like to find newer scripts as they are updated.

One of the mos useful Firefox extensions has to be the Greasemonkey extension. This extension lets you download scripts from userscripts.org or write your own to change different aspects of a website.

I use GMail & Google Reader the most and I find these Greasemonkey scripts a life saver! I am listing them here so it will be a helpful reference for me and hopefully you as well.

Gmail Scripts

1. Gmail Macros: This script provides extra customizable keyboard shortcuts and macros. It is one of the popular scripts loved by GMail users.
2. Gmail Air Skin: Provides a cleaner GMail layout that is easy on our eyes and other little modifications.
3. Gmail Conversation Preview Mod: This is such a time saver for me. You can right click on an email and read it from the main page. It does act a little quirky sometimes but useful nonetheless.
4. Gmail - Insert HTML Signature: I use my Feedburner banner as my email signature and I get quite a number of hits through that. But, Gmail doesn’t support HTML signatures and hence this script. This script even lets you have multiple HTML signatures.
5. Gmail Full Width: As the name implies, it removes the advertisements in the Gmail window and makes the email messages full width. Improves readability a ton.
6. Gmail Signature Float: Ever been annoyed by the fact that your signature gets attached all the way at the bottom of all previous messages instead of your current message? This script fixes it. Also, it enables HTML signature and in fact I have started preferring this over the other especially if you just use one.
7. Gmail with different attachment icons: I love to see the kind of attachment in a mail even without opening it. Works well with the Conversation Preview script.
8. GMail Contact List: Gmail should have this to start with. It adds a contact list by the To field.
9. Gmail Box for Google Reader: Adds a Google Reader subscription box with individual feed counts to your Gmail inbox.
10. Gmail Sublabels: Now you can have sub-labels in Gmail by adding a subfolder separator ::
    Folders4Gmail: This one is much better! (Thanks to Ryan) You can organize labels into subfolder like hierarchy. Create a parent label like Home and then create sublabels like Home\Bills, Home\Receipts, etc.

Google Reader Scripts

1. Google Reader Preview Enhanced: You can now replace the Gmail article summary with a frame containing the original blog item. There is a button to toggle back and forth between two views.
2. Google Reader for wider screens: Widescreen LCDs are the norm these days. I don’t have one at home but I do at work and this script really helps to utilize the extra real estate you have.
3. Google Reader + del.icio.us: You can feed items to del.icio.us online bookmarking service from within Google Reader.
4. Auto Add Feed to Google Reader: Instead of jumping through hoops every time you want add a feed to Google Reader, this script lets you add directly.
5. Google Reader Print Button: For those of us who sometimes prefer to print articles to read on the road or keep as a reference, you can add a print button to your Google Reader to facilitate this.
6. One-Click Unsubscribe: It adds a quick one-click unsubscribe button to the Google Reader interface. Easy to clean up your overloaded Google Reader feeds. (added 02/28/08)
7. Google Reader Filter: A great script for regex (regular expression) users to filter out or highlight keywords with grey or lime accents. (added 03/13/08)
8. Auto Add Feed to Google Reader: As the name suggests this script lets you add the feed you just clicked on directly to Google reader without having to jump through hoops. A must have. (added 03/13/08)

Bonus!

Everyone loves a nice free bonus in a list of 15, right? Well, I just happen to have one for you.

• Google Reader - Read by Mouse: Some people prefer keyboard shortcuts but there are actually a few people who prefer the mouse. You get to add a button to Google reader that toggles to mouse mode. Left-click goes to next item, right-click goes to previous item and middle click gives you other options. Nifty.

Hope you enjoyed this list and found some scripts that you can use. Visit userscripts.org to find more Greasemonkey scripts not just for these 2 apps but for a wide variety of web applications.

Don’t forget to tell us your favorite Greasemonkey script(s). In a list like this one, more often than not it’s the comment section that adds value when readers contribute more scripts that aren’t in the list. So, what are you waiting for?

Update: If you’d like to learn how to use Greasemonkey Firefox extension and how to find and add Greasemonkey scripts, Internet Duct Tape has an extensive guide with lots of illustrative pictures.