Useful add-ons for Google Chrome. Google Chrome Extensions: A Brief Overview

First, a little about what an extension is: an extension is a small add-on for the browser that expands its functionality. Extensions can perform a wide variety of functions: they make it possible to download music or videos where you can’t just download them, for example, on VKontakte or Youtube. They simplify working with documents and images, give you the opportunity to choose which search engine to use in a particular situation without going to the search engine’s website, and change the appearance of the site.

Extensions in Google Chrome are installed from the official application store, don’t let the name confuse you - you don’t have to buy anything. To get to the extension store, follow the link

Or go to the store using the browser menu: in the upper right corner of the browser, click on the button with three dots. The browser menu will open, in it you need to select "Additional tools." Another window will appear in which you need to find the item "Extensions" and click on it:

Now you are in the tab with extensions installed in the browser. If no extensions were installed before, then nothing will appear here, or pre-installed Google Chrome extensions will be displayed - documents, presentations, tables. Depends on the browser version. Click on the menu item at the top left "Extensions", then down to "Open Chrome Web Store":

after which you will be taken to the extension store. Here you can view all available ones, sort them by categories, capabilities, ratings. The only negative is the language; not all extensions have a description and interface in Russian.

If you know which extension you need, then just enter its name in "Search by store" and press Enter. Please note that search results may contain not only extensions, but also applications. To avoid mistakes, select from the search results "Extensions". From the results found, select the required extension and click the button "Install":

After installation, an icon should appear in the upper right corner, which can be used to manage the extension, configure it, enable or disable any functions:

Settings are activated by right-clicking on the icon. In some cases, there may not be an icon; it all depends on the extension being installed and its capabilities.

How to install a third-party extension in Google Chrome

If you have a third-party extension or user script from a source you trust, but for some reason this extension is not available in the Google Chrome store, you will not be able to install it in the usual way. To ensure security, installing third-party extensions, i.e. extensions not from the store, is prohibited in Chrome. Below are ways you can work around this limitation.

Installing the downloaded extension in .crx format

1. First you need to open the extensions page in the browser, as described above: Browser menu in the upper right corner > Additional tools > Extensions. Or copy chrome://extensions/ into your browser's address bar and press Enter.
2. At the top of the page there is a "Developer Mode" switch, activate it. Below there will be 3 additional buttons: "Pack extension" And "Update extensions":

1. Extension file ending with .crx, rename it so that it ends with .zip and open it with an archiver as a regular archive. Unpack it into a folder prepared for this (for example, create a folder on drive “C” called Extensions, or any other name).
2. In the browser, on the page with extensions, click on the button "Load unpacked extension" and in the window that appears, select the created folder, then click OK.

The extension will be installed in the browser, now all that remains is to activate it by moving the switch next to the extension to the “Enabled” position.

Installing a user script - a file like .user.js in Google Chrome

Method one, simpler, but requiring the installation of an additional extension. The extension is called tampermonkey and must be installed from the Google Chrome store. After installation, it will be available in the upper right corner of the browser. When you press left mouse button The following window will appear on the extension icon:

in which you need to select an item "Create new script". Please note that opposite the point "Enabled" there should be a green check mark.

A window will open to create a new script. Now you need to open the downloaded user script using a text editor, copy the code from it and paste it into this window in the browser. Then click on "File -> Save":

The script is ready to work.

The second way to install the user script– without using extensions. To do this, you will have to modify the script a little, create a manifest.json file for it, thanks to which the script can be installed as an unpacked extension.

1. First you need to download the script file itself called *.user.js.
2. Now create a folder and put the script in it (for example, create a folder on drive “C” called Extensions, or any other name).
3. Open the script using a text editor. Note! A regular Windows notepad may not be suitable - it is advisable to use a text editor with the ability to change the encoding, for example Notepad++. The text of these two files must be in UTF-8 encoding, otherwise installation will not work. In the script file, at the very beginning, find the following lines:

// @name ... // @version ... // @description ... // @include ... (can be several) // @exclude ... (can be several)

1. In the same folder, create a manifest.json file and paste this template into it (or download the finished file):

( "content_scripts": [ ( "exclude_globs": [ "all_domains_and_paths_from_exclude_directives" ], "exclude_matches": , "include_globs": [ "all_domains_and_paths_from_include_directives" ], "js": [ "userscript_file_name.js" ], "matches": [ " http://*/*", "https://*/*" ], "run_at": "document_idle" ) ], "converted_from_user_script": true, "description": "description_of_your_user_script", "name": "name_of_your_user_script" ", "version": "userscript_version_number", "manifest_version": 2 )

Fill it with the userscript data you looked for in step 3.

userscript_version_number- up to 4 numbers separated by dots. For example, 2.1.3

userscript_file_name.js- name of the script file located next to the manifest.json file

all_domains_and_paths_from_include_directives- each in quotes, separated by commas, with all metacharacters like “*” - all paths from @include directives, which are written at the beginning of the userscript file (for example, [ “http://site1.ru/*”, “http:// site2.ru/*" ]);

all_domains_and_paths_from_exclude_directives- the same for @exclude directives

After everything is ready, the userscript is installed as a third-party extension. Browser menu in the upper right corner > More tools > Extensions. Check the “Developer mode” checkbox, then select “Load unpacked extension...” and in the window that opens, select the folder with the newly created files. If everything is done correctly, the user script will be added to the browser and activated. The only disadvantage of this method is that every time you start the browser, it will display the following window:

notifying you that it has a third-party extension installed that may be unsafe. Just click “Cancel” and everything will work.

And having a convenient browser means working productively and quickly with the Internet. One of the most popular, preferred by 61% of network users in 2015. However, this program is aimed at general work and does not include various auxiliary functions for performing more specific tasks. That's why there is a special Google Chrome store ( chrome.google.com/webstore/category/apps), in which you can purchase a variety of additional tools, so-called extensions for Google Chrome, which can significantly simplify the work of users on the Internet. Below is a list of the most popular add-ons that may be useful to you.

To work with SEO (search engine optimization)

1. RDS bar is the most used tool in the SEO field. The plugin icon displays the TIC of the site you are currently on. By clicking on the icon, you can get the following information about the site:

TIC and PR indicators;

The number of pages that were indexed by Yandex, Google and Bing systems;

The number of pages that were included in the search of Yandex, Google, Bing, Yahoo and Rambler;

Availability of the site in the DMOZ and Yandex.Catalogue catalogs;

Attendance indicators for the selected period;

The presence of robots.txt and sitemap.xml in the root of the site.

The plugin is constantly updated and soon the developers promise a major expansion of capabilities.

2. SEOquake. This plugin is aimed at obtaining indicators such as Google indexing and PR, Yahoo links, Bing index, Alexa Rank, Whois links, displaying Nofollow links and others. All information is displayed above the site during a search, or in the top bar of the browser, without requiring additional movements from the user, which makes it convenient to use.

3. META SEO inspector - the best Google Chrome plugin for working with meta tags. If you have encountered manually filling out title and meta data on your website, then you know how labor-intensive it is. The META SEO inspector displays all installed meta tags at the top of the page, which will allow you to identify those that for some reason were not registered.

4. Stats Checker for Google Analytics is a simple application that, using your Google Analytics account, displays all information about traffic to your site when you click on its icon.

5. MegaIndex Bar - a plugin similar to RDS bar. Provides information on the main SEO indicators of the site: indexing in Google and Yandex, TIC and Pr, availability in the Yandex.catalog. Provides access to services for promotion, auditing, analysis of website visibility and performance.

6. Yandex.Metrica is an application from a well-known service that intends to simplify working with it. Great for owners of several sites, that is, several counters from Metrica. Allows you to quickly load form analytics, map links and clicks, access reports and create counters with one click.

7. Yandex Wordstat Helper is another plugin that simplifies working with the Yandex service Wordstat (word selection). With its help, you can conveniently select words and phrases, choosing from a ready-made list with the click of a button, and also create your own lists with the frequency of queries in programs such as OpenOffice Calc and others.

8. Realtime Yandex update monitor. This extension is designed to monitor all updates made by Yandex. In the event of any update, the program will notify the user about all kinds of updates, for example, changes in the TIC or search results positions. Information is provided by the SEOBudget service. Also, during installation, the application will be able to inform the user about the last three updates.

To translate text

1. Bubble Translate is an easy-to-use translator with a lot of settings. Once you have set the parameters you need, you can no longer enter the plugin menu. To translate, just select the desired word or fragment of text and press “Ctrl”.

2. Instant Translate. Unlike the previous translator, this extension has wide functionality. The Instant Translate database contains more than 60 languages ​​and a large number of synonyms for translated words. It is also capable of reproducing both the original word and its translation, performing translations in PDF files online, saving the history of translations, and allows you to set up to 9 different key combinations for translation into different languages.

For social networks, retweet and bookmarks

1. AddThis - Share & Bookmark (new). A useful browser add-on that works with a large number of social networks: Facebook, Twitter, Google, MSN Messenger, MySpace, Delicious, Vkontakte, Gmail, Blogger, Yahoo Mail, Tumblr, Mail.ru and others. Allows you to easily and quickly exchange posts, that is, retweet, and add pages to bookmarks.

2. goo.gl URL Shortener – in addition to all the capabilities that AddThis has, this extension for Google Chrome allows you to shorten page links. This feature will be useful for users of social networks, where the size of the entered message is limited. It is known that many links are quite long, which significantly limits the number of characters for the message itself, for example, a post on Twitter (no more than 140 characters) - goo.gl URL Shortener was created to solve this problem.

Google Chrome extensions for downloading files

SaveFrom.net is the best plugin of its kind, allowing you to download files from social networks and multimedia sites, including YouTube, VK, Facebook, Odnoklassniki, Vimeo, RapidShare, in one click.

To take screenshots

1. Pixlr Grabber is a real Photoshop built into your browser. With its help, you can not only edit photos taken from the screen, but also apply various filters to them. It is also capable of photographing a selected part of the screen, and the captured screenshots can be sent to some social networks, such as Facebook.

2. Joxi – a fast and convenient plugin for creating screenshots. It can photograph the entire page, save the image to the hosting (users are provided with 1 GB of memory), and also edit the screen - create annotations and draw arrows.

Despite the usefulness of all the above-mentioned plugins for Google Chrome, it is worth taking into account that each requires a certain percentage of computer resources to operate. Therefore, you should reduce the number of extensions to a minimum, leaving the most necessary ones, otherwise your computer's performance may suffer.

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The creators of Google Chrome are constantly trying to improve their brainchild, and regular users always want even better surfing, faster searches, and exciting games. We present to your attention 25 free add-ons designed for the Chrome Internet browser. Thanks to them, you can easily expand the functionality of your regular browser and even do a little more.

Add-on features for Google Chrome

The huge number of extensions stored in the Chrome online store cover, without exaggeration, all possible areas of application: from cutting out advertisements to office suites, from television programs to computer games. Having carefully studied the entire assortment of the store, we present you the most interesting ones.

The appearance and usability of Google Chrome may also be affected.

Although, if such problems appear, they can be easily solved by simply uninstalling unnecessary add-ons. This is no more difficult to do than installing them.

Installing browser add-ons

Installing extensions is easy and quick. To do this you will need: the latest version of the Google Chrome browser and an account that can be created on the page of any service from Google or before installing applications in the browser. If you have met these two conditions, then the matter is small. You need to open the page, select the desired add-on from the list and install it with one click.

Need to download music from VK?

It was with the help of add-ons that Firefox captured its quarter of the market. And how captured it! After a user installs a dozen extensions, switching to another browser is very difficult - not all provide similar capabilities, even Opera with its “cart and little cart” of functions.

But Opera has its own path, which is not cheap for young companies in this segment. Even for Google, which in a couple of years has caught up with its Chrome from beta version 0.x to stable 5.x (6.x is expected soon). No other browser developer has such a quick change of major version. And one of the innovations in the fourth version was support for extensions.

This is not surprising - the functionality of Google Chrome is even more modest than that of Firefox. It is extremely difficult to even just catch up with companies that have been present on this market for many years. You will either have to sacrifice stability so that development goes faster, or focus on optimizing the code so that the browser works without crashes and glitches. Obviously, Google chose the second option, and left the solution to the functionality issue on the shoulders of third-party programmers.

By the way, Apple Safari has provided the same feature since version 5. Internet Explorer has had it for a long time, but it’s more difficult to make extensions for it. Chrome and Firefox are different in that even the least experienced programmer can quickly whip up something. Well, Opera, as we have already said, has its own way. There, additional functions are added using widgets, but their access to browser resources is much more limited, so this is not comparable to extensions.

Google Chrome extensions were first introduced to the general public in September 2009. From that time on, developers could begin to do something. As a result, by December the number of additions increased to 300 pieces. With the release of Chrome 4 in January of this year, there were already 1,500 extensions, and six months later - about 5,000. Of course, Firefox cannot be compared with a couple of hundred thousand extensions, but Google Android at the beginning was far from the popularity of Apple iOS.

The growth of the Google Chrome add-on base inspires confidence that developers are really interested in this browser and will continue their work. In addition, now you can make material about the most interesting and useful additions. Actually, this is exactly what we bring to your attention.

In total, we decided to include 34 different extensions in the article. However, some will be described in groups because they provide the same functionality but for different services.

We believe that not everyone will install so many add-ons, since, as you can see from the screenshot, there is very little space left for the address bar. You can, of course, move some of the icons to the context menu, but then you will have to make an extra mouse click. For owners of large monitors, this problem is also not so relevant, but not everyone expands the browser to the full screen, using desktop space more efficiently. In general, our point is that it would be nice for Google to add the ability to create panels for additional icons in Chrome. But it's time to move on to the description of extensions.

Thanks to the huge number of available extensions, the Google Chrome browser can easily be turned into a tool for performing almost all tasks when surfing the Internet.

ZenMate - online privacy. A plugin that covers your tracks and provides a high level of online privacy. It works on the principle of a virtual private network (VPN) when establishing a connection with servers in the USA, Switzerland, Great Britain and Hong Kong.

ProxFlow - watch YouTube wherever you want. A package that redirects the connection to the YouTube website through a proxy server in the United States. This allows you to bypass restrictions and view materials that are not available in our country.

WOT - when you don't know who to trust. This add-on shows information about the reliability of the sites you visit, based on the experiences of millions of people from all over the world. The individual trust levels are reflected by the corresponding application icon colors.

Plants vs Zombies - a cult game. Admittedly one of the best games you can play right in your browser. Our task is to protect people from the advancing horde of zombies. For this purpose, we install plants in front of their houses, each of which has its own combat properties.

" Download Plants vs Zombies

HTTPS Everywhere - secure protocol. Port of a very popular add-on for Firefox. Automatically switches all viewed pages from http to the more secure, encrypted https. Protects against many risks and some forms of online surveillance and censorship.

Stealthy - anti-tracking. A service that, while surfing the Internet, hides our IP address when we click an icon on the browser panel. This extension connects to the provider's servers, which take care of our anonymity on the network. It also makes it difficult to track our activities.

Google Cast - video directly from the web. A plugin that allows you to play video materials found on the Internet using Chromecast. Sends it directly to this and other Google Cast-enabled devices.

Speed ​​Dial - bookmarks at hand. Something for those of us who use "bookmarks" a lot but don't like Chrome's sidebars. Speed ​​Dial can store up to 48 items. All are displayed as thumbnails on an additional tab.

Click &Clean - convenient cleaning. This addition makes it difficult to track our online activities. When you close your browser, you can, for example, clear your browsing and download history, clear your cache, delete your cookies, or clear your form data and saved passwords.

APK Downloader - apps directly from the store. A tool for owners of smartphones and tablets with Android. Allows you to download applications as APK directly from the Google Play store, bypassing the official application. Convenient, for example, in situations where the Google Play application throws an error.

" Download APK Downloader

Google Keep - write down everything you feel. The package is useful for evaluating ideas and more. Allows you to save text, photos and voice notes. All of them can be color coded so you don’t waste time searching for the one you need. Works not only on computers, but also on phones and tablets.

TooManyTabs - you can never have too many open tabs. For those of you who have a habit of opening so many bookmarks that you don't even see the icons appearing in front of the address. This extension will definitely save you a lot of time, energy and maybe even nerves lost in searching for a specific bookmark.

Xmarks - synchronization between browsers. This addon was created specifically for those who use more than one browser and always want to have all their data at hand. Xmarks only takes a few clicks to save and sync your bookmarks, passwords, and open tabs between Google Chrome, Mozilla Forefox, Safari, and Internet Explorer.

goo.gl - shorten links. An interesting and practical addition that allows you to instantly shorten Internet addresses. Especially where you can't use too many characters, like Twitter. The specified address can also generate a QR code.

Awesome New Tab Page - Update Your Browser. The package's eye-pleasing interface is reminiscent of the Metro UI from Windows 8. All this allows you to configure the new page window in Google Chrome into any set of pages or services.

Ghostery - take care of your privacy. Popular privacy protection tool. Allows you to see all the tracking tools placed on pages on the Internet, tags, Internet worms and even graphics that are one pixel in size. For all tools of this type, Ghostery provides several options for blocking or allowing work.

Boomerang for Gmail - mail automation. An add-on that will almost certainly be useful to anyone working with Gmail. It allows you to schedule the sending of email - you can send a message at a previously set time, even if you do not currently have access to the Internet.

Pocket - your content anytime, anywhere. This package is used by more than 10 million people around the world. It allows you to save pages, blogs, images and even videos you find online so that you can read or watch them later on a completely different device, such as a tablet or smartphone.

Hover Zoom - enlarges image thumbnails. The effect of this package is obvious - it enlarges the thumbnails of images posted on the network when you hover over them with the mouse. Works correctly with many popular services - Facebook, Twitter, Flickr or tumblr.

Chrome Remote Desktop. An interesting addition that works on several platforms (Windows XP and higher and OS X since version 10.6). Allows you to gain remote access to another computer - indispensable in some cases, such as quick technical help. Works also on chromebook devices. It uses a secure connection to work.

Panic Button - close tabs immediately. Allows you to hide and remember all open browser tabs with one click. Another click sends them back. The application cannot be appreciated in cases where, for example, we need to quickly move away from the computer and we do not have time to add an open page to bookmarks. Opening saved cards can be protected with a password. Available in Polish language version.

Awesome Screenshot - quick screenshot. An addition that will be very useful for everyone who often takes screenshots. It allows you to capture a selected fragment of the browser window, a visible part of the page or the site as a whole. You can edit the image directly in the browser, add your own elements to it - for example, a description or add something to it. Everything can be saved to a file, transferred or printed.

" Download Awesome Screenshot

Synata - search in multiple places. An interesting tool that allows you to search in several places at the same time. Can find, among other things, emails, contacts and appointments, no matter where they are stored - in Box, Dropbox, Gmail and even Google Apps.

" Download Synata app

Disconnect - tracking tracking. A browser add-on that allows its user to view all the tracking tools for his activity, such as cookies. Using the plugin, you can freely (globally or selectively) block them, create a blacklist, or allow activity by placing them in a whitelist. By the way, this plugin speeds up page loading by an average of 27%.

Readability - comfortable reading. Plugin for comfortable reading of interesting material. Removes text formatting and all additions placed on web pages. You can mark the material prepared in this way for later reading, and also send it to the reader, and finish reading, for example, while riding public transport.

Extensity - add-on management. This practical add-on can be controlled by... other Chome browser add-ons. All plugins are displayed in a list accessible by clicking the Extensity button - you can also turn them on and off there.

Social Fixer - improvements for Facebook. A plugin for everyone who cannot live without Facebook, but lacks functions or wants something new. Social Fixer brings many small to very advanced improvements to Facebook. It's worth checking at least some of them yourself.

Evernote Web Clipper - marginal notes. A practical addition not only for Chrome, but also for the popular Evernote. Allows you to save, annotate and share web content, clipping web pages and taking screenshots - that is, almost everything that can be useful when working with Evernote.

Feedly - RSS feed reader. An optional RSS feed reader component that allows you to use, manage, and organize subscriptions directly from your browser. Feedly can also be used on an Android smartphone. In this case, all data is automatically synchronized between all devices connected to your Google account.