In this guide I am going to show you how to enable, install, and use custom user scripts in Opera 11.

Adding User JavaScript to Opera

Step 1: Open Opera and enter about:opera into the address bar.

Step 2: If User JavaScript is enabled, a User JavaScript folder entry appears under the Paths heading.  If it does not, you need to enable User JavaScript in the next step.

Step 3: Navigate to Menu > Settings > Preferences… in Opera.

Step 4: Select the Advanced tab.

Step 5: Click Content in the left menu and press the JavaScript Options button.

Step 6: Select the folder where you wish to store your new user JavaScript files and click OK on the next two windows.  If you enter about:opera into the address bar like in Step 2 you can now see the User JavaScript folder under the Paths heading.

Next, we need to download and install some JavaScript.  Navigate to Userscripts.org and find the JavaScript enhancement you wish to install.  Once you find the script, right-click the Install button and select Save Linked Content As… and save the JavaScript file into the folder you specified in Step 6.  I would recommend giving the JavaScript a name other than the default provided so you can easily distinguish between JavaScript files.

What are your favorite user scripts for Opera or any other web browser?  Let us know by commenting below!

The post How To Add Greasemoney and Other Scripts To Opera 11 first appeared on Techerator.

This risk can be mitigated by using a URL expanding service called LongURL, which can help you avoid viruses, phishing, and malware by expanding a shortened URL before you click it.  LongURL supports nearly every popular URL shortener, such as tinyurl.com, is.gd, ping.fm, ur1.ca, bit.ly, snipurl.com, tweetburner.com, metamark.net, url.ie, x.se, 6url.com, yep.it, piurl.com, and more.

Using LongURL via LongURL.org

LongURL can be used in any browser through LongURL.org.  Simply copy and paste (or type) your shortened URL into the box and click expand to be presented with a screenshot of the website, its title, and any details that can be discovered.

Using the LongURL Add-on in Firefox

LongURL provides a useful add-on for Firefox that seamlessly integrates the service with your browser.  Simply install the LongURL Mobile Expander add-on and you can expand any shortened URL by hovering your mouse over it.  To view additional information about the link, click the ‘More’ button and you will be taken to the LongURL website.

Using LongURL in Greasemonkey

If you prefer to use Greasemonkey (a Firefox add-on that allows you to run user-created scripts to modify websites), check out the LongURL Mobile Expander Greasemonkey script.  After installing the script, any shortened URLs will automatically be expanded when you hover your mouse over them.  To view additional information about the link, click the ‘More’ button and you will be taken to the LongURL website.

Have any tips for safer browsing?  Share them with us in the comments!

The post Browse Safer: Expand Shortened URLs first appeared on Techerator.

Firefox Only:  Now that YouTube has a high quality / high definition option available for almost all videos, you may have found yourself wishing it would be enabled by default.  Realistically, YouTube has the higher quality mode disabled by default to save bandwidth on users who don’t mind lower quality videos, but this guide will show you how to automatically view all YouTube videos in the highest quality available (and also automatically resize certain videos to a higher resolution).

To accomplish this, you will need Firefox with the Greasemonkey add-on installed [New to Greasemonkey? Check out our guide].  Once you’re running Firefox with Greasemonkey, simply install the YouTube HQ + 720p Ultimate Greasemonkey script by clicking the Install button on the script’s information page.  Now when you view a YouTube video which is available in high quality, the high quality option will automatically be enabled.

YouTube videos have varying degrees of quality, so certain high quality videos will be automatically resized to a larger resolution, with many videos displaying at a full 720p.  720p-resized videos are too large for users with a display resolution of less than 1440×900, so if that is the case you can disable the resizing feature by following the instructions provided in the Options section of the script’s information page.

This script also contains several additional features which can be enabled or disabled:

• Autoplay – YouTube videos begin playing automatically by default, but with this option the video will be paused and will buffer until you click the play button.
• Jump To Player – This option automatically jumps your browser’s view to the video’s location.
• Adjust Player Colors – Users can customize the foreground and background colors of the YouTube player.
• Hide Annotations – YouTube allows video authors to add annotations to videos which can many times be spam or just plain annoying.  This option disables them from showing up over your video.
• Loop – Just as you’d guess, it loops the video.

One important thing to note about Greasemonkey scripts is that if YouTube changes their code, layout, or player, the script could potentially stop working.  If this happens, be sure to check the script’s information page to see if an update is available, and if no updates are available you can contact the script author via that page.

Have a Greasemonkey script for YouTube you’d like to share?  Tell us about it in the comments!

The post How To: Automatically View YouTube Videos in HD and Resized to 720p first appeared on Techerator.

You can automatically hide Gmail’s labels (until you move your mouse over the message) by adding installing the Hide Labels in Message Row script for Greasemonkey. [What’s Greasemonkey? Check out our guide.]

Have any Greasemonkey scripts for Gmail you enjoy?  Share them in the comments.

UPDATE 04/23/09: The Better Gmail 2 add-on for Firefox now has built-in support for the Hide Labels in Message Row script.

The post How To: Automatically Hide Labels in Gmail first appeared on Techerator.

Greasemonkey

To install Greasemonkey, head on over to the Firefox Add-On Greasemonkey page and click “Add to Firefox”.  After restarting your browser, Greasemonkey will be active and ready to accept scripts (it should be noted that Greasemonkey will have no installed scripts by default).

Now that you’ve got Greasemonkey installed, you can add some scripts to enhance your favorite websites.  Websites such as userscripts.org have hundreds of scripts freely available, and if you have experience programming Javascript you can even write your own.  When you find a script you’d like to use, simply click the “Install” button and then approve it in Greasemonkey by clicking Install again.

Since Greasemonkey uses Javascript to make modifications to webpages, the changes can be applied on-the-fly just by activating a script and refreshing the page.  If you ever want to disable Greasemonkey, it is as easy as clicking the little monkey face icon in the Firefox statusbar.

Want to find some great Greasemonkey scripts?  Check out userscripts.org (sorted by script popularity) or search for your favorite websites there.  Some of my personal favorites are the Inline MP3 Player (automatically adds a flash-based player with controls to MP3s) and Textarea Backup (automatically saves textarea information in the event of a browser crash or accidental navigation away from the page).

Have a great Greasemonkey script?  Share it in the comments!

The post Enhance Websites in Firefox with Greasemonkey first appeared on Techerator.