Scribble

Scribble is an attractive web app with contrasting colors and a manageable grid layout. This program doesn’t try to replicate the chaos of using real-life sticky notes, but it does capture the convenience. Notes can be as long as you want, but only the beginnings are visible from the home page. Notes can be color-coordinated and re-ordered as desired, and they’re all accessible even when you’re offline. The editing page removes most of the extra text from the interface, leaving you alone with nothing except a virtual notepad and your thoughts.

Stickeez

Stickeez models itself after that old cork board hanging over your desk. Just create a sticky note, fill it with text, pick a color, and pin away. The interface isn’t as clean as Scribble, but it’s definitely brighter and more vibrant. In terms of design, it might even be more familiar. Yet despite the appearance, notes are still arranged in a grid. They can’t be dragged around, nor can they even be re-ordered.

Stickeez also offers various themes for those of you who never dug the look of cork boards. Available backgrounds include a fridge, a whiteboard, and … skulls.

Sticky Notes

Sticky Notes doesn’t have the most original name, but its interface offers quite a few surprises. This web app defaults to free-floating notes, letting you drag them around to form your own organizational pattern, and they’re all accessible offline. You can still have notes arranged into a grid if that is your preference, and there is a single-note view intended for smaller screens. Sticky Notes lets you pop out notes to save yourself the hassle of switching back and forth between tabs. You are also given more options than the other apps on this list, with the ability to choose your font, create your own color, and resize notes.

Sticky Notes

While the name may be the same, this Sticky Notes for Chrome extension has no connection to the previous Sticky Notes web app. This option is for those of you who really want a no-fuss, no-flare note-taking solution. Once installed, a button will appear in your toolbar. Clicking on this button drops down a menu allowing you to take notes. That’s it. You get one note, and there are no options. Sometimes, that’s more than enough.

Conclusion

If you like virtual sticky notes, you’re quite the lucky individual. The Chrome Web Store is filled with such web apps. While some are good, some are pretty bad. These four apps are some of the best that don’t require you to create an account in order to use them. Simply install them and start taking notes right away. If you have any favorite Sticky Notes for Chrome web apps already, share them with us in the comments below.

The post Four Sticky Notes for Chrome Web Applications appeared first on Make Tech Easier.

Imagine how much easier things would be if you could display notification counts for messages and unread items on your pinned tabs. Luckily, you don’t have to imagine anymore because the Notifycon extension is here to save you.

Notifycon is a simple Chrome extension that can display notification counts on your pinned tabs in Chrome. It’s very easy-to-use and works right out of the box.

Here’s how to use Notifycon.

1. Install the Notifycon Chrome extension from the Chrome Web Store.

2. Once installed, you’ll see the new icon on your browser toolbar. There aren’t any options for the extension, so there’s nothing to customize.

3. When you click on Notifycon’s icon, you’ll see a small pop-up letting you know that you must pin the tab in order for the extension to work.

4. Click on the red “pin now” button in the above window to pin the tab. Alternatively, you can right-click on the tab (in the browser toolbar) and then select the “pin tab” option. You can also unpin tabs in the same manner (both methods).

5. Once pinned, you will see the notification count appear (if supported) for new and/or unread items. The extension is not very clear regarding the supported sites, so you’ll have to test it out for yourself. You can see from the image that Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google Reader are all supported.

Note: If you have Gmail Lab’s favicon unread count enabled, you may want to disable it while using Notifycon.

With Notifycon, you can save tab space on your browser without missing a thing. Now your notifications are in clear sight and you’ll immediately know about any new messages and notifications.

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Getting Started

Using the Wikipedia example, the first step is to create a folder and name it “Wikipedia.”

You then need to find an image to use as your web app’s icon. The file must be named “icon_128.png” and resized to 128 by 128 pixels. Pixlr Editor is a Chrome Web App you can use to resize .png files and preserve their transparency. When you’re done, save the image into the folder you just created.

Before getting started, you will need to have a text editor installed that can export to a .txt file. Scratchpad won’t cut it, as it cannot export a .txt file, but you can create a .txt file inside any browser using EditPad.

Copy and paste the following text into your text editor. If you want to create a web app for another website, change the references to Wikipedia to your website of choice.

{
"name": "Wikipedia",
"description": "App description (132 characters or less, no HTML)",
"version": "1.0.0",
"manifest_version": 2,
"icons": {
"128": "icon_128.png"
},
"app": {
"urls": [
"http://www.wikipedia.org/"
],
"launch": {
"web_url": "http://www.wikipedia.org/"
}
}
}

Save your text file inside your Wikipedia folder and rename it “manifest.json”. Your Wikipedia web app is now complete and needs to be imported into Chrome. Go to the extensions page and enable “Developer Mode.”

Click “Load unpacked extension…” and select the folder you just created. Your completed app should appear in both your list of extensions and your app drawer.

What About The Browser?

If you don’t use Chrome OS, the same process will work for creating custom web apps inside Google Chrome. You can stop here, and as long as you don’t delete the folder containing your app, it will continue to work.

If you want a more convenient solution, you can package your app. Return to the extensions page and click on the “Pack extension…” button. You will be prompted to select the folder containing the extension you want to package. Select the folder you just created and click “Pack Extension” when you’re done.

A .crx file should appear on your desktop. Drag this file into the folder containing your web app. Uninstall the version you previously installed so that it doesn’t conflict with the new version, then drag the .crx file into the Chrome browser to reinstall your application.

Notes on Creating Web Apps.

If you create a web app that happens to point to your own website, you are free to submit it to the Chrome Web Store. Be sure to back up all of your custom web apps afterwards, just in case you accidentally delete the folders containing them. Web apps may cease to work as desired if they can no longer find their target folders.

Conclusion

Creating custom web apps may not be as easy as creating a bookmark, but it saves time having your favorite websites placed front and center. If you have any questions about creating custom web apps for either Chrome OS or the Chrome browser, feel free to ask them in the comments below.

The post How to Create Custom Web App For Your Favorite Websites In Chrome appeared first on Make Tech Easier.

For instance, holding down “Ctrl + Shift + T” (Windows and Linux) reopens the last tab you closed. Holding down Shift and then clicking on a link opens the link in the new window, while “Ctrl + Shift + link” opens it in a new tab.

Here are more navigation keyboard shortcuts for Chrome:

It takes a bit of practice (and this cheatsheet) to master these shortcuts, but it’s well worth it. Soon, you’ll find that you don’t always have to rely too much on your mouse. Doing stuff within Chrome by using only your keyboard is possible, and hopefully this article gives you a head start.

Download Chrome Keyboard Shortcuts Cheatsheet

Can’t get enough of this? We have prepared a downloadable cheat sheet for you so you can access to it when you need it.

Download it here.

The post Google Chrome Keyboard Shortcut + Cheatsheet Download appeared first on Make Tech Easier.

To start using this convenient extension manager, visit the Chrome Web Store and download Extensity.

After downloading, the Extensity icon should be visible on the add-on bar (top-right corner of the browser). Click on this and you are shown a list of extensions as well as web applications. By default, the items are categorized as either Extensions or Apps. Extensions are usually shown with icons in the add-on bar, while Apps appear as big icons when you open a new tab.

Find the extension or app that you wish to enable/disable. A grayed out extension means it’s disabled, and clicking on it once will re-enable it. Remember that this only works to enable or disable Chrome extensions.

For Apps, clicking on an app name will launch that app, just like it does when you click on it from a new tab. So if you have Dropbox installed, it should bring you to your Dropbox web directory (if you’re logged in), or clicking on Feedly will open your RSS feeds in a new tab, and so on. If you want to remove a web app from Chrome, then you’ll have to do it as you would have without Extensity.

The Extensity dialog box also provides a few shortcuts to Chrome’s extension manager menu. Click on the puzzle icon to open the menu in a new tab. This option is handy, especially if you want to delete an extension or allow it in Incognito mode – something which you can’t do with Extensity.

In addition to this shortcut, the next icon leads to Extensity’s own options, which aren’t much. One option shows the header at the top (where these shortcuts are shown) and the other whether or not to group Apps and Extensions together.

Not grouping Apps and Extensions together will show the extension/app list in alphabetical order.

The last two icons allow you to share Extensity in Twitter or rate it in the Web Store.

I’ve been constantly looking for an easier and more appealing way to enable and disable Chrome extensions for a while now, and there did not seem to be a simple enough solution — until this extension. Now, I can simply click on an icon and view all extensions that I have installed, what’s enabled and disabled, and even launch web apps without having to open a new tab.

For extension/app users, Extensity is the simplest way to keep track of all installations. Most importantly, it can be done in a clean and accessible interface that doesn’t require too much work. If you know of another way to manage Chrome extensions, let us know in the comments below.

The post How To Disable Chrome Extensions With One Click appeared first on Make Tech Easier.

Google Dictionary

The Google Dictionary extension is by far the fastest way to find the definition of a word. You can simply double-click on any word to open up its definition in a pop-up. If the definition provided doesn’t offer enough of an explanation, clicking the “More” link will shoot you out to another page with more information. If you don’t want to leave the page you’re on, highlight the word that you want to look up and press the Google Dictionary button in your toolbar. A pop-up will appear with several more definitions.

Dictionary.com

Dictionary.com is one of the more obvious resources out there. You can go to the website manually, but there’s a Dictionary.com Chrome app available that reduces the effort necessary to just a single click. If you’d like more functionality, try out the Dictionary.com extension instead. The extension adds an icon to your toolbar that allows you to pull up a minimal version of Dictionary.com within a pop-up. If this isn’t convenient enough, the extension also lets you right-click on any word on a webpage and pull up Dictionary.com’s definition without leaving the page.

Dictionary Instant

The Dictionary Instant Chrome app isn’t particularly attractive. It’s just a webpage, and it’s a bare bones, ad-ridden one at that. But the app does what it says. Unlike Dictionary.com, Dictionary Instant loads definitions as you type them. This can be very useful if you’re not quite sure how a word is spelled and don’t want to have to move over to another window to check your spelling.

Offline Dictionary

The Offline Dictionary Chrome app takes a moment to install, but it’s worth the wait. Just as the name reveals, this dictionary works even when you’re offline. It pulls down definitions as you type, doing a better job of being “instant” than Dictionary Instant does. To top it all off, the app is ad-free. Offline Dictionary comes the closest of these dictionary tools for Google Chrome to replicating the appeal of having a physical dictionary present.

Dictionary Search

The Dictionary Search Chrome app takes a different approach than the others. Every app thus far allows you to look up the definition of a word, but what do you do if the definition provided isn’t clear enough? Dictionary Search allows you pull in definitions from a variety of sources, including Dictionary.com, Wordweb, Wiktionary, Cambridge, and Etymology. You can search Google News from within the same app or search for facts from another assortment of websites. If you want a Google-like experience without the full range of results that Google supplies, give Dictionary Search a try.

Conclusion

The Internet has exposed all of us to more information than previous generations could ever imagine, and the plethora of dictionary tools for Google Chrome that are available make understanding that information easier as well. If you have an even quicker way of looking up words, let us hear about it in the comments below.

The post 5 Dictionary Tools for Google Chrome appeared first on Make Tech Easier.

Let’s Get Started

The first step is to install Whitelist for Chrome. Like many extensions, an icon will appear inside your toolbar. Don’t worry, you can hide this icon later if you don’t want your kids to know how to adjust what websites they can see on their own. For now, click on this icon to get started.

Did you notice that we are using the term “whitelist” instead of “blacklist”? That is because this extension blocks all websites by default and only allow those that you whitelisted. Notice On the next page you’re presented with a list of options so simple you’ll probably wonder how so many companies could get away with selling complicated parental control software for so long. The first option to “Block pages from websites not in my list” is essentially an on-off switch. Check this option, then type in the websites you want to permit below.

Bing, Google, and Yahoo are permitted by default. The asterisk that appears in place of a domain suffix means that the search results that appear from these search engines are permitted as well. These results aren’t filtered in the slightest. But if you child decides to click on any of the results, only the websites you have permitted will actually load. Otherwise, they will end up staring at this message.

Gee, and I thought searching for the local Red Lobster would be safe. That’s the catch when using this approach to monitoring your children’s internet activity – it’s very hands-on. Your children will have to come to you every time they want to go to a new website. For young children, this is probably desirable. You can let your child access a Sesame Street flash game or watch a PBS cartoon without having to worry if they will stumble into a neighborhood very different from Mr. Roger’s.

I’m not sure if adding the asterisk is even necessary. If you take Whitelist for Chrome’s advice and add “wikipedia.org” to your list of approved websites, you’ll find that you are able to browse all of Wikipedia without having to use an asterisk. I also added YouTube to the list of permitted websites, and I was again able to watch any video I desired.

Whitelist for Chrome’s settings take effect as soon as you click “Save,” allowing you to block and unblock websites without having to restart Chrome to do so. If you want to hide the button from the toolbar, just right-click on the icon and select “Hide Button.” This is an option that is available on most Chrome extensions.

You’re Done!

Whitelist for Chrome is not the most secure option out there. To circumvent the setup, all your child has to do is check the Chrome extensions page and turn it off. Yet for young children whom you simply want to leave alone with a computer for a short period of time without having to monitor them excessively, Whitelist for Chrome may just do the trick.

The post How to Whitelist Websites in Google Chrome to Make The Internet Safe For Children appeared first on Make Tech Easier.

Using YouTube Video Deck

First grab the YouTube Video Deck app from the Chrome Web Store. Getting started is fairly straightforward. You’ll need to log in to your Google account and grant YouTube Video Deck access. Logging in is simple; you can’t miss it.

After you sign in to your YouTube account, you can immediately begin adding your subscriptions. Just head to the “Add Subscription” button in the top left.

A window will pop up displaying all of your subscriptions. Here is a taste of what I like to watch. It should come as no surprise that I’m a bit of a tech geek.

To follow YouTube channels, click on the subscriptions you want to have easy access to, and they will each appear inside YouTube Video Deck in a series of columns. Below I have dedicated one column to Jupiter Broadcasting programming, another to Wii reviews, and a third to car reviews. Each column displays the latest episodes, their length, brief descriptions, and their number of views.

After a certain number of channels have been added, you will have to scroll horizontally to see all of your content. If you would rather keep everything accessible on one page, you have the option to combine multiple subscriptions under one column. Just return to the toolbar and click “Custom Columns.”

A window will appear displaying a list of your subscriptions on the left and your custom column on the right. Select the feeds you want to keep up with, give the new column a name, and click “Add Column.”

You can now sit back and enjoy your favorite content at your leisure. If you’re still not fine with the interface, there are a limited number of options available under the settings menu. Columns can be arranged horizontally instead of vertically, and notifications can be enabled.

Limitations

YouTube Video Deck makes managing your subscriptions easier, but it is not an all-in-one solution. When it comes time to watch a video, the app will bump you back out to the YouTube website. YouTube Video Deck is a great tool for managing YouTube within your browser, but don’t expect it to offer a dedicated media streaming experience.

YouTube Video Deck is also an ad-supported program. If you want to have a clean interface, you’ll have to upgrade to the pro version, oherwise you are left with large banners strung across the bottom or the left side of the screen. Ads may not bother you, but they completely yank me out of what would otherwise be an immersive experience.

Conclusions

If you’ve used TweetDeck before, YouTube Video Deck should look and feel familiar. The interface is largely the same, and so is the concept. YouTube Video Deck isn’t without its limitations, but if you follow YouTube channel, and by this I mean multiple channels, this app can make your life a tad easier. If you have tried other means of managing YouTube, let us hear about it below.

The post Follow YouTube Channels Easily With YouTube Video Deck appeared first on Make Tech Easier.

Web Apps vs. Native Apps

You bound to have plenty of apps installed on your desktop computer. The only question here is whether the web apps are sufficient (or capable enough) to replace the desktop apps fully. The Chrome Web Store is filled with web apps replicating functionality previously performed by native applications. Artists can turn to CanvasDraw, deviantART muro, and Vector Paint, to name but a few. Amateur photographers can check out BeFunky Photo Editor, iPiccy Photo Editor, and PicMonkey. Video editors can use Magisto, Pixorial Video, and WeVideo, which all allow you to access video files directly from Google Drive.

Web apps in general are not as snappy and responsive as native apps. On the other hand, web apps rely on servers with more computing power than the average computer. Thus you can use web apps to perform tasks that your computer may not be powerful enough to do on its own. Servers may be able to cut and render video files faster than the weak hardware that comes with most Chromebooks.

The catch is that bandwidth is always an issue when working with a web application. Lets say you recorded an impressive clip of your niece sliding across home plate during a softball game. You must first upload this video before you can even begin the process of editing it. Depending on your connection speeds or monthly data allowances, this may be a problem. After you’ve edited the video, you must then download it back to your computer if you are hoping to burn it to a DVD. For that matter, burning DVDs is not something you can do from a Chromebook. You’ll need another computer for that.

Limitations of a Chromebook

The majority of Chromebooks come with very little local storage space. Since Chromebooks usually come with either 100 GB or 1TB of Google Drive storage, the idea is that you will save the majority of your data in the cloud. This actually works very well. Yet if you do not wish to rely on the Google Drive storage available through the file manager, you’re left with a computer with a cripplingly low amount of space.

Chromebooks also have very limited support for native apps. Google will soon introduce an “Apps” section to the Chrome Web Store filled with so-called “Packaged Apps.” These apps will be built with the same technology as web apps, but they are stored and executed locally. While these meet the definition of a native app, they’re a far cry from the heavy software found on traditional desktop operating systems. This means if you’re using a Chromebook, you will either have to rely on cloud storage or external hard drives if you want to save a large amount of files. I personally use SD cards and flash drives to supplement my Google Drive storage.

You also have to accept that you won’t be able to use software sold on store shelves.  And unless you’re looking at keyboards and mice, you probably won’t be able to use most additional hardware either. Thankfully finding a compatible printer isn’t as difficult as it used to be. Just look for those that are Google Cloud Print capable. Cameras and camcorders are fine as long as you can pop out the SD cards inside them. If they require the installation of specialized software, you’re out of luck.

Who Would Benefit From Using a Chromebook?

The Chromebook is tied to your Google account and if you are using Chrome, it will sync all your extensions and settings as well. Therefore, it is obvious that the Chromebook is really suitable for a true blue Google user. All your settings will be there the moment you login to the device.

And since Chromebook is an Internet-only device, it is best for people who already spend most of their time on a web browser. This does not mean that Chromebooks are only good for casual use. Tech savvy users who have already embraced various cloud services to store their data and get work done may actually find that they are more productive using a computer that remains consistently fast and doesn’t require extensive maintenance. I used to do most of my computing from various Linux distributions, and while Chrome OS is by no means as versatile as a traditional Linux distribution, the kind of work I do on my computer remains largely the same. I am a tech enthusiast, and I transitioned to Chrome OS just fine.

Conclusion

Computing solely from a Chromebook is possible, but it comes with sacrifices. You won’t be able to install games from Steam or continue using that USB-powered rocket launcher. Oddly enough, you won’t even be able to upload music to Google Music without first borrowing someone else’s machine. But if you’re interested in switching and are willing to change your mindset, you’ll find that transitioning to Chrome OS really isn’t that hard. And at the rate that Chrome OS is evolving, many of the operating system’s holes will have been filled a year from now.

What do you think? Can you survive with Chromebook as your only computer?

Image credit: Chromebook Pixel

The post Can You Survive Using a Chromebook as Your Only Computer? appeared first on Make Tech Easier.

Just a few years ago you would be out of luck. Today, you have options. WeVideo is a video editor that allows you to to load Google Drive videos and edit them inside your browser.

Using WeVideo

The first thing you need to do is install the WeVideo Chrome app. Create a new project by entering a name into the space provided and click on the big blue “Create Project” button.

WeVideo offers three editing modes. Since you want to cut out a scene from your video, skip the basic “Storyboard” mode and select the “Timeline” option presented. This editing mode presents a more traditional interface for editing videos.

Next you’ll need to upload your file to WeVideo. If the video is saved on your hard drive, you can upload it directly to the service. Since you forgot your computer, you’ll have to import your video from Google Drive. Click on Drive, authorize WeVideo to access your Google account, and navigate to the Google Drive video you’re seeking to edit.

The uploaded clip will have to be processed, which can take up to several minutes. It will appear in the video section of your project when it’s complete. Click and drag the video to the timeline to get started.

If you’ve used a video editor before, the next step should feel familiar. Go to the beginning of the scene you want to cut and give it a snip. Then navigate to the end of the scene and snip again. Snipping is performed by clicking on the scissors icon located under the preview player.

Select the scene you have split and drag it over the preview window to delete it. You will need to drag over the latter portion of the video to join up with the first portion. Hopefully the transition between the scenes isn’t too jarring. If so, WeVideo offers several transition effects that may help alleviate the problem.

Export your edited video using the “Publish” button in the toolbar. By default, WeVideo will export your video to 480p and place a watermark in the top right corner. To export in higher resolutions and remove the watermark will cost you a couple of bucks. Select Google Drive, and the published video will appear inside your account.

You’re Done!

The scenario I’ve created isn’t entirely plausible. WeVideo makes editing videos easy to do from a browser, but the time it takes to upload and export videos prevents video editing in a hurry. Even if you were to finish editing the Google Drive video before the audience began to pour into the auditorium, it probably wouldn’t finish exporting until after your presentation had already started. Regardless, knowing how to use WeVideo in a pinch can save you from having to run home to retrieve the computer you left behind.

If you’ve ever found yourself in need of such a tool, share your experience with us in the comments below.

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While this may be one of your personal productivity techniques for browsing the Web, it’s not always the smartest method. The longer you keep a tab open in Chrome, the more it eats away at your computer’s memory. Before you know it, your browser starts to move really slow and may even become responsive.

Luckily, there’s a simple way to avoid this huge headache, thanks to The Great Suspender extension for Chrome. With this extension, you can suspend a tab until you’re ready to use it, which in turn helps to reduce Chrome’s memory footprint. Here’s how to use it.

1. Install The Great Suspender Chrome extension.

2. Once installed, click on the browser icon and go down to Settings.

3. On the Settings page you can choose to: turn on screen capturing, automatically unsuspend a tab when it gains focus, whitelist keywords or Web pages, view or clear your suspended tab history, and choose a length of inactivity that needs to go by before a tab suspend automatically.

Everything is pretty self-explanatory, but if you’re wondering about the screen capture feature, it’s experimental. It’s done using a script called html2canvas. The script will take a screenshot of your suspended page and display it on the tab. This helps you to remember what was on the page.

4. When you’re done, you’re ready to suspend your tabs. To do so, click on the browser icon and click on suspend this tab or suspend all tabs. Once a tab is suspended, you’ll see a yellow bar at the top of the page along with the name of the website, URL, and favicon. If you’ve enabled screen capturing, you’ll see the screenshot below the yellow bar.

5. To unsuspend the tab, click the yellow bar to reload the page. If you’ve suspended more than one tab, you can choose the “Reload All Tabs” option from the browser icon to unsuspend them all at once.

As you can see, The Great Suspender is an invaluable Chrome extension. Not only is it lightweight and easy-to-use, it also improves your browsing experience.

The post Temporarily Suspend a Tab in Chrome to Free Up System Memory appeared first on Make Tech Easier.

How to Play Music in Google Drive with DriveTunes

First, install the Chrome extension for DriveTunes.

After installing the extension, open Google Drive and select the music file or files you want to play. If you want to play more than one file, then tick on the boxes next to the file name. Right click on a file and click on Open With. Select DriveTunes from the list. If you don’t see this option, then most likely the file is not supported by the app.

Upon clicking DriveTunes, a new tab will open with the files you have selected listed in the middle, and a big set of playback controls on top (Play/Pause, Next and Volume). Click on an audio file’s title, and it should begin playing. Note that a speedy Internet connection is crucial for uninterrupted playback.

A left panel provides three ways to filter what files you see in the playlist. Your choices are “Selected”, for viewing only files that you have previously selected, “My Drive”, for viewing audio files you have uploaded, and “All Music”, which should be all types of audio files in your drive or shared with you by other users. By default, you should arrive at the Selected tab.

Another method of accessing the DriveTunes window is by opening another tab or window and going to drivetunes.org. You have to be logged in to your Google account before doing this, and the web address should automatically open to your music file’s playlist screen.

Other options include a Repeat and Shuffle button on the bottom left corner, as well as a Search bar on the top right.

The last column on the right, “Plays,” indicates the number of times a file was played.

DriveTunes currently supports MP3 and M4a files. A note from the developer indicates future support for OGG and FLAC files, but not WMA due to its “proprietary nature”.

Note that you can only play music in DriveTunes; there is no added option to download or edit these files. This shouldn’t be an issue though as you can manage the files directly in Google Drive.

Streaming music in DriveTunes is a free and accessible alternative to expensive music hosting services and even other more complicated web applications. All you need is a Google Drive account, the DriveTunes extension in Chrome, and a reliable Internet connection. While file support and features are very basic, it’s a working solution to playing audio files on the go without having to install third party applications.

The post Play Music In Google Drive with DriveTunes [Chrome] appeared first on Make Tech Easier.

JSON Formatter (app)

The JSON Formatter Chrome app was created to help programmers debug code. Often text in JSON files is typed without line breaks as a means of saving space. JSON Formatter tries to assist coders by formatting the code in a way that makes it easier to read. Just insert code into the single box visible on the web page and press the “Format JSON” button. The desired re-formatted text will be displayed below. An “Un-Format JSON” button is available to edit JSON files back to their space-saving original form.

JSON Formatter (extension)

The JSON Formatter Chrome extension, which has no relation to the Chrome app, is an open source tool that also makes reading JSON code easier on the eyes. It touts support for both JSON and JSONP formats and offers syntax highlighting, collapsible trees, indent guides, and clickable URLs. It works on any valid JSON page and on local files as well. The screenshot above displays JSON Formatter in action, while the screenshot below shows how the code looks without the extension installed.

JSON Editor

JSON Editor is a tool for viewing, editing, and formatting JSON. This Chrome app opens a text editor inside your browser, allowing you to edit code without having to switch to another application. The app displays two text fields side by side. The field on the left displays the code as it is, while the field on the right displays the text in a more readable format. The app can open both local files and urls. Its source code is also available for those who want to know how the sauce is made.

JSONView

JSONView for Google Chrome originated as a Firefox extension. It comes complete with context menu options for copying a JSON path or value. There is also a built-in style editor for customizing the theme. An extension produced by another developer, JSONView and JSONLint for Google Chrome, expands on JSONView extension’s ability to validate JSON documents using JSONLint. And speaking of JSONLint …

JSONLint

The JSONLint Chrome app is fairly straightforward. It opens up the JSONLint website where you can validate JSON documents. It can also reformat JSON documents if needed. The app adds offline functionality, which is a nice touch. Like most of the options on this page, the app is open source, and the source code is available for anyone who wants to check it out.

Conclusion

If you are an experienced programmer, you probably already have an established workflow. But if you are tinkering with JSON documents for the first time or just want additional tools for interacting with documents in your browser, you have plenty of options. You do not have to use a dedicated JSON editor to edit JSON files, and if you already have a preferred way of interacting with such files, let us hear about it in the comments below.

The post 5 Tools to Edit JSON Files Inside Google Chrome appeared first on Make Tech Easier.

Using Progress Bar Timer

Progress Bar Timer provides three options for tracking time: “Counter” bars, “Clock” bars, and “Timer” bars.

Click on the “Add a Bar” button and a window will appear prompting you to create your first bar. We’ll start with a “Counter.” Lets say I am a delivery man who must deliver five packages every day. Having a handy counter would make it easy to track my day’s progress.

I’ve set my counter to start at 0 out of 5, and after I click “OK,” I am presented with an empty progress bar. After I make two deliveries and put them in by pressing the “+1″ button twice, this is what I see.

Awesome, I’m almost halfway done. How much time do I have left to deliver the remaining three packages? For that, I will need to create a “Timer” bar. It’s as simple as clicking on “Add a new bar” below my existing progress bar and filling out the form that appears.

With that done, I’m now presented with my progress bars on display, one below the other. This makes it easier to track time and goals for the day.

I didn’t think to create this bar at the beginning of the workday. My bar shows that I have nine hours remaining, but I’ve already spent over an hour delivering the first two packages. I will fix this tomorrow, but for now, this just won’t do. Maybe I should create a “Clock” bar instead. I click on “Add a new bar” again, but this time the form looks a little different.

I can set the date and time either by typing them into the entry fields or by sliding the sliders in the popup that appears. When I am done, a third progress bar appears below my previous two.

This is much better, as I can now see that I am way ahead of schedule. As long as the top bar remains higher than the bottom bar, I know I will finish my job on time. Keeping this page open beside me and glancing at it throughout the day is much easier than keeping a running tab in my head of how much time I have left to deliver my remaining packages.

In Summary

Okay, so I’m not a delivery man, I’m a blogger, but this tool is no less useful for people like me. Some of my commitments mandate that I meet quotas, and others require that I commit a certain amount of hours each day. A tool such as Progress Bar Timer could make it easier to balance all of these varying commitments. If you need help focusing more time on getting work done rather than tracking how much work you have left to do, consider leaving a couple of progress bars open in your browser to perform the latter for you. If you have another way to track time and goals, let us hear about it in the comments below.

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If you want immediate access to Slick Write’s writing tool, then you’ll need to install the add-on in Firefox or Chrome. The installation requires a restart for Firefox, but not for Chrome.

After installing the add-on, you should see a pen icon in the top right corner of the browser, but the easier way to access the tool is from the contextual menu (right-click). You can right-click at the end of the text you want to analyze, or you can highlight a portion of the text.

Click on Analyze Writing. This should open a new tab that leads to the Slick Write analysis page. The page has a few tabs on top, and there are four major areas of analysis: Critique, Structure, Flow and Stats.

The page opens to the Critique tab by default. Critique identifies flaws within the writing including double words, unnecessary adverbs, overwriting and other stylistic errors. The errors are highlighted by color depending on the type of error, and mousing over them will analyze writing errors by identifying what’s wrong with the word or phrase.

The Structure tab analyzes all sentences and categorizes them into Simple, Compound, or Compound-complex sentences. Hovering the mouse over a sentence shows the type of sentence structure, along with the word count. To know more about the sentence type, you can click on the sentence to get a brief explanation.

The Flow tab is a graphical representation of the distribution of sentence type, length and word length within the text. Colored bars called meters are shown for each sentence, with a rating for each analysis. Click on a meter to know more about the statistic shown.

Finally, the Stats tab is divided into Aggregate, Phrases and Words. Aggregate is a statistics summary which includes word count, average word length, paragraph count, unique words, and more. You can further filter it down to the next two tabs, Phrases and Words. Under Words, you can see words that are repeated all throughout the text.

If you want to see all editing features, you can click on the Configure tab to enable or disable certain functions. Click on a function to know more about it. There are presets and the default one is set to Fiction, but you can click on Custom to make your own settings.

Additionally, if you want to edit the text within the Slick Write interface, you can click on the Edit tab and do it from there.

Slick Write’s vast and flexible features are perfect for creating excellent written work. It doesn’t require a lot of tweaks or steps. In a matter of a few clicks, an overwhelming amount of information is presented in an organized manner that is easily understood. Any writing task can be daunting, but not when you have this tool handy in your browser to analyze writing errors.

Do you have a favorite way to check for writing errors in Firefox and Chrome. Tell us about them in the comments section.

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Getting the Google Now feature is only an install away. After the install, the new tab page will open with the Google Now look.

Google Search and Google Now banner

The first thing you can do with New Tab Page is utilize Google search. You can search the old-fashioned way by typing in a query or using voice search. Your results will be displayed in the same tab in the usual way you see Google search results.

New Tab Page’s banner representing Google Now actually changes with the time. So, at night, it will be black and during the day it will be blue which is a nifty little feature based on your OS’ current time.

Most recent pages

Below the Google search box, you will see a list of your most recently opened pages in Chrome for the day.

This changes daily and is based on how long you have spent at a given site. Depending on the site or service, you will see its link, its favicon and a preview of what you spent the most time visiting that day. You can click on any of the sites to load and open it in the same tab.

News

News will display the latest headlines from Google News.

If you click “More News,” Google News will open for you to see what is going on during the day. At the moment, there is no way to localize the news or change any settings related to it.

Weather

Weather will display the local weather for your area once you set the location.

You will set your location right after you install the extension, and if you want to change it, you will need to uninstall the extension and then reinstall it. Clicking on a day of the week will open that day’s weather details.

Apps

Remember when you opened your boring old new tab page and your Chrome apps were listed for you to use? This is the same thing except in a neat little box.

Just click the app you want access to, and your app will open in a new tab ready for you to use.

Conclusion

New Tab Page for Google Chrome is a beautiful way to display your new tab page by utilizing the Good Now look and feel, though the extension needs some work. Being able to set your news and weather would be a major step forward in its development. You can also suggest new features or changes to New Tab Page, but let us know first in the comment below what you’d like to see.

The post Add Google Now’s Look And Functionality to Chrome appeared first on Make Tech Easier.

You will need to install the Chrome extension before opening your Google Drive account. After installation, you’ll notice the DriveConverter logo when you open a new blank tab.

Sign in to your Google Drive account and right-click on the file you wish to convert. Click “Open With” and select “Drive Converter.” This option should be available if the file you’ve selected is supported.

DriveConverter supports the following files:

Documents:

From: docx, doc, txt, rtf
To: pdf, xml, rtf, doc, docx, html, txt

Spreadsheets:

From xlx, xlsx
To: pdf, csv, txt, html, xlsx

Images:

From: png, jpg, gif, bitmap, tiff
To: png, jpg, gif, bitmap, tiff

Audio:

From: mp3, mp4, m4a, flac, wav, ogg
To: mp3, mp4, m4a, flac, wav, ogg

Upon selecting DriveConverter, the Request Permission page from Google should open in a new tab. Click Allow Access.

By default, DriveConverter opens in a new tab, but you can change this by right-clicking on the DriveConverter logo and choosing other options such as “Open as a pinned tab,” “Open as window,” or “Open as fullscreen.”

This brings you to the conversion page. The file name will be on the top of the page. A drop-down menu is located below it to choose what file type you want the file converted to. In this example, I am converting a .DOC file into .PDF, so I chose PDF from the list.

There’s an option to save the converted file in the same location in Google Drive, and you can check this before clicking on the Convert button below.

A progress bar will indicate if the conversion is successful. There will also be an option to download the converted file.

If you upload MS Excel, MS Word or any other files that can be converted to Google Docs, then it is recommended that you turn off automatic conversion during upload.

To do this, click on the cog icon in Google Drive (top right corner), mouse over Upload settings and make sure “Convert uploaded files to Google Docs format” is not checked. If it is, then click on it to deselect it.

Since this is a newly released extension, bugs and errors are expected, and the developer encourages feedback in its Chrome Webstore support page. Other upcoming features include support for more file types, as well as a batch conversion feature.

If you’re wary about security when you convert files in Google Drive, DriveConverter only accesses files that you choose to convert, and they are immediately purged from the server after conversion.

DriveConverter is a suitable alternative to third party software and other web services that need to be accessed outside of Google Drive. With its simple steps and seamless integration with Google Drive, it’s an easier and faster way to convert files in Google Drive. In case you find yourself working away from your main computer, this app is a brilliant solution.

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Lazarus is available for both Chrome and Firefox. After installation, you should notice the Lazarus icon on the right corner of the text fields on any web site. If you mouse over the icon after entering information, a pop up should appear telling you that Lazarus is saving the form.

There’s nothing you need to do since the add-on is automatically enabled after installation. Lazarus acts as a backup tool for saving the things you type into a long and detailed online form.

To restore data on a form, simply click on the above mentioned icon (to the right of the text field). A pop up window should appear, showing the last information entered on that field. Note that only the most recent information entered is saved, and not others that was entered before. Simply click on the text from the pop-up to restore it back to the form’s text field.

If you don’t want to compromise sensitive information in forms and want a more secure way of restoring form data, you can set a password. To do this, click on the Lazarus icon on the right corner of a text field. Go to Lazarus Options. Under General>Security, check the box beside “Encrypt form and reqire a password to restore text.”

After setting a password, the pop up should now prompt to enter a password before you can recover data on a form.

Lazarus does not save passwords for log in pages. However, this can be enabled by going to the Options page. Under General>What to save, check the box beside “Save passwords”.

On the same page, you can exclude certain websites from using the add-on under Disabled Sites. You can also do this by clicking on the add-on’s icon on a text field and selecting “Disable Lazarus on this site”.

This is also where you can specify how many days to keep the saved forms (it’s defaulted to 10). Forms can be kept until a maximum of 14 days.

Note that this add-on does not currently work in WYSIWYG mode in Chrome, as declared in the add-on’s information page. It also does not save data from a drop down menu with pre-loaded lists. Only text that you manually type in is saved automatically, as soon as you finish typing and move on to the next field.

Some forms may require confidential information, like Social Security numbers, Credit Card details, to name a few. If you don’t plan on putting a password, then it is highly recommended that you use this add-on only on your own computer and not a shared one.

If you are keen with filling out forms online, then Lazarus is a great preemptive tool to prevent data loss and having to type it all in again.

The post Easily Backup and Restore Forms Data In Chrome and Firefox appeared first on Make Tech Easier.

1. Write Space

Write Space is a distraction-free writing tool that is very easy on the eyes – and your battery. With a solid black background, this is one extension that gives your screen a much-needed rest. The application saves data locally, so you are free to use it without an Internet connection. Like many distraction-free editors, a persistent auto-save function allows you to close the window without concern and return to where you left off at your leisure. A row of basic stats line the bottom of the screen, showing your word count, lines used, and characters typed.

The writing tool comes with a few basic customizations, such as the ability to choose your text and background colors or hide your status bar. There’s also the handy option to import text files you may have typed elsewhere.

2. DarkEditor

DarkEditor is a rather unique offering among distraction-free writing tools. It pitches itself as an online text editor, and it comes with a menu bar at the top of your browser window that reflects as much. Yet this menu bar can be turned off, leaving white text on a solid black background and making this an easy tool for tuning out the world and getting osme writing done.

DarkEditor comes with a wealth of options – too many to cover in the span of this article. It harbors the ability to save files locally or to the cloud (but not to popular options such as Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.), an option export to the epub format, encryption options to tinker with, the ability to change the color of text, and a fully functional calculator.

3. Writeulus

Writeulus makes using Write Space look like a complicated affair. The author defines the goal of this writing tool for Google Chrome as “web-based, one-page, and simple preferences.” Writeulus opens — wait for it — to a black screen with a single flashing white cursor. There are no visible options or word statistics of any kind. The basic options of changing background color, text color, and font family appear whenever you move your cursor to the bottom of the window.

4. Litewrite

Litewrite sets itself apart from the rest of this list in several ways. For starters, it opens to a white background with black text by default. In addition to that, it pitches itself as an open source option that is ran locally. You do not have to access a server to pull up this program, nor do you need to trust your data to the cloud. The app also gives you the choice to sync your data across multiple devices by using the remoteStorage protocol.

Conclusion

These distraction-free writing tools for Google Chrome are as easy to install as they are to write in. Give one a try. Heck, give them all a try. You might just find a solution that meets the bulk of your writing needs. But if you have another option you use for writing quick notes without distraction, please let us know below in the comments.

Image credit: Writing by BigStockPhoto

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LinkClump is a Chrome extension that allows the user to open two or more links in one go.

After downloading the extension, you can now use LinkClump to open multiple URL links. To do this, you’ll need to hold down the right mouse button, then draw a box around the links you want opened.

A tiny number appears on the bottom right corner of the selection box to indicate how many links will be opened.

As soon as you release the mouse button, all selected links will open at the same time. As a default, the links open in new tabs, but you can change this (and other controls) in the extension’s Settings page. You can also find a short guide in this page.

After highlighting the links, you should now see these links open in a new tab within the same browser window.

To access the extension’s Settings page, click on Chrome’s control icon located on the top right corner of the browser then go to “Settings -> Extensions”. You should see the options window as shown below. To start changing settings, click on Edit under the Actions section.

Here, you can change controls such as using the middle or left mouse buttons to activate selection, or opening links in a new window instead of in a new tab. You can even customize the highlight color used.

LinkClump does more than just open multiple links. It can also save links as bookmarks or copy them to the clipboard. To do this, you’ll need to go the Settings page again and create a new action by clicking on Add Action. Here, you can assign other mouse buttons and different colors for a new action. Under the Actions section, you can choose Bookmarked or Copied to clipboard.

Remember that activation buttons cannot be the same for two different actions. If you entered a choice which is already being used, then you’ll be prompted to pick another one.

Bookmarked links will appear in Other bookmarks>LinkClump. Bookmarks are grouped in folders so it’s easier to track them.

Links that are copied to clipboard will appear as the full URL address of each link in plain text.

You can also apply filters in opening links. Under Advanced Options, you can specify a word that will exclude or include a link to be opened.

Lastly, you can also disable LinkClump for certain websites. You’ll need to enter the sites under the Blacklists section in the Settings page.

This extension is extremely useful to those who need to open lots of links at any given website. If you’re looking for a fast, efficient way to open links in the fastest way possible, then LinkClump might just help you with that.

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