topbanner_forum
  *

avatar image

Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
Did you miss your activation email?

Login with username, password and session length
  • Monday March 18, 2024, 10:51 pm
  • Proudly celebrating 15+ years online.
  • Donate now to become a lifetime supporting member of the site and get a non-expiring license key for all of our programs.
  • donate

Last post Author Topic: MLB/Mouseless Browsing FF extension - MUST-HAVE for every keyboard user!  (Read 62930 times)

brotherS

  • Master of Good Ideas
  • Honorary Member
  • Joined in 2005
  • **
  • Posts: 2,260
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
I recently read about MLB/Mouseless Browsing on https://www.donation...dex.php?topic=2842.0

MLB (http://www.rudolf-no...ouselessBrowsing.htm) is a Firefox extension, I chose to install version 0.4.1 Beta.

Basic Principle

Mouseless browsing bases on appending small boxes with unique ids for all links, form elements and frames to the page. You can trigger an action (e.g. following the link) by simply entering the id and depending on the configuration confirming it by pressing Enter.

As DC user vamp07 said in the other thread, I quickly noticed it makes sense to change the delay from 500 to 750 ms and to set the Numpad0 key to toggle visibility of the IDs.

A picture says more than 1000 words, so have a look:

http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/7048/dcpostmouselessbrowsing16ri.png
MLB/Mouseless Browsing FF extension - MUST-HAVE for every keyboard user!


On that screenshot I marked three places, which have so-called IDs:
A = 176 (quote)
B = 180 (shoutcast.com, external link)
C = 188 (reply)

All I now have to do is to quote Carol is to hit Ctrl and type 176, if I would type 180 the new page would open in another tab (depends on how you set up Firefox) and if I would type 188 while holding Ctrl down I'd just reply, without quoting.

This is an extremely helpful extension! Being a true keyboard user I was always annoyed when having to grab the mouse.


These settings are working fine for me (I didn't change the "Styles" tab values):

http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/4823/dcpostmouselessbrowsing29vp.png
MLB/Mouseless Browsing FF extension - MUST-HAVE for every keyboard user!


http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/8862/dcpostmouselessbrowsing30hm.png
MLB/Mouseless Browsing FF extension - MUST-HAVE for every keyboard user!


Google Mail users might want to pay special attention to the setting I highlighted in the last screenshot. By default MLB uses the "/" key of the Numpad here - which allows you to easily jump to Google Mail's search field!


Carol Haynes

  • Waffles for England (patent pending)
  • Global Moderator
  • Joined in 2005
  • *****
  • Posts: 8,066
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Can you assign specific numbers or are they generated page by page? If they change all the time it looks like hard work to me!

brotherS

  • Master of Good Ideas
  • Honorary Member
  • Joined in 2005
  • **
  • Posts: 2,260
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Can you assign specific numbers or are they generated page by page? If they change all the time it looks like hard work to me!
-Carol Haynes (April 12, 2006, 06:15 AM)
Well... as long as pages have the same layout the same IDs will appear. But even if the IDs change for every page, how is that hard work for a true keyboard user (who doesn't have to look at the keys when typing)?

Carol Haynes

  • Waffles for England (patent pending)
  • Global Moderator
  • Joined in 2005
  • *****
  • Posts: 8,066
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
What ever lights your candle  :-* :-* :-* :-*

jgpaiva

  • Global Moderator
  • Joined in 2006
  • *****
  • Posts: 4,727
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
That looks very nice, a good way of browsing. I do something similar myself, with opera, but i have to cycle through all the links.

I'm only sad for one thing:
MLB (http://www.rudolf-no...ouselessBrowsing.htm) is a Firefox extension, I chose to install version 0.4.1 Beta.
:( :(

brotherS

  • Master of Good Ideas
  • Honorary Member
  • Joined in 2005
  • **
  • Posts: 2,260
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
That looks very nice, a good way of browsing. I do something similar myself, with opera, but i have to cycle through all the links.
That was the way I was doing it before... and it *sucked* a lot! :o

@Carol: Huh? :) Just try it (if you are using Firefox) - it might look complicated, but it's great fun to use!

jgpaiva

  • Global Moderator
  • Joined in 2006
  • *****
  • Posts: 4,727
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
@BrotherS: actually, in opera, i also use a similar thing to that. When i press comma ',' i can write the name of the link, and it gets selected. :D

brotherS

  • Master of Good Ideas
  • Honorary Member
  • Joined in 2005
  • **
  • Posts: 2,260
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
@BrotherS: actually, in opera, i also use a similar thing to that. When i press comma ',' i can write the name of the link, and it gets selected. :D
But isn't typing a 2- or 3-digit number ~218% faster? At least? 8)

jgpaiva

  • Global Moderator
  • Joined in 2006
  • *****
  • Posts: 4,727
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
But isn't typing a 2- or 3-digit number ~218% faster? At least? 8)
Point taken, you win. ;)
But still, that can't make me leave my beloved opera  :tellme:
Still, great mini-review!!! :D

nudone

  • Cody's Creator
  • Columnist
  • Joined in 2005
  • ***
  • Posts: 4,119
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
looks like a brilliant idea, only one problem, i use maxthon. the hunt now begins for a similar plugin...

brotherS

  • Master of Good Ideas
  • Honorary Member
  • Joined in 2005
  • **
  • Posts: 2,260
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
looks like a brilliant idea, only one problem, i use maxthon. the hunt now begins for a similar plugin...
I used to use Avant Browser for a long time - like Maxthon based on IE. Maybe you'd like Firefox too? :)

nudone

  • Cody's Creator
  • Columnist
  • Joined in 2005
  • ***
  • Posts: 4,119
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
i'm holding out for as long as i can. oh, go on then, i'll try it over the weekend.

Carol Haynes

  • Waffles for England (patent pending)
  • Global Moderator
  • Joined in 2005
  • *****
  • Posts: 8,066
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
@Carol: Huh? :) Just try it (if you are using Firefox) - it might look complicated, but it's great fun to use!

OK since you're keen  :-[

Carol Haynes

  • Waffles for England (patent pending)
  • Global Moderator
  • Joined in 2005
  • *****
  • Posts: 8,066
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Being dense here - how do you get the options windows for this? I can't see anythingin the menus or toolbars ??

brotherS

  • Master of Good Ideas
  • Honorary Member
  • Joined in 2005
  • **
  • Posts: 2,260
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
@Carol: Huh? :) Just try it (if you are using Firefox) - it might look complicated, but it's great fun to use!
OK since you're keen  :-[
-Carol Haynes (April 12, 2006, 11:44 AM)
Try it now, you WILL be satisfied!

If not, money back! Full refund, no questions asked ;)

PS: Just kidding, it's free (you, Carol, know that of course)

PPS: I opened this thread and replied by using the keyboard only, thanks to MLB :)

PPPS: Just when I was about to send it, the forum told me about your additional post. Just go to Tools/Extensions, right-click the new extension there. Many extensions don't add their own menu or stuff to the existing ones.

Carol Haynes

  • Waffles for England (patent pending)
  • Global Moderator
  • Joined in 2005
  • *****
  • Posts: 8,066
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Ah, I see - I have to use the mouse LOL !!!

nudone

  • Cody's Creator
  • Columnist
  • Joined in 2005
  • ***
  • Posts: 4,119
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Ah, I see - I have to use the mouse LOL !!!
-Carol Haynes (April 12, 2006, 12:00 PM)

classic!

brotherS

  • Master of Good Ideas
  • Honorary Member
  • Joined in 2005
  • **
  • Posts: 2,260
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Hehe :D

(of course you could also use the context menu key instead, but I thought you might want to use the mouse one last time ;) )

mouser

  • First Author
  • Administrator
  • Joined in 2005
  • *****
  • Posts: 40,896
    • View Profile
    • Mouser's Software Zone on DonationCoder.com
    • Read more about this member.
    • Donate to Member
that addin is really quite ingenius

Carol Haynes

  • Waffles for England (patent pending)
  • Global Moderator
  • Joined in 2005
  • *****
  • Posts: 8,066
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
I like the fact you can toggle it on and off too with the numerical keypad . so I only need to see it when I want to.

brotherS

  • Master of Good Ideas
  • Honorary Member
  • Joined in 2005
  • **
  • Posts: 2,260
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
that addin is really quite ingenius
You are using it too now?

skrommel

  • Fastest code in the west
  • Developer
  • Joined in 2005
  • ***
  • Posts: 933
    • View Profile
    • 1 Hour Software by skrommel
    • Donate to Member
 :) Great tool! So great, in fact, that I felt compelled to write a Windows version!

It's just a preview, I'll finish it tomorrow. And if someone knows how to extract the buttons from toolbars, the contents of Internet Explorer windows, and more, please let me know!

LabelControl - labels the controls of the active window with Numbers, for direct access via Ctrl+Number.

Skrommel




AHK: https://www.donationcoder.com/Software/Skrommel/LabelControl/LabelControls.ahk

EXE: https://www.donationcoder.com/Software/Skrommel/LabelControl/LabelControl.exe

« Last Edit: April 19, 2006, 03:45 AM by skrommel »

brotherS

  • Master of Good Ideas
  • Honorary Member
  • Joined in 2005
  • **
  • Posts: 2,260
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
:) Great tool! So great, in fact, that I felt compelled to write a Windows version!

LabelControls - labels the controls of the active window with Numbers, for direct access via Ctrl+Number.
Awesome idea!  :up:

And if someone knows how to extract the buttons from toolbars, the contents of Internet Explorer windows, and more, please let me know!
I hope someone here knows the answer to that.

It's just a preview, I'll finish it tomorrow.
Great, I'll try the next version, not enough time right now.

nudone

  • Cody's Creator
  • Columnist
  • Joined in 2005
  • ***
  • Posts: 4,119
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
amazing.

Baseman

  • Charter Member
  • Joined in 2006
  • ***
  • Posts: 98
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Anyone heard of a Virtual keyboard? This is where an Infro-red light shines a Virtual keyboard on any surface...If anyone has used one how effective is it? :tellme:
GetBackData...Security Awareness...Beta Tester