History on steroids

Latest Version

Version
0.0.3
Update
April 24, 2015
Size
1.24MiB
Developer
Category
Users
373
Rating
5 ★
Manifest Version
2
Web Store Status
Languages Support
English
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Permissions
Tabs
UnlimitedStorage
Http://*/*
Https://*/*
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Historian Extension

Historian is browsing history on steroids for Google Chrome.

Since browsers were made about 2 decades ago, the history and bookmarking feature of browser has remained more or less the same. They have been nothing but a list of web pages stored without much context or order(except chronological). It is surprising that nothing more has been done with it for such a long time.

Historian attempts to break this monotony. Historian maintains the history of web pages as a trail. A trail which maintains information not only of the web page, but also the context of previous and next ones.

The trail is shown as a simple animated path with dots as web links and yellow-brown gradient strips between them as path. The yellow side of the strip is the source and brown side is the destination. The dots are numbered to show the order in which the pages were added to the trail.

Moving the mouse over the dot shows the title and link of the web page. Clicking will open the web page.

Imagine you are researching a topic and you browse several wiki pages relevant to your subject. When you need to bookmark it for later reference, you would want to bookmark all the pages as a collection rather than each one. You may also want to bookmark the order in which the pages were visited and the links you jumped back and forth. You can do all that with Historian.

Moreover you can add searchable tags and notes to the saved trail. Next time you open the trail, the browser will know all the pages in the trail and the order in which they were visited, exactly the way you save it. You can resume from where you left.

Historian also maintains a list of closed tabs (And all the pages that were visited in that tab). So you no longer have to worry if you have closed any tab by mistake.

Note on Privacy

Rest assured, Historian does NOT send any data to any servers or location outside your machine.
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Source Manifest.json

{"update_url": "https://clients2.google.com/service/update2/crx", "name": "Historian", "short_name": "Historian", "version": "0.0.3", "manifest_version": 2, "description": "History on steroids", "homepage_url": "https://github.com/rkvsraman/historian", "icons": { "16": "icons/icon16.png", "48": "icons/icon48.png", "128": "icons/icon128.png" }, "default_locale": "en", "background": { "page": "src/bg/background.html", "persistent": true }, "content_security_policy": "script-src 'self' 'unsafe-eval'; object-src 'self'", "browser_action": { "default_icon": "icons/icon19.png", "default_title": "Historian", "default_popup": "src/browser_action/browser_action.html" }, "permissions": [ "tabs", "unlimitedStorage", "http://*/*", "https://*/*" ], "web_accessible_resources": [ "js/*.js", "css/*.css", "css/*.png", "bootstrap/*", "icons/*" ]}
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How to download and manually install Historian extension for Chrome

Looking for a way to install Historian extensions for Chrome, you can search for them in the Chrome Web Store, clicking the "Add to Chrome" button, and following the straightforward process.

However, you may need to install Historian extensions manually, this article outlines two simple methods to effortlessly install Historian extensions, whether they come as unpacked folders in compressed formats like .zip or as .crx files.

Method 1: Download Historian extension and manually install through Drag &Drop

If you ever need to manually install a Historian extension for Chrome, don't worry, it's a simple process. Just follow these easy steps, and you will have your extension ready to use in no time.

Step 1: Download the Historian Extension by clicking the "Download CRX" button on the website.

Look for the Historian extension you wish to install. Go to the website and download the Historian extension package, which is usually a .CRX file and comes in a zipped file. Here ".crx" file is the format for Historian extension that contains all the data.

Step 2: Extract &Arrange Files

Once the file is downloaded, extract that file into its own folder. Similarly, give that extension files a permanent home. In other words, keep it in a folder that you don't accidentally delete it because these files will be needed to make that extension work.

Step 3: Go to the Chrome Extensions Page

Open Google Chrome and in the address bar, type chrome://extensions; it will open the Google Chrome extensions page. Make sure that "My extensions" is selected in the sidebar.

Step 4: Drag and Drop the Extension

Now, go to the folder where you extracted the Historian extension and drag &drop the extension file from there anywhere onto the extension page within Google Chrome.

Step 5: Complete the Installation

Once you drag and drop the extension file, follow the steps that Google Chrome takes you through. Similarly, if the extension file is of .crx file format, you will be required to review the permissions and then add the extension.

Now, you can manage that added extension as you would like to with any other Chrome extension that you added through Chrome Webstore. Its icon will also appear in the Google Chrome Menu on the right side of the address bar once you activate it.

Method 2: Download Historian extension for Chrome and install in Developer Mode

This is another method to install Historian extension manually, but the twist is that here, you install by enabling the developer mode option provided in Google Chrome. This mode is commonly used for testing extensions or running unpublished tools.

Step 1: Download the Historian extension file

Select and download the Historian extension by clicking the 'Download CRX' button on the website.

Step 2: Extract the downloaded contents

Convert the file to a ZIP file if it is in CRX format then extract the Historian extension zip file or folder that you downloaded. Make sure you extract it using the same folder name and keep it safely in another folder, so you don't delete it by mistake. The extracted folder will be needed to keep your Historian extension running.

Step 3: Open Chrome Extension Setting Page

In the address bar of Google Chrome, type chrome://extensions and open the Chrome Extension Page.

Step 4: Enable Developer Mode

After opening the Chrome Extension page, look at the top right side, and you will find the toggle option of "Developer mode."Simply enable that developer mode option.

Step 5: Load the Unpacked Extension

Once you enable the developer mode option, you will see the menu of Load Unpacked, Pack Extensions and Update. From that, select the option "Load unpacked."

Step 6: Select the Extension Folder

Once the pop-up opens upon clicking Load unpacked, select the Historian extension directory and click on the "Select Folder "button.

Step 7: Confirm and Install

After you select an extension folder of a Google Chrome extension you're installing manually, confirm its installation for the final time and let the installation complete.

Conclusion

Here we've made a step-by-step guide on How to manually install Historian extension in 2 ways. We hope this guide proves helpful.

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User reviews

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Eric Urban (ID: 000000c1f37e863c) Voted 5 ★ - Updated 07/15/2021 This looks awesome I have been after a " history trail" for over a decade ! If this works as good as first impressions literally 2021 just got a big plus. Wunderbar....

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Ravi P (ID: 000000a053de405e) Voted 5 ★ - Updated 04/19/2015 Awesome... Thank you!

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Sawani Bade (ID: 0000007141d7b797) Voted 5 ★ - Updated 04/18/2015 I agree!! The traditional history was so lacking. Thank you!