Quickly Open Web Links using custom contextmenu with selected text as input

Latest Version

Version
0.3.1
Update
September 15, 2022
Size
39.55KiB
Developer
Category
Users
136
Rating
0 ★
Manifest Version
3
Web Store Status
Languages Support
English (United States)
See more
Permissions
ContextMenus
Storage
UnlimitedStorage
Downloads
See more

QuickOWL Extension

Chrome browser extension to quickly open web links, using custom browser contextmenu defined by the user, with selected text as input.

Where QuickOWL can help:
When we regularly copy text from different articles/pages in browser and paste in [ANOTHER_WEB_PAGE] and perform search.

Here [ANOTHER_WEB_PAGE] can be:
1. Google Scholar (https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=)
2. Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?search=)
3. Bug tracking page in work (https://jira..com/jira/browse/)
4. Google Translate (https://translate.google.com/?tl=en&text=)


In order to add custom context menu named \"Search with Google Scholar\" the user need to add following details in QuickOWL:
[Enter Display Name] -> Search Google Scholar
[URL before selected text] -> https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=

Once added, select a text from any page in Chrome browser and right click, the user can see \"QuickOWL -> Search Google Scholar\" context menu. If no text is selected QuickOWL context menu won't be displayed. So, the requirement is to select a text to activate QuickOWL custom context menu.


Following sample data can be downloaded, and imported into QuickOWL:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ab5pqjy4vgymDDlM3QgE1bfx7t8W8S2u/view?usp=sharing


Why yet another custom context menu search extension?
1. QuickOWL uses manifest v3 guidelines of Chrome Extension development, which means it has longer shelf life
2. Uses least amount of privileges required:
2.1. storage - required to store the user defined context menu URLs
2.2. unlimitedStorage - to allow cumulative storage for the extension to expand beyond 5MB
2.3. contextMenus - required to add custom user defined URL entries in Chrome's context menu
2.4. downloads - required to export current list of user defined URLs for the extension as .txt file
3. Provides necessary alert messages to user to make it easy for the user to understand what is working and what is not
4. Provides simplified Extension Options page to manage addition/deletion of custom context menu URLs
5. Light weight by design, the Options page of extension uses only the required html & javascript to achieve the tasks. No heavy weight third party library is being imported. It's developed in pure HTML, CSS & Javascript.
6. Features detailed Help page to make it easy to understand about the functionality of the extension


Privacy:
1. Though after installing the Permissions in Extension page says \"Read your browsing history\", it doesn't actually do any reading of browsing history. The extension focuses on sending the selected text to the user defined context menu URLs. No extra reading, no background activities.
2. Currently the extension supports storage locally (https://developer.chrome.com/docs/extensions/reference/storage/#property-local) in browser, there is no option to sync the data across chrome browsers (using Google account). One of the main intentions behind this is: to keep the user data local, even by mistake the data should not be synced in Google.


Release 0.3.1
1. Fixed bug in validation during save changes
2. Replaced
with ################ as separator to avoid javascript error during drag and drop, this occurs because
parent element is body itself, which causes problems
3. Added more instructions in help section for Add Separator


Release 0.3.0
1. Fixed issue in missing options.js error causing the breakage of the extension


Release 0.2.9
1. Support for adding separator to easily group options in QuickOWL contextmenu
2. Added little writeup for Add URL & Add Separator in Help section
3. Added basic validation for URL before selected text


Release 0.2.8
1. Updated the .csv based file export & import to use .txt format, because the .csv file exported with separator as pipe symbol | gets updated to use comma , when edited in .csv editors (like Microsoft Excel). Once the .csv file separator gets updated to comma, further import from that .csv file fails. So, now the .txt format has been made as defacto format for export and import.
2. Help section has been updated about the usage of .txt file instead of .csv file
3. An example on sample data of .txt file with separator as pipe | symbol has been added in Import URLs section
4. Font size has been updated to use 1 rem instead of 14px
5. Font family has been updated to use system fonts, based on an article from Hacker News (https://systemfontstack.com/)
6. Extension title summary has been enhanced to refer to multiple web links
7. Added a note on \"Save Changes\" button usage in case of \"Add URL\" & \"Delete Selected URLs\"


Release 0.2.7
1. Changed the order of appearance of help section, to make it easy for users to copy paste sample inputs into the text fields
2. Enhanced the content of help section
3. Fixed unintended CSS styling for regular tables


Release 0.2.6
1. Ironed out font settings across html pages of the extension
2. Disabled logging of outputs in browser console using condition, the reasoning behind this to help develpers who regularly use browser console to diagnose issues. The output from QuickOWL extension may pollute the console.
3. Fixed grammatical mistakes in options page
4. Removed unused host permissions
5. Fixed issue with clearing all URLs
6. Fixed issue with number regex which earlier didn't allow decimal points


Release 0.2.5
1. Improved the content of store listing
2. Improved the extension icon popup content
3. Added sample data URL as part of Webstore listing main content
4. Updated the Screenshots to reflect the new icon


Release 0.2.4
1. Removed background color for help section
2. Reduced the font size little bit to make the content fit within the screen and easy to read
3. Changed the icon for the extension, to make it standout while getting listed in Chrome Webstore


Release 0.2.3
1. Support for importing exported URLs (please note the supported file type is .csv where the separator is vertical bar | instead of comm ,). Users can try importing the following document to understand how import works: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1e9D_m7Ob3uSq7VJHSIrsDMXC-0Zd6zXi/view?usp=sharing
2. The help section has been improved with better wording to ease the understanding
3. The font size has been increased to improve the readability
4. The ID calculation logic is fixed to honour the last maximum value


Release 0.2.2
1. Updated the information about extension to better explain about the functionality and permissions
2. Refined the alert messages displayed in extension Options page


Release 0.2.1
1. Major changes in the Extension implementation & features.
2. Now Extension options supports re-ordering/arranging of URLs. This can be achieved by dragging the table row and dropping it in required position.
3. Also, the contents in the Extension Options page table can be updated by just clicking on the content and making the change.
4. Post making a change or re-ordering of URLs, it is mandatory to click on \"Save Changes\" button to persist the changes.
5. Help section is updated to reflect the new additions. And also section on restrictions to use single & double quotes, vertical bars in the input.
6. Removed tabs permission, from manifest.json, which is not required to use chrome.tabs.create function. So, the extension now uses one less permission.


Release 0.1.2
1. Added help section to make it easier to understand the functionalities offered by this extension
2. Made the input text fields expanded for easy readability of URL being added
3. Allow export of list of URLs to .csv file


Release 0.1.1
Update to ask confirm dialog when user clicks on \"Clear All URLs\" button. This is to avoid accidental deletion of all the data.


Release 0.1.0
First release, working extension.


Though enough testing has been done, there are chances for few real-time bugs. Requesting users to report the issues as and when they see them.


Thanks:
Special thanks to user @woXXom (https://stackoverflow.com/users/3959875/woxxom) who has helped to resolve some of the blocking issues while developing this extension.
Read more

Source Manifest.json

{"update_url": "https://clients2.google.com/service/update2/crx", "name": "QuickOWL", "description": "Quickly Open Web Links using custom contextmenu with selected text as input", "version": "0.3.1", "manifest_version": 3, "icons": { "512": "icons/link-solid.png" }, "background": { "service_worker": "background.js" }, "options_page": "options.html", "action": { "default_popup": "popup.html" }, "permissions": ["contextMenus", "storage", "unlimitedStorage", "downloads"]}
Read more

How to download and manually install QuickOWL extension for Chrome

Looking for a way to install QuickOWL 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 QuickOWL extensions manually, this article outlines two simple methods to effortlessly install QuickOWL extensions, whether they come as unpacked folders in compressed formats like .zip or as .crx files.

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

If you ever need to manually install a QuickOWL 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 QuickOWL Extension by clicking the "Download CRX" button on the website.

Look for the QuickOWL extension you wish to install. Go to the website and download the QuickOWL extension package, which is usually a .CRX file and comes in a zipped file. Here ".crx" file is the format for QuickOWL 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 QuickOWL 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 QuickOWL extension for Chrome and install in Developer Mode

This is another method to install QuickOWL 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 QuickOWL extension file

Select and download the QuickOWL 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 QuickOWL 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 QuickOWL 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 QuickOWL 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 QuickOWL extension in 2 ways. We hope this guide proves helpful.

Similar Extensions

icon

Rocket Launch Schedule Extension · News & Weather 136 9 ★ 99.73KiB

icon

Hacker News Browser Extension · Productivity 136 3 ★ 126KiB

icon

ChatGPT Context Menu Extension · Productivity 136 7 ★ 40.94KiB

icon

Send To WebHook Extension · Productivity 136 4 ★ 233KiB

icon

Separator (spacer) for toolbar icons Extension · Productivity 136 14 ★ 3.13KiB

icon

Fact Layer Extension · Productivity 136 5 ★ 336KiB

icon

Stratus - New Tab page Extension · Productivity 136 6 ★ 278KiB

icon

Ext Manager Pro: Your Extensions Control Hub Extension · Productivity 136 2 ★ 256KiB

icon

Custom Right-Click Menu Extension · Productivity 136 43 ★ 4.51MiB

icon

Sort those Tabs Extension · Productivity 136 5 ★ 215KiB

icon

TableScraper Extension · Productivity 136 0 ★ 55.5KiB

icon

PI Rank Extension · Developer Tools 136 3 ★ 24.32KiB

icon

Tab Session Keeper Extension · Productivity 136 3 ★ 87.86KiB

icon

Right-click Search Extension · Productivity 136 5 ★ 703KiB

icon

Remove Floating Banners Extension · Productivity 136 2 ★ 25.39KiB

icon

Open Tab Next Right to Current Extension · Productivity 136 7 ★ 5.62KiB

icon

OctoPermalinker Extension · Developer Tools 136 1 ★ 373KiB

icon

GitHub Recommender Extension · Developer Tools 136 6 ★ 96.03KiB

icon

Analytics & Ad Blocker Extension · Accessibility 136 9 ★ 124KiB

icon

Github Super Search Extension · Developer Tools 136 0 ★ 46.74KiB

icon

Alternative To by SaaSHub Extension · Productivity 136 4 ★ 818KiB

icon

Pull Tabs Extension · Productivity 136 8 ★ 131KiB

icon

Open with Switchbar Extension · Productivity 136 2 ★ 43.52KiB

icon

Links Panel Extension · Developer Tools 136 3 ★ 19.65KiB