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Bookmarklets for Zapping Annoyances

These bookmarklets help you deal with annoying web pages.

(To keep bookmarklets in order to use them on other web pages, drag them to your Bookmarks Toolbar. Or, install them all at once.)

Bookmarklet Description Works in
zap plugins Removes java, flash, background music, and third-party iframes. Details IE Moz Op7
zap colors Makes text black on a white background, and makes links blue and purple. Details IE Moz Op7
zap cheap effects Neutralizes <marquee> and <blink>. Details IE Moz
zap events Removes event handlers, killing blind links and exit pop-up ads. Details IE Moz NS4 Op7
zap timers Removes timers that were created with setTimeout or setInterval. Details IE Moz NS4 Op7
zap Zaps plugins, colors, cheap effects, event handlers, and timers. Details Moz
zap images Replaces each image with its alternate text. Details IE Moz Op7
linearize Linearizes the text of the page and removes most non-text elements. Details Moz Op7
printer friendly Finds and follows a link to a "print-friendly" version of a page. Details IE Moz Op7
zap presentational html Removes most presentational attributes and tags while leaving style sheets intact. Details IE Moz Op7
zap style sheets Disables all style sheets. Details IE Moz
zap cookies Removes cookies set by the site, including cookies with paths and domains. Details IE Moz NS4 Op7
zap white backgrounds Changes white and near-white backgrounds to tan. Details Moz
restore context menu Fixes pages that disable context menus. Details IE Moz NS4
restore selecting Fixes pages that disable text selection. Details IE Moz
remove redirects Changes redirecting links to go directly to the "real" target. Details IE Moz NS4 Op7
lowercase Makes body text and text in textareas all-lowercase. Details IE Moz
deleet Makes 1337 5p34|{ somewhat more readable. Details IE Moz Op7
force wrap Fixes table layouts expanded by very long words. Details IE Moz
trigger rollovers Triggers JavaScript rollovers, fixing most mystery meat navigation. Details IE Moz NS4 Op7

Browsers: IE is Internet Explorer for Windows, Moz is Netscape 7 or Mozilla, NS4 is Netscape 4, and Op7 is Opera.


Details

zap plugins (IE, Moz, Op7)

Removes java, flash, background music, and third-party iframes.

This bookmarklet recurses into frames and iframes when it can, but destroys third-party iframes, which it cannot recurse into.

This bookmarklet used to be called "zap embeds".

Based on "Remove Plugins" by Brent Marshall.

zap colors (IE, Moz, Op7)

Makes text black on a white background, and makes links blue and purple.

zap cheap effects (IE, Moz)

Neutralizes <marquee> and <blink>.

Replaces marquees with non-scrolling divs and blink tags with non-blinking spans.

Suggested by Michael Hendy.

zap events (IE, Moz, NS4, Op7)

Removes event handlers, killing blind links and exit pop-up ads.

Based on a Netscape 4 bookmarklet of the same name by Johan Sundström and updated to work in Internet Explorer and Mozilla.

This bookmarklet only zaps event handlers for 4 events: onmouseover, onmouseout, onunload, and onresize. I think these are the events most often used to annoy visitors. It is faster in Netscape 4 and Mozilla, which support "event capturing", than it is in Opera and Internet Explorer.

zap timers (IE, Moz, NS4, Op7)

Removes timers that were created with setTimeout or setInterval.

zap (Moz)

Zaps plugins, colors, cheap effects, event handlers, and timers.

A good place to test the first three functions is www.shockwave.com.

zap images (IE, Moz, Op7)

Replaces each image with its alternate text.

This lets you quickly see how a page might look with images turned off. It should also give you rough idea of how a page would look to a blind user or someone using a console (text-only) browser such as Links. For more information about providing text equivalents, see the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines for alternate text.

This bookmarklet only replaces <img> tags; it doesn't do anything to image buttons, background images, or image maps.

linearize (Moz, Op7)

Linearizes the text of the page and removes most non-text elements.

printer friendly (IE, Moz, Op7)

Finds and follows a link to a "print-friendly" version of a page.

Looks for a link labelled "print" and follows it. Works on news.com articles, for example. Avoids links with certain words, such as "subscribe", to avoid following a link labelled "subscribe to the print edition".

zap presentational html (IE, Moz, Op7)

Removes most presentational attributes and tags while leaving style sheets intact.

Removes the following attributes: bgcolor, background, color, align, text, alink, vlink.

Removes the following tags (and any attributes on them): FONT, CENTER.

zap style sheets (IE, Moz)

Disables all style sheets.

zap cookies (IE, Moz, NS4, Op7)

Removes cookies set by the site, including cookies with paths and domains.

Doesn't work at slashdot.org in Netscape 4. Slashdot is unusual in setting its cookie at the domain "slashdot.org" rather than ".slashdot.org".

zap white backgrounds (Moz)

Changes white and near-white backgrounds to tan.

Suggested by "Kilsis" on #mozillazine.

Bug fixed Oct 22, 2004: didn't work on pages with no background color set. Pointed out by jesus_X.

restore context menu (IE, Moz, NS4)

Fixes pages that disable context menus.

In Netscape 4 and IE, only works if the context-menu-blocking event is on window, document, or body. Luckily, most of these scripts put their events on one of these elements.

restore selecting (IE, Moz)

Fixes pages that disable text selection.

In IE, only works if the text-selection-blocking event is on window, document, or body. Luckily, most of these scripts put their events on one of these elements.

Suggested by Jeff Moon.

remove redirects (IE, Moz, NS4, Op7)

Changes redirecting links to go directly to the "real" target.

This bookmarklet uses two methods to determine the "real" target of a link.

Based on a submission by Michael Roller and a suggestion from Guido Tonini.

lowercase (IE, Moz)

Makes body text and text in textareas all-lowercase.

For example, it makes "clickwrap" contracts with ALL-CAPS sections easier to read.

deleet (IE, Moz, Op7)

Makes 1337 5p34|{ somewhat more readable.

Removes leetspeak ("/\/\" becomes "m", "4" becomes "a", etc) from and lowercases body text. Skips some ambiguous translations ("|o" to "b" or "p", "o|" to "d", "|" to "l" or "i") because doing an incorrect translation is worse than leaving it as leetspeak.

Requested by "eazycheeze".

force wrap (IE, Moz)

Fixes table layouts expanded by very long words.

Works by adding non-standard <WBR> tags in the middle of the long words such as URLs. Test pages (at 800x600): 1 (IE and Mozilla), 2 (Mozilla only).

Mozilla/NS6 bugs: Text doesn't always rewrap immediately (243266). Workaround: use the "clone document" bookmarklet after using this one.

trigger rollovers (IE, Moz, NS4, Op7)

Triggers JavaScript rollovers, fixing most mystery meat navigation.


© 2000-2007 Jesse Ruderman (jruderman@gmail.com). Feedback is welcome.
Last modified October 22, 2004.