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December 26, 2007 10:12 AM PST

Convert Firefox into a text-only browser

by Dennis O'Reilly
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Last week I described how to use a simple Javascript to determine the age of a Web page. The only problem: if the page has any dynamic elements that update automatically when the page loads (and these days most Web pages do), the script shows the current time and date.

For pages without auto-update content, type javascript:alert(document.lastModified) into the address bar and press Enter to see a window pop-up with the date and time of the page's last update. I'm still looking for a way to find out how recently specific content on a Web page was updated.

As I was looking for such a method, I stumbled upon a great Firefox add-in from Chris Pedericks called the Web Developer Toolbar (download). As the name implies, the free toolbar is intended to help Web designers test their pages, but it can also be used to show only the text of Web pages, which often makes them easier to read--and to print out.

After you download the toolbar, click Options and check Persist Features. Next, click CSS*Disable Styles*All Styles. Now click Images*Disable Image*All Images. Lastly, click Disable*Disable JavaScript*All JavaScript. You'll see only the page's text, and perhaps a couple of broken-image place markers. Be warned, however, that the results are rarely pretty.

In addition to making the pages easier to print, the text-only versions are also much easier to scan for specific information. (Note that you can retain much of the page's original formatting--minus images--by keeping CSS enabled.)

Tomorrow: Put Microsoft Word's styles to good use.

Dennis O'Reilly has covered PCs and other technologies in print and online since 1985. Along with more than a decade as editor for Ziff-Davis's Computer Select, Dennis edited PC World's award-winning Here's How section for more than seven years. He is a member of the CNET blog Network, and is not an employee of CNET.
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by basraw December 26, 2007 2:55 PM PST
anyone for the days of Lynx? Is it still around? I'm too lazy to google for it right now.haha
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by Andy kaufman December 26, 2007 3:32 PM PST
It can be found here:
http://lynx.browser.org/

CNet disabled links in comments as of the past few weeks, so you might have to copy and paste it into your web browser.
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by hgomez031 September 2, 2009 11:20 AM PDT
This tool Rocks..way better than links
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by Mark-Brown November 9, 2009 6:42 PM PST
You have plug in for firefox Yellowpipe Lynx Viewer Tool 1.2.1 https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1944 . It is for free, if you have ff browser. :) nice tool
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About Workers' Edge

Dennis O'Reilly has covered PCs and other technologies in print and online since 1985. Along with more than a decade as editor for Ziff-Davis's Computer Select, Dennis edited PC World's award-winning Here's How section for more than seven years. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET.

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