Many Mac users are unaware of Safari extensions, which are actually small applications that run as part of the Safari browser to add functionality to the browser. Apple improved Safari extensions in macOS 10.13 High Sierra, making them easier to discover and install on your Mac. In this article, we’ll look at what Safari extensions do, how to discover extensions that may help you, and how to install and remove them.
12 Most Common macOS Sierra Problems and How to Fix Them. Remove all third-party Kexts and extensions. Hard drive caving in under the pressure of files and folders. Best apple for photographers. Basically, anything but Sierra itself. If your Mac has fallen victim to short battery life on Sierra, look for the problem on the Mac. Open Activity Monitor (can be. Shop Best Buy for Apple desktop and all-in-one computers, including the iMac, Mac Mini, and Mac Pro models. OS X El Capitan: 6 great Photos extensions you can use today I simply can’t stress enough how effectively extensions help transform Photos on a Mac into a professional quality imaging application. The Creative Kit applications run excellently as extensions on the El Capitan version of Mac OS X. Of the Creative Kit’s 6-award-winning apps, only four (Tonality, Noiseless, Snapheal and Intensify) are currently support extensions for Photos for Mac (El Capitan OS). Apple Mac Computer Shopping for an Apple Mac Whether you're into graphic design and photography or you're just looking for a reliable computer with the latest technology, an Apple Mac computer gives you the power and efficiency you need.
What’s The Purpose of Safari Extensions? Extensions are designed to add a functionality to Safari that isn’t in the application as part of macOS High Sierra. I like to categorize extensions as two different types: extensions that add a standalone capability to Safari and extensions that work with another Mac app or an outside service to add its functionality to Safari.
Here are the things I am looking for: - I would like it to automatically pull updates from my bank of America accounts so that dint have ti manually update it. - Insert bills and set reminders for when they are due - Set a budget for the month - Pin to access the app - list new transactions and deposits made into the account I know mint does some of this but they only have an app for the iPhone plus I'm looking for more. Best budgeting apps for android.
The first type of extension is often used for things like providing ad blocking or making screenshots of web pages. For examples of each of these genres, check out Adblock Plus and Awesome Screenshot.
MacOS High Sierra tips and tricks. And, in another piece of good news, if your Mac is capable of running Sierra, then it's fully compatible with High Sierra, too. Get the best tech deals.
The second variety of extension is much more commonplace, as developers understand that users spend a lot of time in Safari and often need access to their apps while browsing the web. Well-known Mac apps and web services like 1Password, Evernote, Pinterest, Ebates, and Pocket all have extensions that make it as simple as clicking on a small extension button to perform a task that would usually require firing up another app. As an example of what these buttons look like, the screenshot below shows the Safari Address/Search Bar with the 1Password extension button at left (the red arrow points to it).
(The red arrow points to the 1Password extension button in Safari.)
Pressing that button in Safari brings up 1Password mini, a small window that — once you’ve entered your password or used Touch ID to authenticate — gives you access to passwords saved for the web page you’re visiting. It’s a great way to quickly access passwords for a site without having to take your attention from the web page, and the extension and 1Password mini also give you the power to create new passwords.
Discovering Safari Extensions Beginning with macOS High Sierra, Safari extensions can be found in the Mac App Store as well as on a website. Many of the free extensions are found on the Safari extensions web page, while those that must be purchased or that work with an in-app purchase are available in the Mac App Store. Most of the extensions are still free, so the web page is the best place to start hunting for extensions.
The web page defaults to a list of the most popular Safari extensions, but that’s just a short list. My personal favorite way of looking for useful extensions is to click on the Categories link, which displays a pop-up of a variety of categories you can search (see screenshot below).
As you can see, there are a lot of helpful categories. Want to translate a website from its native language to another language? Click on “Translation” to find extensions that can do that job for you with a click. Developers of apps and websites will find that the Developer category has a wealth of great extensions available.
The Mac App Store listing of Safari Extensions is still rather weak. My hope is that this marketplace will grow in the future as more developers find that they can make money off of creating and marketing their extensions.
(Installing a Safari Extension is as easy as clicking on a link.)
How to Install and Remove Safari Extensions Installing Safari extensions is quite simple; most listings on the extension website have an “install now” link like the one seen at right. Let’s say that I run a website and that I’d like to compare my site traffic with others with a click. A quick search in the website’s “Developer” category finds what I’m looking for, the SimilarWeb extension. I click on the “install now” link (see red arrow in screenshot at right), and the text changes first to “installing”, and then to “installed”. That’s it! In this case, SimilarWeb adds a button near my address/search bar that I can click while visiting any website to get a surprising amount of metrics about traffic and engagement.
When you find a listing in the Mac App Store for an extension you want to install, click on the Get button found near the top of the listing. If the extension is free, the button turns green and displays the words “Install App”. With a second click, the installation begins. Note that you may be asked to provide authentication in the form of your Apple ID password.
To remove a Safari extension that’s no longer required or that isn’t performing to your satisfaction, click on the Safari menu and select “Preferences”. Click on the Extensions tab, and a list of all of the currently installed extensions is displayed (see screenshot below). Click on an extension in the list, and information and settings for that extension are displayed. There’s also an important button on the listing — it says “Uninstall”. Click that button, verify that you do indeed want to remove the extension, and it is quickly removed from Safari.
Safari extensions can be surprisingly useful and convenient. Let us know all about your favorite extension in the comments section below.
One can find a plethora of great internet browsers for any platform. But for Mac, it is always recommended to use Safari as the primary browser. Safari is the safest and fastest browser for Mac. Adding extensions to a browser not only makes the browser more useful but also enhances productivity and makes it more efficient.
In this article, we have listed some of the best Safari Plugins that you should have.
Best Extensions For Safari 2018
1. ClickToPlugin –
ClickToPlugin is one of the best safari extensions which is a lightweight and highly customizable extension that prevents Safari from launching plug-ins automatically, which results into faster browsing. Moreover, installing this plugin will reduce fan usage, and increase battery life. The extension prevents Flash, Silverlight, and Java from loading on web pages.It can be customized so give it a shot to stop the noisy advertisement and annoying videos. Get it here.
See Also: 10 Best Mac Cleaner Software to speed up your Mac
2. Adblock
Adblock is also a must have extension for your Safari. Aren’t you irritated by the annoying pop-ups and ads on your Safari while working? If yes, then you should install Adblock to browse faster. Adblock will block all the ads on any website even on YouTube. However, inconspicuous ads aren’t blocked in order to support websites. You can also customize to block/unblock ads on a website in few clicks. Get it here.
3. Turn off the lights –
Want to remove all the distraction from a page and focus on a video, then install Turn off the lights. Turn off the lights is one of the best Safari extensions. This plugin provides you better video viewing experience on the web and when you focus on something, it can surely increase your productivity. It works for almost all the video buffering sites. Once installed, all you need to do is press a button on the toolbar to activate or deactivate it. Get it here.
4. PickPocket
Want to go to a website on a later date. Bookmark it with this awesome bookmarking plugin, PickPocket. Once installed, you will get a button on your toolbar, which allows you to access links that you’ve bookmarked. Get it here.
5. Pin It Button –
A passionate follower of Pinterest you are, then you must have Pin It Button extension for your Safari as it is one of the best extensions for Safari to save your Pins and share it with your friends easily without even logging in to your Pinterest account. With this extension, you can make your Pinterest library overloaded in a few clicks. Get it here.
6. Awesome Screenshot
Best Mac Computer To Buy
Want to capture a screenshot of a website that you visit, Awesome Screenshot is the extension to install. The extension enables you to crop screenshots, take a screenshot of an entire page, add effects and more. Moreover, it also provides you with an option to share all the screenshots in a few clicks. Get it here.
See Also: 5 Best Duplicate Photo Cleaner Tools for Mac
7. LastPass –
LastPass is one of the best Safari extensions which takes the load of entering your credentials on your web accounts? Unlike Safari inbuilt password manager, it has advanced features to protect the credentials with a tight level of encryption for better security. All you need to do is create a strong password as your master password. The credentials stored in the vault are in cloud server of LastPass. Get it here.
Apple Extensions For Mac
8. F. B. Purity –
Best Photo Extensions For Mac
This is one of the best extension for Safari, which is also available for other browsers. As the name suggests, it is an extension is designed to clean Facebook. It filters the page by hiding things like suggested posts, related posts, sponsored posts, trending topics, and more.
This extension lets you customize Facebook with your own CSS, it also disables autoplay videos. To get the things back to normal, you need to disable the extension. Get it here.
9. Translate –
Unlike Chrome, Safari doesn’t have an inbuilt translation feature. So, if you frequently visit websites that are not of the language in which you are well versed, Translate should be the extension installed on your browser. Once installed, it adds a button to the toolbar and detects the language of the page, of which you are currently on. Get it here.
10. WOT — Security
WOT aka Web of Trust is one of the best Safari extensions which checks a site trustworthiness by collecting feedbacks of users. Once it is installed, every time you search sometime on Google, the extension will analyze the search result and rank them for you so that you will know, which one is the best.It is a good resource to know the reputation of a website. Get it here.
See Also: 15 Best Video Editing Software for Mac in 2018
11.Tab Options
Want to have control over your browser tabs? Install Tab Options is the extension that would do the trick. It lets you assign custom hot-keys for several tab operations. Moreover, it allows you assign hot-keys to open favorite URLs. It also specifies which tab is focused when closing another tab. Get it here
So, this is the list of the best Safari extensions that we recommend for you to increase your productivity and efficiency while browsing. You can install them whenever you want and they won’t cost you a dime. Try them and let us know what do you think of them. If any of your favorite extension has not made onto the list, please let us know in the comment section below.