15+ handy bookmarklets to power up any browser

Bookmarklets can be incredibly handy. If you use multiple browsers, they're a great way to ensure you don't lose any of your favorite functions when switching back and forth. Maybe your browser doesn't support extension or there aren't many in the wild for it just yet - bookmarklets can provide many of the same functions.

Here are ten that I find particularly handy. If you've got a favorite, feel free to share the link in our comments!

BitLet [site] - Creates bitlet.org links from .torrent links for downloading without a client. Works nicely on popular sites like Mininova and TPB, and should work anywhere you find torrents.

Bugmenot [site] - Want to read an article on a site that requires registration? This one taps Bugmenots database for shared usernames and passwords so you don't have to sign up.

Capture with Aviary [site] or Kwout [site] - Aviary offers some excellent browser-based image editing tools. Wait about 20 seconds for Aviary to capture your current page, and it will then open in their editor. Kwout is more lightweight, and is handy for quick, small captures (600px max) and sharing via Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, and more.


Clip to Evernote [site] - Evernote is a fantastic tool, and this button makes clipping your current page dead simple.

Flash resizer [site] - Playing Flash games in a tiny area stinks. Click this button, and you can move an element and resize it by clicking on the blue border it creates. Doesn't work with every Flash object, but it's still awesome.

Form Bookmarklets - Loads of handy things like a checkbox toggle, textarea enlarger, character count, and hidden field unhider.

GMail This! [site] or Email This [site] - Want to fire off some selected text to your mail contacts? Either of these will do the job. Email This works like a dynamic mailto:// link, so it will launch whatever your default mail client is - Gmail this, well, you can probably guess what it opens.

Instant Translate [site] - Prompts for the desired language then sends an entire page to Google Translate. You need to know Google's two-letter abbreviation (en, fr, es, etc.).

iTransmogrify [site] - Creates inline links which allow embedded Flash movies and audio to be played on your iPhone or iPod Touch. The author also provides a link to create the bookmarklet right on your iPhone [link].

LastPass Login and Form Fill - Not linked because that just wouldn't be smart. The LastPass bookmarklet gives you access to your stored passwords and form fill data regardless of what browser you're using. Log in on their site to generate your bookmarklets.

Readability [site] - Cleans away the surrounding elements on a page and strips an article down to its bare minimum for maximum, er...Readability.

RSS to PDF [site] and PDF Download [site] - The first one creates a minimal, Readability-based PDF, the second creates a full-blown PDF capture of the entire page as it looks in your browser.

TBuzz [site] - Displays the ten most recent Twitter updates about the page you're on and lets you tweet a bit.ly shortened link to it.

YouTube as MP4 [site] - Want to save a YouTube video for later in a format other than .flv? Just grab the .mp4 video directly with this bookmarklet.

Tags: bookmarklets, browser-independent, cross-browser