Monday, 1 January 2007

Safari

Safari is the default Mac OS X browser, based on WebKit.

Resources:

Date Link Notes
Jan 28 ClickToFlash A plugin to disable Flash content on a page unless it’s clicked upon
Older Glims a great plugin that adds a full-screen mode, improved search and other niceties.
ForgetMeNot a SIMBL plugin that saves open URLs when you quit Safari and restores them when you re-launch it.
Blocking Ads Using nothing but CSS. My technique of choice for years now.
Pimp My Safari plugins and add-ons

Speeding it up

  • Disable Top Sites (and set the home page to about:blank)
  • Disable RSS polling (the source of some irritating little pauses)
  • Disable “Warn when visiting a fraudulent website” (i.e., no checks for every single URL)
  • Install ClickToFlash

Enabling the Debug Menu:

On Mac OS X open a terminal and enter:

defaults write com.apple.Safari IncludeDebugMenu 1

On Windows, edit C:\Documents and Settings\<em>username</em>\Application Data\Apple Computer\Safari\Preferences.plist and insert a new preference:

<key>IncludeDebugMenu</key><true/>

…or start Safari.exe with /enableDebugMenu or /disableDebugMenu (it updates the.plist, so you only need to do it once).

Safari 4 Hidden Preferences

Copied from here for future reference:

# http://swedishcampground.com/safari-4-hidden-preferences

Having a quick poke through the new Safari binary yields the following strings:
	
	$ strings /Applications/Safari.app/Contents/MacOS/Safari | grep DebugSafari4
	DebugSafari4TabBarIsOnTop
	DebugSafari4IncludeToolbarRedesign
	DebugSafari4IncludeFancyURLCompletionList
	DebugSafari4IncludeGoogleSuggest
	DebugSafari4LoadProgressStyle
	DebugSafari4IncludeFlowViewInBookmarksView
	DebugSafari4TopSitesZoomToPageAnimationDimsSnapshot
	DebugSafari4IncludeTopSites

*NB: Need to restart Safari after changing any of these.*

## DebugSafari4TabBarIsOnTop

This moves the tab bar back where you expect it to be:

	$ defaults write com.apple.Safari DebugSafari4TabBarIsOnTop -bool NO

## DebugSafari4IncludeToolbarRedesign and DebugSafari4LoadProgressStyle

When both set to NO it restores the blue loading bar behind the URL.

	$ defaults write com.apple.Safari DebugSafari4IncludeToolbarRedesign -bool NO
	$ defaults write com.apple.Safari DebugSafari4LoadProgressStyle -bool NO

## DebugSafari4IncludeFancyURLCompletionList

Switches off the new URL autocomplete menu and goes back to the original one.

	$ defaults write com.apple.Safari DebugSafari4IncludeFancyURLCompletionList -bool NO

## DebugSafari4IncludeGoogleSuggest

Turns off the new Google suggest menu.

	$ defaults write com.apple.Safari DebugSafari4IncludeGoogleSuggest -bool NO

## DebugSafari4IncludeFlowViewInBookmarksView

Unknown.

## DebugSafari4TopSitesZoomToPageAnimationDimsSnapshot

Unknown.

## DebugSafari4IncludeTopSites

Disables Top Sites feature completely.

	$ defaults write com.apple.Safari DebugSafari4IncludeTopSites -bool NO

## Undoing changes

Just run the defaults command with the `delete` flag for the appropriate key you wish to delete.

	$ defaults delete com.apple.Safari <key>

See Also

SafariAdSweep - An ad blocker for your favorite web browser (like Adblock)XUL Extensions and Add-OnsSafari 4 Beta
htmlAreaBuilding CoverFlow for Safari on iPhoneSerial NumbersHow to Switch to the Mac
Mobile SafariOn Apple, Netbooks, and My Line of WorkLess is MoreTale of a Netbook
Google Chrome, Google's Browser ProjectThe Early Days Of Palm 2.0Five things that are still broken in browsers, ten years laterdel.icio.us
Foxes on fire, and other entertainmentSquirrelFishInquisitorI, for one, welcome our new diapered overlords
URL TriggerSafari 3.1Musings on Photo GalleriesEntourage 2008 Review
An update on my RSS setupTabulateFluid - Free Site Specific Browser for Mac OS X LeopardOutsourcing My Stuff
A Month Of Seeing SpotsDonate to CaminoHear The Leopard Spots RoarJavaScript Tune Ups
The Python Grimoire, DustedRadar Bugs I'd Like To SeeA Bank That "Gets" OnlineAd Blocking via userContent.css
CSSForm Above SubstanceThree in a RowDragging this site ever closer to XHTML
Online Game: BrickShooteriUI Music DemoiMusings - the iPhone, Standards, and jQueryiPhone - From Announcement To Launch
iPhoneyBlinkPost-Keynote NotesThe Trojan Aqua Horse
FlashThe Cat With Nine LivesWiki Editing, Mind Maps and UsenetShiny Toys
Flash 9 StupidityGeek ModeThe New Portuguese ID Card - and MacsAh, The Wonderful Internet
The Grill is OpenPulling a MarioiPhone UpdatesThe iPhone, At Long Last
The StealthBookSunnyGrowl Notifications On Your Ubuntu DesktopTaming my RSS feeds, the Bayesian way
PicLensTemporarily Out of OrderGoogle Apps For Your Domain, and SpamThe Biz, Reloaded
New Blackberry software for MacMailArchive.pyGoogle/Reader - Nearly There, Nearly There...Tag, You're It
BacklogCasual DebunkingMac OS XMail Hiatus
.Mac's Missed OpportunitiesYojimbo on the CheapLaggingApple Jam Recipes
WebKitSIMBLThe MacBook Has Landed.The Razor-Thin Mobile Computer
Google Maps Goes EuropeanEaster BreakThe Citrix Dashboard WidgetPlaceless GTD
IceRocket Idiocy AlertCorporate Thought Of The DayBoostedThe Borg...
Do Not DisturbPost-Dinner ReadingiSyncMinor Photography Update
Pressure CookerWindowsMorning News BreakMacBooks and Other Happenings - The Sequel
MacBooks and Other HappeningsMiscellaneous HacktivityGoogle/MapsQuills and Web 2.0
Steady10.4.3 Odds and EndsPost-10.4.3Tick Tock
Patently AbsurdPSPWareStuff to ReadCamino, Again
OnlifeCould We Have Real Collaboration, Please?And Now, The Real News: iPod nanoMid-Week Pause
Back to WorkSummer CleaningGeotaggingTake Two
Is Mac OS X Becoming Crufty?Random NewsRSSReal News
Link ModeFive Almost-Killer Applications in Tablet FormA Few Other Tiger NotesSaturday Night Coding
Saturday Morning ReadingLink Mode, Take 24 and a HalfMail.app 0.2Link Mode
Monday ModeTaming TigerThe Pint-Sized TigerThe Markup Thing, Rails, and Other Musings
10.3.9 - Safari in Uncharted LandsOuch...Catching UpP2P.icio.us
Three(ish) ThingsTerminal.app is not your grandfather's VT100 terminalThings That Go Dump In The NightStill Catching Up
News, in a NutshellTen Open Source Projects Worth Keeping Track OfPowerPoint MondayWho Needs Flickr, Anyway?
Miscellaneous CodingComing up this weekKubrick Phase TwoDowser
Link DumpThat Bird, by Thunder!Arcane Uses of JavaScriptAcidSearch
NLSU2 BootstrappingThe Widest Desktop On EarthCliffhangingLinking Spree
PithHelmetRandom Bouts of GeeknessCoralizing Your SiteBigger, Better, Faster
Return Of The LinksServicesHardware/PowerMateGmail
The Mouse, Done RightWhy Netcabo SucksNo Time, Some LinksSkepticism
Monday RushSaftParadigm ShiftMerry Sneeze
HOWTO: Enable Rendezvous on Fedora LinuxUnobtrusive TechDabbling in FlashDancing With Rendezvous
Cutting CornersPanther in the OfficeThe Panther Needs a Manicure?Firebird 0.7.1 for Mac
Brilliant Hack Of The DayPalm LaunchesMac OS X 10.2.8Tricks for Surviving DNS Hell
Microsoft vs Eolas UpdatePhoto Log RevampedNew Photo AlbumSo You Think Mobile Blogging is Cool?
Zen By Any Other NameThe Box Model Hack, CSS, and my Vanishing Tolerance For IE BugsURLWWDC News
Geeks In The MistChanging FormatApple and Toast PatchesNew Apple Java
Work In ProgressWorking WeekendNotes on SteveJobs' Keynote