To begin with, a little about what an extension is: an extension is a small add-on for the browser that expands its functionality. A wide variety of functions can perform extensions: they make it possible to download music or video where you simply cannot download it, for example, VKontakte or on Youtube. They simplify the work with documents, images, make it possible to choose which search engine to use in a particular situation without going to the search engine's website, change the appearance of the website.
Extensions in Google Chrome are installed from the official app store, don't be confused by the name - you don't have to buy anything. To get to the extension store, follow the link
Or go to the store using the browser menu: in the upper right corner of the browser, click on the button with three dots. The browser menu will open, in it you need to select "Additional tools". Another window will appear in which you need to find the item "Extensions" and click on it:
You are now in a tab with extensions installed in your browser. If no extensions have been installed before, then nothing will be here, or the pre-installed Google Chrome extensions - documents, presentations, spreadsheets - will be displayed. Depends on the browser version. Click on the top left on the menu item "Extensions", then down to Open the Chrome Web Store:
after which you will be taken to the extension store. Here you can view all the available ones, sort them by categories, opportunities, ratings. The only drawback is the language, not all extensions have a description and interface in Russian.
If you know which extension you need, then just enter its name in "Shop Search" and press Enter. Please note that not only extensions, but also applications may be present in the search results. In order not to be mistaken, select in the search results "Extensions"... From the results found, select the extension you need and click the button "Install":
After installation, an icon should appear in the upper right corner, with the help of which the extension is managed, configured, enabled or disabled any functions:
The settings are activated by right-clicking on the icon. In some cases, the icon may not be there, it all depends on the installed extension and its capabilities.
How to install a third-party extension in Google Chrome
If you have a third-party extension or user script from a source you trust, but for some reason this extension is not available in the Google Chrome store, you will not be able to install it in the usual way. For security reasons, the installation of third-party extensions, i.e. extensions not from the store, is prohibited in chrome. Here are some ways you can work around this limitation.
Installing the downloaded extension in .crx format
- First, you need to open the extensions page in the browser, as described above: Browser menu in the upper right corner> Additional tools> Extensions. Or copy chrome: // extensions / paste into the address bar of your browser and press Enter.
- At the top of the page there is a "Developer Mode" switch, activate it. 3 additional buttons will appear below: "Package extension" and "Update extensions":
- Extension file ending in .crx, rename so that it ends in .zip and open it with an archiver like a regular archive. Unpack it into a folder prepared for this (for example, create a folder on the "C" drive with the name Extensions, or any other name).
- In the browser, on the page with extensions, click on the button "Load unpacked extension" and in the window that appears, select the created folder, then click OK.
The extension will be installed in the browser, now all that remains is to activate it by moving the switch next to the extension to the "Enabled" position.
Installing a user script - a .user.js file in Google Chrome
Method one, simpler, but requiring the installation of an additional extension. The extension is called tampermonkey and needs to be installed from the Google Chrome store. After installation, it will be available in the upper right corner of the browser. When you press left mouse button the following window will appear on the extension icon:
in which you need to select an item "Create new script"... Please note opposite the paragraph "Included" there should be a green check mark.
A window for creating a new script will open. Now you need to open the downloaded user script using a text editor, copy and paste the code from it into this window in the browser. Then click on "File -> Save":
The script is ready to go.
The second way to install a user script- without using extensions. To do this, the script will have to be slightly modified, create a manifest.json file for it, thanks to which the script can be installed as an unpacked extension.
- First you need to download the script file itself with the name * .user.js.
- Now create a folder and put the script in it (for example, create a folder on the "C" drive with the name Extensions, or any other name).
- Open the script with a text editor. Note! Regular Windows Notepad may not work - it is advisable to use a text editor with the ability to change the encoding, such as Notepad ++. The text of these two files must be in UTF-8 encoding, otherwise the installation will fail. In the script file, at the very beginning, find the following lines:
// @name ... // @version ... // @description ... // @include ... (there may be several) // @exclude ... (there may be several)
- In the same folder, create a manifest.json file and paste this template into it (or download a ready-made file):
("content_scripts": [("exclude_globs": ["all_domains_and_paths_from_exclude_directives"], "exclude_matches":, "include_globs": ["all_domains_and_paths_from_include_directives"], "js": ["script_file_name" js http: // * / * "," https: // * / * "]," run_at ":" document_idle ")]," converted_from_user_script ": true," description ":" your_user_script_description "," name ":" your_user_script_name "," version ":" version_number_user script "," manifest_version ": 2)
"content_scripts": [( "exclude_globs": [ "all_domains_and_paths_from_exclude_directives"] , "exclude_matches":. "include_globs": [ "all_domains_and_paths_from_include_directives"] , : "your_user_script_description","name": "your_user_script_name", "version": "version_number_user script", "manifest_version": 2 |
Fill it in with the user script data that you were looking for in paragraph 3.
userscript_version_number- up to 4 numbers separated by dots. For example, 2.1.3
userscript_file_name.js- the name of the script file next to the manifest.json file
all_domains_and_paths_from_include_directives- each in quotes, separated by commas, with all metacharacters like "*" - all paths from @include directives that are written at the beginning of the user script file (for example, ["http://site1.ru/*", "http: // site2.ru/* "]);
all_domains_and_paths_from_exclude_directives- the same for @exclude directives
After everything is ready, the user script is installed as a third-party extension. Browser menu in the upper right corner> More tools> Extensions. Check the box "Developer mode", then select "Load unpacked extension ..." and in the window that opens, select the folder with the newly created files. If everything is done correctly, the user script will be added to the browser and activated. The only drawback of this method is that every time the browser is launched, it will display the following window:
notifying that a third-party extension is installed in it, which may be unsafe. It is enough to click "Cancel" and everything will work.
Unfortunately, since May 2014 extensions (skins) of the popular web browser Chrome can only be installed from Chrome Web Store... And those that you installed, bypassing the online store, are automatically disabled as "illegitimate". For example, the helpful video downloader from SaveFrom.net, which is currently only available from the official website, can be installed with a simple drag and drop CRX-file per page chrome: // extensions , however, when restarting the browser, it is blocked without the possibility of activation. Alternatively, you need to transfer extensions from one computer to another without using synchronization. To do this, you will have to pack the extension files into one CRX-archive (see the second part of the review). Two simple ways to solve all the problems will be discussed.
Turn on the extension (theme) in Chrome
So, you've downloaded a third-party extension file and want to integrate it into Chrome (or you need to reinstall a blocked extension). As you know, the option to install extensions from a folder is still saved for developers, which we will use.
- First, unpack CRX-file by any available archiver, the best choice here is a free 7-zip (screenshot).
- Let's run Chrome and go to the extensions section chrome: // extensions ("Menu" → "Settings" → "Extensions") → next, mark the checkbox (checkbox)" Developer Mode"→ via the appeared button" Load unpacked extension"(screenshot) specify the path to the desired folder →" OK".
- Enjoy the work of the "forbidden" extension or the new browser theme.
How to pack a chrome extension folder into a CRX archive (file)
In principle, everything is clear: after activating the voiced mode for developers, press the button " Package extension"(second screenshot). Therefore, in the light of the next article about the Clover utility, which makes Windows Explorer usable and multi-tabbed, I suggest that you familiarize yourself with a useful example from personal practice (I hope it will work for you, reader). The task is this: download from the online store Chrome Web Store theme - find it in the Chrome extensions folder - pack in CRX-file for further use as a cover (skin) or for transfer to another device (PC). The author's solution, point by point and in "pictures" from the "face" of Windows 7, see below.
- Follow the link to go to the "Themes" section of the Store and select the one you like, say, "Wooden chrome".
- On the addon page (eng. add-on), noting the generated ID (identifier) of the add-on in the address bar, in our case , click on the button " Install"(screenshot) → at the end of the process, the button will change color and text, becoming green" Added to Chrome ".
- Without closing the browser, insert into the address bar of Explorer C: \ Users \ [Your Account Name] \ AppData \ Local \ Google \ Chrome \ User Data \ Default \ Extensions → "Enter".
- In the directory with the Chrome extensions folders, find the "Wooden Chrome" theme with the same name with the theme ID and go into it (screenshot) → there will be a subfolder with a name like "1.0.4_0" (extension version), visit it → ignoring the new folders and files using the keyboard shortcut " Ctrl + C"copy the path to the folder" 1.0.4_0 "in Explorer.
- By switching to the browser (" Alt + Tab"), open the extensions section in a familiar way ( chrome: // extension s and " Enter") → by activating" Developer Mode", click on" Package extension"(see the second screenshot) → in the window of the same name, insert the path to the addon, C: \ Users \[Your Account Name] \ AppData \ Local \ Google \ Chrome \ User Data \ Default \ Extensions \ \ 1.0.4_0→ again " Package extension " (screenshot).
- Closing the button " OK"message indicating the path to the created files, return to Windows Explorer and through the arrow next to the address bar" roll back "to the directory back (screenshot) → detected files .crx and the key file .pem move to a safer and more visited place (for example, to the root of the disk D: \), remembering to rename to something more understandable (I merged "Clover" and "Wooden chrome" in " clover_derevo", see the first" picture "). Final!
Note: Novice computer users who have independently passed the "fire, water and copper pipes" of the above algorithms for unpacking-packing CRX-archive from Google Chrome, can safely rank themselves among the chosen community experienced users Windows OS.
This type of file can store .JS, .JSON files, in addition, there is the ability to contain executable files, the format can also carry images. It is noteworthy that in the CRX format, ZIP compression is used, but due to the presence of non-standard headers, ordinary archivers cannot always open the CRX file. In some cases, the 7-Zip, WinRAR or WinZip utilities will be able to open CRX. If you enter the following in the address bar of the Chrome browser, the following: "chrome: // extensions /", you can go to the browser window called "Extensions", where you will be able to manually install extensions by dragging and dropping .crx files.
If a user wishes to open the .crx file in an easier way, the Chrome Web Store can download, unzip, and install the file with the CRX extension. It should be noted that this Internet resource automatically deletes downloaded files. Within Chrome, a similar file extension is used as a container containing the installers necessary for the full and multifunctional operation of the browser. The Chrome database contains a large number of applications with the .crx file extension, their correct launch is recommended to be made exclusively through the browser itself.
Announcement
The CRX Archive file format
The themes of the Google Chrome web browser can be supplemented with specific functions. Such files, containing all the necessary information and data on such functions, are saved in a file with the CRX extension. These files can be used to save, install and open ad blockers, e-books, games, and other applications. The file itself can be used to manually set a specific feature by dragging and dropping it into the Google Chrome Extensions window. To open the specified window, at the command prompt in Chrome, enter the following command: chrome: // chrome / extensions /
Technical details of CRX files
Technically speaking, CRX files are plug-in files used by Google Chrome. Files inside CRX are compressed and can contain JavaScript, JSON files, and other executable programs or images. The ZIP compression method is used to compress CRX files. However, standard ZIP unzipping programs cannot open CRX files, since such files contain a special header section. Chrome plugins can be installed either by using the Add to Chrome button on the extensions page, or by dragging and dropping the manually downloaded CRX file into the extensions window. In the first case, the user does not encounter the CRX file, since the web browser automatically downloads, unpacks and installs it.
