Bookmarklets vs Mozilla Extensions

You have seen how bookmarklets can greatly expand your option for translation and character conversion. Bookmarklets can do many other things, for example, search and highlight text and navigate pages. Many of these functions can also be done with extensions, but bookmarklets and extensions are different in many ways, the most obvious being that that you don't need to install a bookmarklet. Here are some more differences:

1. A bookmarklet has the normal script permission every Web site has, so it can do everything that a site can do. This also mean it cannot do other stuff, such as changing your browser preferences. In contrast, an extension can control virtually any aspect of your browser. In some ways, bookmarklets can be considered to be more limited but also secure than extensions.
2. A bookmarklet is controlled by your script preferences. If you disable script for Web sites, you also disable bookmarklets. Extensions are note affected by this preference.
3. A bookmarklet is easier to code. A bookmarklet is basically a bookmark with script code in it, and it can be used on other browsers such as Internet Explorer. If you are looking for a simple shortcut, you are more likely to find a bookmarklet than an extension. As an added bonus, you can also share bookmarklets that you made.

In general, bookmarklets are simple tools that you can add and delete at will. They are very useful for page navigation and other Web page related functions, but they cannot replace extensions in more complicated functions.

Daniel Wang