The Problem:
You know how sometimes, while casually browsing a 'riveting' VAF thread ( ) on your laptop, you'll come across a page where someone has included a huuuge image to better illustrate their point, and it extends the right margin of the forum waaaaay off the right edge of your browser's viewscreen, forcing you to scroll back and forth just to read each post? Yeah, I hate that.
The Solution:
Well, if you use the Firefox web browser, as I do, you can install the Greasemonkey add-on, and this short little VAF user script, and those pesky huge images will trouble you no more!
The Brass Tacks:
What is Firefox? Firefox is the greatest web browser in the Known Universe. It does all the same stuff as that Little Blue 'E' you're always clicking on, but better, and sexier.
What is Greasemonkey? Greasemonkey is one of about three hundred trillion Add-ons for Firefox. Greasemonkey allows you to customize the way any webpage looks using small bits of JavaScript code.
What is a User Script? A user script is one example of the aforementioned "small bits of JavaScript," used by the Greasemonkey add-on to change the way a web page -- any web page -- looks and feels on your installation of Firefox. Computer geeks would probably consider Greasemonkey and User Scripts to be "hacks," per se, but they in NO WAY alter the data on any computer other than your own.
So how does this all work? Well if you use Firefox, just follow the links above to install Greasemonkey (first), and then the "Van's Air Force" user script, written by me. Once both are installed, simply reload the VAF page you're reading, and BOOM!, the page width will be restricted to 820 pixels, or (if you're daring) whatever width you edit the user script to display! Oh, and those huge images will still be visible, and you'll still have to scroll way over to see all of them, only now they won't knock all the other posts on the page out of whack.
What does this evil script actually LOOK like? Don't panic, Greasemonkey allows you the option of viewing any user script before you actually install it, but the script in question looks exactly like this:
UPDATE: (06/30/09 16:01 UTC) I changed the code just a bit. See below.
Learn More!
Now I bet all of you are just DYING to write your own Greasemonkey scripts and make the New York Times website display everything in Pink, Bold, Comic Sans font. Well never fear! Just surf on over to http://diveintogreasemonkey.org/ and learn the ropes. Enjoy!
Disclaimer
PS -- Doug: I hope none of the above is taken to be a critique of VAF in any way! (Just a computer geek tweaking a little bug.) The site looks great; keep it up!
You know how sometimes, while casually browsing a 'riveting' VAF thread ( ) on your laptop, you'll come across a page where someone has included a huuuge image to better illustrate their point, and it extends the right margin of the forum waaaaay off the right edge of your browser's viewscreen, forcing you to scroll back and forth just to read each post? Yeah, I hate that.
The Solution:
Well, if you use the Firefox web browser, as I do, you can install the Greasemonkey add-on, and this short little VAF user script, and those pesky huge images will trouble you no more!
The Brass Tacks:
What is Firefox? Firefox is the greatest web browser in the Known Universe. It does all the same stuff as that Little Blue 'E' you're always clicking on, but better, and sexier.
What is Greasemonkey? Greasemonkey is one of about three hundred trillion Add-ons for Firefox. Greasemonkey allows you to customize the way any webpage looks using small bits of JavaScript code.
What is a User Script? A user script is one example of the aforementioned "small bits of JavaScript," used by the Greasemonkey add-on to change the way a web page -- any web page -- looks and feels on your installation of Firefox. Computer geeks would probably consider Greasemonkey and User Scripts to be "hacks," per se, but they in NO WAY alter the data on any computer other than your own.
So how does this all work? Well if you use Firefox, just follow the links above to install Greasemonkey (first), and then the "Van's Air Force" user script, written by me. Once both are installed, simply reload the VAF page you're reading, and BOOM!, the page width will be restricted to 820 pixels, or (if you're daring) whatever width you edit the user script to display! Oh, and those huge images will still be visible, and you'll still have to scroll way over to see all of them, only now they won't knock all the other posts on the page out of whack.
What does this evil script actually LOOK like? Don't panic, Greasemonkey allows you the option of viewing any user script before you actually install it, but the script in question looks exactly like this:
UPDATE: (06/30/09 16:01 UTC) I changed the code just a bit. See below.
Code:
// ==UserScript==
// @name Van's Air Force
// @namespace http://aeropunk.com/
// @description Makes VAF wide posts readable on smaller screens.
// @include http://www.vansairforce.com/*
// ==/UserScript==
function addGlobalStyle(css) {
var head, style;
head = document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0];
if (!head) { return; }
style = document.createElement('style');
style.type = 'text/css';
style.innerHTML = css;
head.appendChild(style);
}
addGlobalStyle('.page {width: 820px !important; float: left;}');
Learn More!
Now I bet all of you are just DYING to write your own Greasemonkey scripts and make the New York Times website display everything in Pink, Bold, Comic Sans font. Well never fear! Just surf on over to http://diveintogreasemonkey.org/ and learn the ropes. Enjoy!
Disclaimer
PS -- Doug: I hope none of the above is taken to be a critique of VAF in any way! (Just a computer geek tweaking a little bug.) The site looks great; keep it up!
Last edited: