Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Expand Safari's Capabilities with Bookmarklets
Safari supports JavaScript, a scripting language that offers all sorts
of interactivity on the Web including bookmarklets, tiny bookmarks
that use JavaScript code instead of a Web site address. What does
that mean for non-developers? It adds features that Safari lacks.
For example, one of my favorite iPad and iPhone apps is Instapaper
(www.instapaper.com).
When I'm viewing a Web page that I want
to read later—a long article, for example—I tap a “Read Later” book-
marklet that Instapaper created in my Bookmarks Bar, which adds
the page to my Instapaper account. Later, in Instapaper, I can read
the page without being online, and in a format that strips out all the
junk surrounding most Web pages (
Figure 3.14
). (Many third-party
apps include Instapaper support natively, avoiding the need to take a
side trip to Safari and activate a bookmarklet.)
Figure 3.14
The same article
in Safari and
Instapaper
Safari
Instapaper
To find more, search for “bookmarklet” in your favorite search engine
and explore.
