10 Google Chrome Extensions I love

Have you noticed how much our desktop and browsers can say about our internet surfing habits? Whenever someone shares their screen with me, I love paying attention to websites people save to their browser bar and the little extensions they use the most.

Today, I'd like to share a few of the Google Chrome extensions which save a lot of my time. But before describing these extensions, I bring a definition found at http://howtogeek.com

WHAT ARE EXTENSIONS?

"Browser extensions extend your web browser with additional features, modify web pages, and integrate your browser with the other services you use."

In simpler words, I'd say extensions are little icons you download to your browser which allow you to do different things without leaving the page where you are (like shortcuts).

As you can see below, this is what my Google Chrome page looks like right now:

And these are my favourite extensions:

1. SHORTENING LINKS:

http://goo.gl/GdopGi This URL Shortener is very practical. Instead of copying long URLs, when you are surfing a page you want to share, click on the icon and the extension shortens and copies it to the clipboard. All you have to do is paste it on a document. You can also create a QR code of the same URL using the extension. It's great for creating short links of presentations and websites you wish to share.

  2. BOOKMARKING:

http://goo.gl/W7oXEa Having this Pinterest button to my browser makes bookmarking extremely easy. Whenever I want to add an interesting website to one of my Pinterest boards, I click on the icon, choose the board and save it.

 3. EDITING IMAGES:

http://goo.gl/fa8wPg Imagine you're exploring a website (even Google images) and would like to edit an image you've found. There's no need to save the image and then go to a photo editor. Right from the website, click the PicMonkey extension and it pulls all the images into a box for you. Then, you select the image you'd like to edit and the PicMonkey editor opens it for you.

4. PRINTING WEBPAGES:  

http://goo.gl/m2ZOD5 Have you ever tried to print a webpage and wasted a lot of paper because of strange formatting? Print Friendly turns any webpage into a "friendly" PDF format which can be printed or emailed. It also offers you the option to delete all images and print only the text.

5. ORGANIZING TABS:

http://goo.gl/PXk5Rs When you're working on the web, do you often find yourself with too many tabs open? OneTab has made my computer work much more organized. If I'm working on an article or a blog post and have very important links opened, as I don't want to risk losing them if my computer shuts down unexpectedly I click the OneTab icon to save my session. Another practical usage is to organize into one single URL several links you would like to share after a presentation, for example. A friend of mine has been using OneTab to organize her computer sessions. For instance: she has saved groups of links she usually needs when she's doing an online course or when working at her school. Then, when she opens her computer to study for her course, instead of opening each individual tab, she clicks on a OneTab she has saved, selects RESTORE ALL and has all the resources she needs. I have also used it to share a group of links of resources (by clicking SHARE AS WEB PAGE) which could help my students study for a test. Apart from aggregating several links into one URL, the extension generates a QR code which can be given to students in order to have access to the links.

6. ANNOTATING SCREENSHOTS:

http://goo.gl/5MmePP With several online possibilities of taking screenshots, this is by and far my favourite because of how simple and practical it is. If you need to make image tutorials, take a screenshot to add to a blog post or even blur students faces on a photo, click the icon and select the kind of annotations you want to make. Finally, save it and use the image.

7. CREATING A READ LATER POCKET:

http://goo.gl/tj2DYr Whether I'm using my laptop or my cell phone, everything I find online which I believe is worth a further exploration goes to my "read later pocket" with one single click. First, I save and tag the website and later, when I have time I go to their website to explore the links. I know there are several great apps and extensions similar to Pocket for bookmarking, however, I advise you to give the mobile app a try, it's SUPER!

This is what I have in my pocket right now.

8. FOCUSSING ON TASKS:

http://goo.gl/RRRJHJ Keeping our focus while using the computer is a challenge lived by many of us. I often turn on my computer in order to do something and I end up wasting precious time going from one site to another without accomplishing my initial intention. Do you relate to that? Well, if so, install this extension today. It works like this: every time you open a new tab, Dayboard comes up asking you to write down the 5 most important things you need to do today. The focussing help is that if you go astray and open a new tab, your list will appear to you again and again. Then, as soon as you get that done, you can tick it. The sense of achievement is priceless and you finally get things done.

9. MANAGING YOUR TIME: 
http://goo.gl/1in7iC This extension is an eye-opener to all of us who spend many hours online. It tracks where you spend most of your time. If your minutes are wasting away and you'd like to know where, this is a good extension to have.

This is what my stats says about today:

10. ZOOMING IMAGES: 
http://goo.gl/XDBdy9 You will probably laugh, but my 40ish eyes thank this extension everyday. With the simple hovering of my mouse over an image it becomes enlarged and I don't even need to click to enlarge it. It's great when you're searching for specific images.

And you, do you have favourite extensions which are real time-savers?