(Some) Bookmarklets showing but not working

[limacohen]

Hi! Since the latest update some bookmarklets are showing with the native Web Bookmarks search (specifically Google Chrome Bookmarks). However they don't work (they open a Mac OS dialog asking for an Application to handle the "javascript" URL scheme, choosing Chrome or any browser doesn't do anything), and again only some of them are showing, I can't figure out the criteria for this (all of them are on the same folder, in the Default profile).

 

1. What you were doing when the issue happened
   Searching a bookmark(let), then opening it.
2. Whether you were able to replicate it a second time by performing the same action
   Yep, behaviour is persistent.
3. Include any screenshots that might help us
   
   
4. Include the Alfred version & build number you are using
   Alfred v3.5.1 [883]
5. Include your OS X version
   OS X Yosemite 10.10.3 14D136 x86_64

[deanishe]

Alfred should ignore all bookmarklets it finds in your bookmarks.

 

AFAIK, there’s no plan to add support for them (you can’t just ask the system to open a bookmarklet: you have to explicitly open it in or inject it into the current browser tab).

[limacohen]

3 minutes ago, deanishe said:

Alfred should ignore all bookmarklets it finds in your bookmarks.

 

AFAIK, there’s no plan to add support for them (you can’t just ask the system to open a bookmarklet: you have to explicitly open it in or inject it into the current browser tab).

 

Well then it's not ignoring half of them
I could really use that feature tho, since Alfred is already indexing bookmarks it would be perfect for my workflow to call simple commands/bookmarklets like "Clip in Evernote" so I don't have to install yet another workflow (or browser extension) to do the same. Actually following that example, I tried all Evernote workflows available (and the Pop-Clip extension) and they all requiere the Evernote Mac app to be installed and running. Bookmarklets on the other hand don't requiere to spawn more processes.

 

I now you made a workflow that allows just this but in Safari, unfortunately I use Chrome/Vivaldi

Anyway, +1 for it being a native feature (maybe like the iTerm integration bit, where you can input arbitrary AppleScript code to handle it?)

[deanishe]

4 minutes ago, limacohen said:

I now you made a workflow that allows just this but in Safari, unfortunately I use Chrome/Vivaldi

 

I did! Suck it, Chrome users

 

But seriously, the bookmarklet stuff is pretty easy to implement, but I think @Andrew will go the other way and ensure they’re ignored by bookmark search. They’re a pretty niche feature.

 

If he could be persuaded to make them optional, you could also implement a simple app to handle “javascript:” URLs and run the bookmarklet. (Has to be an app to register as a handler for a URL scheme.)

 

It’s also possible I will make a Chrome version of the workflow at some point. I tend to switch browsers occasionally, and most of the Safari-specific stuff is in a separate library. It would require a good bit of refactoring, but not a complete rewrite.

[limacohen]

10 minutes ago, deanishe said:

I did! Suck it, Chrome users

Been hearing good things about Safari lately but I'm kinda trapped in Chromium-based browsers because of some specific Extensions I use for my job and I don't think have viable alternatives outside of them. 

 

13 minutes ago, deanishe said:

It’s also possible I will make a Chrome version of the workflow at some point.

Was wondering if that was a possibility but I didn't want to be pushy

 

14 minutes ago, deanishe said:

(Bookmarklets) They’re a pretty niche feature.

I have to agree they are not very popular nowadays but I still think it's worth a shot since they go in hand with Alfred's philosophy (or at least my interpretation of it).

We currently have a couple tools that approach this, but none goes all the way: 

@deanishe's beta workflow: Bookmarklets saved in Safari -> Safari

@vitor's workflow: Bookmarklets saved in workflow (requieres previous cleanup) -> ~Any browser

@gcao's workflow: Bookmarklets saved in file -> Chrome

Alfred's Web Bookmarks: Bookmarklets saved in ~any browser (some, random) -> X

 

I'm new to Alfred (my bad, should've stared years ago!) yet I can try to hack something myself, but the thing is I don't want to duplicate functionality that is either already built into Alfred (like indexing browser's bookmarks) or another workflow (like actually executing the js in the browser).

Again, if we could get "Open Bookmarks: Custom" (like "Application: Custom" in "Terminal / Shell") and full bookmarklets indexing, I think we could be really close to an elegant solution.

[deanishe]

A plugin would definitely be the most elegant solution, but as noted, bookmarklets are fairly niche, IMO.

 

Parsing the bookmark files is pretty simple (as long as you understand recursion) and running the JavaScript is a doddle, too.

 

If it scratches your itch, I’d say build the workflow. I’m sure other people would find it very useful, too.

[deanishe]

1 hour ago, limacohen said:

trapped in Chromium-based browsers because of some specific Extensions I use for my job

 

Definitely. I only use Safari for, you know, browsing. If I’m building anything, it’s Chrome all the way. 

[vitor]

2 hours ago, deanishe said:

I only use Safari for, you know, browsing.

 

The only thing Safari is missing for me to be able to do that is support for extensions to be able to alter the new tab page. I have one extension in Chrome that I really don’t want to give up.

[deanishe]

14 hours ago, vitor said:

I have one extension in Chrome

 

Which one? I've always found both browsers have pretty dumb new-tab pages.

[vitor]

2 hours ago, deanishe said:

Which one? I've always found both browsers have pretty dumb new-tab pages.

 

Dribbble New Tab. As a designer that nowadays spends most of his days coding, having a never-ending stream of good graphical work that I don’t have to consciously check is the only new tab extension that I haven’t grown bored of yet.

Having dribbble’s homepage in Safari isn’t really a solution — it takes too long to load and I have to ⌘L every time I open a tab.

[limacohen]

4 hours ago, deanishe said:

pretty dumb new-tab pages

Hope you are forgetting Tabagotchi

[deanishe]

2 minutes ago, limacohen said:

Hope you are forgetting Tabagotchi

 

I only meant the built-in new-tab pages. But that one is actually even dumber…

Edited October 26, 2017 by deanishe