It’s easy to install too many extensions in Chrome. Wouldn’t be better if you could customize active extensions according to the site being visited? For example, you could activate the Gmail related extensions only when you’re actually on Gmail, the video-related extensions when you are on YouTube and other video sites, etc.
Extension Automation is a very handy little Chrome extension that will help you by managing your other extensions on a per page basis, automatically. It’s got lots of options, is very easy to install and use, and can cut down on how many times a day you have to access the wrench.
There are more browser extensions out there than one can easily count. Many extensions are only useful on certain pages or types of pages, however, and that can lead to having numerous extensions running that you don’t need more than once in a while. Image grabber, social, and webmail extensions can be very useful but only on certain pages (with numerous images or social sites, etc.) so having them running all the time can be annoying at best and a resource loss at worst.
Extension Automation is a free Chrome extension designed to handle the activation and deactivation of your other extensions automatically, for each individual extension and page, based on criteria you specify in the options menu.
While the extension is still in the early phases of working development, it is already shaping up to be a very useful and well-designed bit of coding. Using the extension is supremely easy. Once you have downloaded and installed it (which takes about two seconds with a broadband connection) you will have two basic options for setting up your different extensions on an automated system. First, you will notice a new icon showing on your address bar with any other running extensions. It looks a bit like a keyhole in a gear wheel, which is fitting for what the extension actually does. You can either go through the wrench menu, and pull up the options menu or you can get there by clicking the little cog wheel and then the settings link. Either way will take you to a pretty basic interface that will allow you to enter specific criteria for each extension you have. For example, if you visit a news site often and want to have your image grabbing extension active when you visit that site, but not at all other times, you simply enter the news site’s url into the filter box, and select the image grabber extension in the drop down list. That’s it. It’s that easy and simple. Once done, you will see your various extensions activate themselves when you visit the sites you have listed.
Alternatively, you can also click the cog wheel to bring up the short menu, which is used to set up on-the-fly options for your extensions. For instance, you could go straight to the news site you visit so often, and then press the cog wheel button in your browser bar. You’ll then be able to add whatever extension you like to automatically activate itself when you visit that specific website. Personally, I found this option to be both faster, and easier than the other way, if for no other reason than you can be sure you are getting the right filter information entered every time. Whereas, with the options menu, you can’t be one hundred percent sure that a standard variable like “cnn” or “pictures” will activate your extensions for sure.
Overall, I found Extension Automation to be the answer to a need I didn’t know I had. It makes my browsing life easier, more convenient, and lowers the active amount of resources being used for any particular page, since I am not running extensions on sites I don’t need them on. I’d recommend this tool for anyone who wants to do those things, and also to those who are looking for a new way to manage their Chrome extensions in general. With further updates and new features, this could turn into an exceptionally successful and useful utility for Chrome. Until next time, my friends.
Get the Extension Automation at the Chrome Web Store here.
