The Google browser has made a name for himself as a blend of known functions from other browsers ( Opera, Firefox, Safari ) and also by original approaches. The originality represents the salt and pepper of the Google Browser. You can find originality proofs with every step, on the interface but also regarding available features, Google managed to make their vision known world wide.
It’s been more than 5 months since Google Chrome started to support extensions. In this time, a small part of users have already explored this field, the options given by the extensions.
Unfortunately, as the numbers reflect, not even the market share or the number of Chrome users that use extensions are at it was expensived. Most of the users not only they didn’t installed any extensions, but they also haven’t tried the Google browser just to see if it’s better than the one they are currently using.
For those who haven’t used Google Chrome until now and haven’t tried at least some of more than 4,000 available extensions, this guide will be very useful.
Where to find extensions
There are many sites where you can find Google Chrome Extensions. The most vast and safe it’s of course the official web site. The official extension directory can be found at https://chrome.google.com/extensions/
This site can be accessed also in a different way. You open the tools menu and click on the Extensions option. A window with current installed extensions will open. At the bottom you will find a Get More extensions button, if you click it you will be taken to the official extensions web site.
Installing and Updating
These three functions are very simple. Simple was implementation too, but only as usability.
To install, all you have to do is click on the Install button and to confirm when you are being asked if you want to install a specific extension. This confirmation is a security measure to help you not to install unwanted applications, like malware disguised in extensions.
An extension will start to work as soon as the installation process has completed. You don’t have to restart the browser, like on Firefox. At most, you have the refresh the current web site you are viewing.
Extension update is done automatically. Most of the times, if significant modifications are not made, the user doesn’t even notice that an extension has been updated.
If a new version of an extensions brings changes to the access policy to user personal data, then it is automatically deactivated and the user is notified through a brief message. These changes can mean that the new version has solicited access to more personal data than it did the first time. For example, a new version can ask browser access to History ( recently viewed sites ), when the old version of that exact extensions didn’t require that.
Deactivate and Uninstall
As in Firefox, an extension can be uninstalled or only deactivated. The different is that Google Chrome doesn’t have to be restarted, regardless of what option you choose.
Both operations, deactivation or uninstall, can be done in two different ways. The normal way is to click the tool button and open the extension window. There, under each installed extension you can see the deactivate and uninstall buttons.
There is another simpler option. You simply right click the symbol of the extension from the toolbar and you will find the option you seek in the menu.
Configuring extensions
Google Chrome extensions, are at their origin, pieces of web pages. They don’t have, for now, the complexity nor the high level of configuration as the Firefox extensions do. For this reason, most of the extension offer a limited set of options. Some don’t have options at all.
Accessing an extension option can be done by using one of the methods described for the deactivation or uninstall option.
Obviously the set of options is different from one extension to another. Because this is the only approach so far, users without experience can find it very difficult. This is also because each extension has it’s own approach.
The developers community and the extension system are still at the beginning. Time is needed for Google Chrome Extensions to become more complex and to be able to guide themselves by a specific set of functioning rules.
Official Google Chrome Extensions web site
