Platypus Help | |||||
Platypus is a tool for modifying web pages and then saving those changes so that they'll be repeated the next time you visit the page. Changes are made by selecting a Platypus command (like "Cut") and then clicking on the element on the page you want to change. You select commands from the Platypus toolbar: Once you pick a Platypus command it stays selected until you select a different one, as "Isolate" is selected above. When you've finished making changes to the web page click on the Quit button (or hit Escape or "Q"). If you want to save your changes so that they'll be repeated the next time you visit the page, click on the Save button (or hit Ctrl-S) instead. Repair is a special command that tries to find the content area on the current web page and make it more readable. It works best on pages which have a content area with left and/or right sidebars, a title bar, etc. Try it on a few pages and you'll see what it does. You don't have to select an element to use Repair (it finds the content area on its own), and it turns off Platypus when it is finished, so it's a good button to put on your Menu Toolbar if you use it often. (See "Tips" below.) Selecting a function from the Platypus toolbar automatically starts Platypus. If the Platypus toolbar isn't showing, you can start Platypus by selecting the "Platypus!" command from the Tools menu at the top of the browser, or from the right-click menu on the web page. Once Platypus is started, you can also right-click on a part of the web page to bring up a list of Platypus commands and select one from the list. This lets you quickly apply any Platypus command. For example, if you have "Cut" selected on the Platypus toolbar, but you want to "Set Style" just once, instead of going to the toolbar and selecting "Set Style" and then clicking on the element, you can just point at the element, right-click and select "Set Style" from the context menu. You can do the same thing using keyboard commands. (The command keys are shown in the table below.) The easiest way to select an element is to point at it with your mouse cursor. You'll see the element outlined in red. You'll also see the type of element on your status bar at the bottom of the browser. (Due to a bug in Firefox, some elements -- such as tables -- do not show an outline. This will be fixed in an upcoming release of Firefox. Although the highlight doesn't show, the elements are still selected.) You can also navigate through the page using the arrow keys -- this is useful for finding page elements that you can't point at with the mouse. Remember: If you run into problems, quit Platypus (hit Escape) and reload your web page. If you have problems with a saved Platypus script, go into Greasemonkey and delete the script. For more information, visit http://platypus.mozdev.org. | |||||
General Commands | |||||
Mouse | Use the mouse for most navigation; simply point at an element. | ||||
Up arrow | Wider | Select the element surrounding this element. For example, if you have selected a table cell, pressing this will select the row. | Down arrow | Narrower | Select the first element inside this element. |
Right arrow | Next | Select the next sibling element. | Left arrow | Previous | Select the previous sibling element. |
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Save | Save the script and quit Platypus. | ![]() Esc |
Quit | Quit |
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Auto-Repair |
Try to isolate and improve the content area of the page. |
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User Commands | |||||
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Smart Cut | Delete the selected element and its unique containers. | ![]() |
Remove | Delete only the selected element. |
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Paste | Insert the last deleted element. | ![]() |
Center | Center the selected element |
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Erase | Erase the element without removing it. | ![]() |
Black on white | Set to black text on white background |
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View Source | Shows the HTML for the element in another window. | ![]() |
Relax | Removes any fixed size and positioning from the element. |
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Isolate | Delete everything surrounding the selected element | ![]() |
Page Fix | Delete any page background. |
Advanced Commands | |||||
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Style | Set the style attributes of an element. | ![]() |
Modify HTML | Modify an element's HTML using a regular expression. |
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Modify URL | Change a URL (or all URLs) using a regular expression. |
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Insert HTML | Insert arbitrary HTML. |
Tips for Expert Users | |||||
Using View>Toolbars>Customize you can place the
Platypus button ![]() |
Platypus has a number of options to control how it works. You can modify these through the Tools > Extension dialog. If you select the Auto-Hide option, Platypus will hide the Platypus toolbar when it is not in use. |