Google Chrome is a web browser that you can use to browse the internet. It has a lot of features, including Extensions, that you can use to add extra functionality to your browsing experience. Extensions are files that you install on your computer and then use to add extra functionality to Google Chrome. There are many different types of Extensions, but we will be discussing some of the most common ones here. To install an Extension in Google Chrome, open the Chrome browser and click on the three lines in the top left corner of the window. This will take you to a page where you can select which Extensions you want to install. Once you have selected which Extensions you want to install, click on the Install button at the bottom of this page. This will take you to a confirmation page where you will need to enter your Google account information and confirm your installation. Once everything is done, your Extension should be installed and working!
Note: You will need to be using a recent trunk build of Chrome or a Dev Channel release.
Get Chrome Ready for Extensions
First things first, you will need to do a little bit of prep work to get your installation of Chrome ready for extensions. Locate the shortcut(s) for Chrome and right click on them. Select “Properties”.
Once you have clicked through, you will see the “Properties” window with the “Shortcut” tab displayed. In the address area for “Target:” you need to either type or paste “–enable-extensions” (without the quote marks) at the end making certain to leave a single space in between the final quote mark and the enable extensions command. Once you have that finished, click “Apply”, then “OK”.
Now you are ready to go get those extensions!
Installing the Extensions
You will need to go to the Extensions home page (link provided at bottom of article) to select and install the extension(s) that you want. The three extensions that are currently available are Gmail Checker, Subscribe in Google Reader, and BuildBot Monitor. As you can see, each extension has “Install” and “Download Code” links.
Note: The Gmail Checker extension works perfectly in the latest release of Iron Browser (version 2.0.178.0) and will display in the Bookmarks Bar! Enable extensions the same as for Chrome.
Choose the extension(s) that you want to use and click on “Install” for each one (for our example, all three extensions will be installed). Once you have clicked “Install”, you will see the following message for each extension you have chosen. Click “OK” to complete the installation.
After installing all three extensions, Chrome will look like this. Notice that Gmail Checker and BuildBot Monitor are displaying side-by-side in the lower left corner and Subscribe in Google Reader has quickly detected the RSS feed for the How-To Geek website. Looking great!
Now to take a closer look at each extension in action.
Clicking on the Gmail Checker, Subscribe in Google Reader, and BuildBot Monitor extensions will open up new tabs. The tab for the “BuildBot Monitor” extension gets really detailed.
Accessing Your New Extensions
Now that you have new extensions, how do you access them or delete them if you change your mind about them? All you have to do is type or paste “chrome://extensions/” (without the quote marks) into the address bar and hit “Enter”. Here is what the extensions page looks like. To uninstall any of the extensions simply click on the “Uninstall” button.
Have fun with your new extensions for Chrome!
Get the Extensions for Chrome
