Vimperator
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| Original author(s) | Martin Stubenschrott |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Martin Stubenschrott, Doug Kearns, Kris Maglione |
| Stable release |
3.16.0 / February 1, 2017
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| Operating system | Cross-platform |
| Platform | Firefox |
| Type | Firefox extension |
| License | MIT License |
| Website | Source code and vimperator.org |
Vimperator is a Mozilla Firefox extension forked from the original Firefox extension version of Conkeror and designed to provide a more efficient user interface for keyboard-fluent users. The design is heavily inspired by the Vim text editor, and the authors try to maintain consistency with it wherever possible.
One of Vimperator's most notable features is mouseless browsing, which is a result of Vimperator's hints, command line with command completion, and comprehensive keyboard-accessible help system.
Vimperator hints allow users to perform actions on clickable web page items that would normally be completed with the mouse. When the hint mode is accessed, all clickable items on a page are tagged with numbers. The user can select one of the items by typing its number or typing a part of its link text. Once the item is unambiguously specified, the browser proceeds as if the item was accessed with the mouse. Depending on how hint mode was entered, the browser might proceed by clicking on the item, focusing on it, copying its link location, or several other tasks that would usually be completed with aid of a mouse.
This function was originated in an extension named Hit-a-Hint, and the vimperator developers adopted the function as a vimperator module in the early stage of development, and rewrote the code to make it lighter in pages with many links. They also added function of selecting actions like copying link locations etc.
Most of Vimperator's features may be accessed via its Vim-like command line that appears at the bottom of each window. As with Vim, these commands begin with ':'. When the ':' key is pressed, Vimperator moves into "ex mode," which moves the cursor into the command line for the user to complete the command.
Vimperator provides a sophisticated completion system with auto-completion support. This not only saves typing, but allows the user to explore without having to resort to manuals, or indeed leave the command line at all. Often, completion eliminates the need for menus. For instance, instead of using the tab menu, a user with auto-completion enabled may press 'b' to open the command line to the 'buffer' command, which will automatically provide a completion list of all open tabs. The user would then select a tab by typing part of its title, URL, or index.
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