LibraryThing Select Firefox extension

What is this?

The LibraryThing Select Firefox extension offers users who highlight text
(book titles, author names, ISBNs, or even keywords) in their browser, then
right-click, to send this information to LibraryThing. Users can "Add to
LibraryThing" or use the ThingISBN or ThingTitle tools through this extension.


What do I need?

To use this extension, you need a current version of Firefox (3.5 or higher).
The extension works in versions 3.5.*, 3.6.*, and 4.0.*. If you don't have
Firefox, try it at http://www.getfirefox.com/



How do I install this?

Because extensions have the potential to do nasty things to your computer, you
have to indicate that you trust the extension maker. Do so by following these
steps:
(1) Click on the LibraryThing Select Firefox extension link.
(2) At the top of the page, you will see a yellow bar that explains that
    Firefox has prevented the extension from installing. If you want to install
    the extension (and, if you've read this far, you probably do), click on
    "Edit Options." Click "Allow" to approve this web site, and then click
    "Close." Now click on the same link as in Step 1.
(3) A nice little box will pop up, showing you information about the extension.
    After the countdown, click on "Install."
(4) The extension will install, but you will not be able to see anything new
    until you completely restart Firefox (ie, click on File | Exit). You do not
    need to restart your computer, just the Firefox program.


How do I uninstall this?

If you don't like this or any other extension, feel free to uninstall them.
(1) In Firefox 3, click on Tools | Add-ons.
(2) Select the extension you want to remove by clicking on it.
(3) Click the uninstall button.
(4) To completely remove the extension, you will need to restart Firefox, just
    like when you installed it.
	
	
How do I change	my options?

Click on Tools | Add-Ons. Select the "LibraryThing Select" extension.
Click on the "Options" button. After you adjust the options, you can click "OK"
and the preferences are saved. The changes should be immediate.


What new features might be added in the future?
 
 I've got the following plans, but no guarantees that any of them will be
 implemented:
 * Add a "Search my LT catalog" button so you can see if you have a book
   cataloged already
 * Hide options you may not be interested in (added in 0.7)
 * Non-English language support
 * Pre-selecting reference catalogs (like LC, Amazon, etc.)
 
 
How do I know when these new features are implemented?
 
The Firefox extension manager is set up to regularly look for updates to
your extensions. To ensure this is the case:
 * In Firefox 3.*, click on Tools | Options. Then choose "Advanced" and
   then the "Update" tab. Check that "Automatically check for updates to"
   "Installed Add-ons" is checked.   
 
If you prefer not to have automatic checking, you can force extensions
to check.
 * In Firefox 3.*, click on Tools | Add-ons. At the bottom of
   the pop-up box, click on "Find Updates."
 

Is this extension the same as SelectThing?
 
No. In November 2005, Peter Harkins wrote an extension for LibraryThing
called SelectThing. It offered the right-click "Search on LibraryThing"
capability. It was never updated for later versions of Firefox. I joined
LibraryThing in September 2006, and, having already written another Firefox
extension, decided to try writing one for LT. I had written about half of
the extension before thinking to check to see if anyone else had already
done one. (And for those coders out there, you can check: we used different
code in getting essentially the same results.)