(Click to Enlarge)
Google OS came across an extremely powerful Greasemonkey script that many Google Reader users will appreciate. The script is called Google Reader Filter, and with it you’re able to highlight or gray out feed items depending on whether they match the criteria that you specify.
The screenshot above shows that when you click on the Filter Settings button in Google Reader you’ll be presented with a box where you can enter in your criteria for exclusions and highlights. In that particular example I set it up to highlight any articles that contain “Daily Downloads” or “CyberNotes” by specifying each on its own line. There is also the exclusions list which grays out any matching feed items.
If you understand how to use regular expressions you’ll be happy to know that this script supports them! For example, entering in Windows (Vista|XP) will match any articles with “Windows Vista” or “Windows XP” in them.
I really love this feature, but I wish that Google would include something like this by default in Google Reader. Then no matter what computer I’m on I’d be able to utilize the powerful filtering system, but for the time being this script will serve the purpose.
I’m using since 30 minutes ago and loving!
But I don’t think Google Reader must include this. Google should include, instead, something like “greasemonkey anywhere”: we should be able to install scripts on our profile.
Now that would be insanely sweet, but I think there are a lot of security concerns with that. They could probably do it rather easily, but the repercussions would probably be huge.
I thought about that. Indeed, the security issue could be the same one from today, with local greasemonkey scripts, and they could on top of that add more security. BUT… when something goes wrong, people will start to blame it on google instead of themselves.
We also could make the thing ourselves if cross-site scripting were allowed by the browsers.
Just what I was looking for in Google Reader. Awesome tool.