Editing Browser helpers

Over the years, a number of people have developed various "helpers" to conveniently access a comic's explanation when browsing at xkcd.com.  These typically come in two main forms: browser extensions, and bookmarklets.

== Browser extensions ==

These {{w|browser extensions}}/add-ons usually inject elements/code into the xkcd.com comic page's {{w|Document Object Model|DOM}} – often inserting a button or link directly into the xkcd.com comic page itself, to take you to that comic's explanation page.  None of these have been tested here.

=== Chrome ===

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Extension !! Author !! Released !! Users<ref group="c">Number of users as of September 28, 2020.</ref> !! Description
|-
| [https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/explainxkcd/jkoaalfdbiipmnphkpokbigmjjlhmdbc explainxkcd]
| ripper234
| data-sort-value="2012-11" | November 2012
| style="text-align:center;" | 54
| Adds an address bar button that pops up the comic's explanation.
|-
| [https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/xkcd-explainer/gicgjknccfbjiipicefanafhfofcjppd xkcd Explainer]
| Simon Zou
| data-sort-value="2014-06" | June 2014
| style="text-align:center;" | 3
| Adds an "I don't get it..." button to the comic page.
|-
| [https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/explain-xkcd-link/jpkdbejdoigijlgajoffianlmimcneha Explain XKCD Link]
| jkirrane
| data-sort-value="2015-01" | January 2015
| style="text-align:center;" | 17
| Adds an explanation link to the comic page.
|-
| [https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/explain-xkcd/ddpeicfckbciodaegmidjfhhldmfpjhh Explain XKCD]
| Daniel F
| data-sort-value="2015-03" | March 2015
| style="text-align:center;" | 7
| Adds a browser extension button that pops up a minimal explanation.
|-
| [https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/xkcd-enchancer/cmaebofjopmcalpjoafdfpjginapkdij XKCD Enhancer]
| amalbose
| data-sort-value="2015-12" | December 2015
| style="text-align:center;" | 12
| Adds a button to the comic page that pops up the comic's explanation; also displays the title text.
|-
| [https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/explain-xkcd-linker/dkbhfmlonpbdbejdombiphineceidepl Explain xkcd Linker]
| Martin Petkov
| data-sort-value="2017-02" | February 2017
| style="text-align:center;" | 10
| Adds an explanation link to the comic page.
|-
| [https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/explain-xkcd/agbgpacakhakhjnpibhjhnkcfbiiobjj Explain xkcd]
| Martin Frodl
| data-sort-value="2017-10" | October 2017
| style="text-align:center;" | 1
| Adds a browser extension button that pops up a minimal explanation.
|-
| [https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/xkcd-companion/ccpenjikfapfnpehglgfdbkjmojfmjfo xkcd-companion]
| Sean Yeh
| data-sort-value="2018-08" | August 2018
| style="text-align:center;" | 7
| Adds an explanation link to the comic page; also displays the title text.
|-
| [https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/xkcd-explainer/iicndfighifkfkpijajnnhhbdmnohcml XKCD Explainer]
| contact.chilikkal
| data-sort-value="2018-10" | October 2018
| style="text-align:center;" | 34
| Adds a "Huh?" button to the comic page.
|-
| [https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/explain-xkcd/fpmkngibepdfagmmmenjbfmgohlddakg explain xkcd]
| kylejlin.dev
| data-sort-value="2018-12" | December 2018
| style="text-align:center;" | 26
| Adds a browser extension button that navigates to the comic's explanation page.  See also [[Chrome Extension]] for more information on this extension.
|-
| [https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/xkcd-enhancer/dkbjcnddbejafnbediiacbafmkgdmfel xkcd Enhancer]
| Tom White
| data-sort-value="2019-02" | February 2019
| style="text-align:center;" | 35
| Adds an explanation link to the comic page; also adds keyboard shortcuts, displays the title text, etc.
|-
| [https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/xkcd-explainer/foejkfobkipagoaicljcokpdbdldfmdn xkcd explainer]
| Avadonia314
| data-sort-value="2019-04" | April 2019
| style="text-align:center;" | 18
| Adds an "Explanation" button to the comic page, which loads the content of the comic's explanation directly into the page.
|-
| [https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/embetter-xkcd/jkeiagbmcbholabjkfdhghdocmlpkecb embetter xkcd]
| Matt Sugihara
| data-sort-value="2020-05" | May 2020
| style="text-align:center;" | 2
| Press 'E' to navigate to the explanation; also adds other keyboard shortcuts and displays the title text.
|-
| [https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/xkcd-explanifier/mikljabidjcpdnepfgmppmclcnhilhpa xkcd Explanifier]
| TheUltimateGuide
| data-sort-value="2020-08" | August 2020
| style="text-align:center;" | 2
| Adds a browser extension button that pops up another button that navigates to the explanation.
|}
<references group="c" />

=== Firefox ===


{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Extension !! Author !! Released !! Users<ref group="f">Number of users as of September 28, 2020.</ref> !! Description
|-
| [https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/xkcd-companion/ xkcd Companion]
| Sean Yeh
| data-sort-value="2018-07" | July 2018
| style="text-align:center;" | 16
| Adds an explanation link to the comic page; also displays the title text.
|-
| [https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/xkcd-explainer/ XKCD Explainer]
| Yechiel K
| data-sort-value="2018-10" | October 2018
| style="text-align:center;" | 46
| Adds a "Huh?" button to the comic page.
|-
| [https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/xkcd-enchancer/ XKCD Enhancer]
| AstroRP
| data-sort-value="2019-03-21" | March 2019
| style="text-align:center;" | 1
| Adds an explanation button to the comic page; also redirects to m.xkcd.com on mobile devices.
|-
| [https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/explainxkcd-button/ ExplainXKCD Button]
| David Hickey
| data-sort-value="2019-03-22" | March 2019
| style="text-align:center;" | 1
| Replaces one of the existing navigation buttons on the comic page.
|-
| [https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/explain-xkcd/ Explain XKCD]
| Newt
| data-sort-value="2019-07" | July 2019
| style="text-align:center;" | 14
| Adds an address bar button.
|-
| [https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/xkcd-explanifier/ xkcd Explanifier]
| TheUltimateGuide
| data-sort-value="2020-08" | August 2020
| style="text-align:center;" | 1
| Adds a browser extension button that pops up another button that navigates to the explanation.
|}
<references group="f" />

== Bookmarklets ==

Inspired by the following suggestions:
* [[:explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Proposals#Add_bookmark]]
* [[:explain xkcd:Community portal/Technical#Bookmarklet for jumping to explainxkcd.com from xkcd.com]]
* [[:explain xkcd:Community portal/Miscellaneous#Bookmarklet]]
* [https://gist.github.com/sheabunge/6043015 gist.github.com/sheabunge/explainxkcd.js]

Instead of a browser add-on/extension, you can create a ''bookmarklet'' to take you from an xkcd.com comic page to the corresponding explainxkcd.com explanation page.  A {{w|bookmarklet}} is a browser bookmark/favorite, except instead of containing a URL to a webpage, it contains custom {{w|JavaScript}} code to perform the desired operation.  The easiest way to create a bookmarklet in your browser is to first create a normal bookmark/favorite for any webpage, then ''edit'' that new bookmark to paste in the JavaScript code as the new "location"/"URL"/"address" of the bookmark.  General instructions for creating and editing bookmarks in various web browsers are as follows:
* [https://support.mozilla.org/kb/bookmarks-firefox Mozilla Firefox]
* [https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/188842 Google Chrome]
* [https://support.apple.com/guide/safari/sfri22092/mac Apple Safari]

Select one of the JavaScript code snippets below to copy/paste as the bookmarklet's URL/location.  To use it, browse to an xkcd.com comic webpage, then while on that page, invoke the bookmark/favorite.

These have been tested in {{w|Firefox}} 80, {{w|Google Chrome|Chrome}} 85, {{w|Microsoft Edge|Edge}} 85, {{w|Opera (web browser)|Opera}} 71, and {{w|Safari (web browser)|Safari}} 13.

=== Concise ===

These "concise" bookmarklets are shorter and easier to read one-liners, and should mostly work OK, but might produce errors if used on webpages other than xkcd comics.

'''Same tab:'''

<pre>
javascript:location.hostname='explainxkcd.com'
</pre>

'''New tab/window:'''

<pre>
javascript:void open(location.href.replace('xkcd.com','explainxkcd.com'))
</pre>

=== Verbose ===

These "verbose" bookmarklets are longer and harder to read (as they also validate that you are, in fact, on an xkcd.com comic page before attempting to load the corresponding explanation page), but they are technically more "correct".  Note that each of these is a single line of code, despite any word-wrapping.

'''Same tab:'''

<pre>
javascript:(function() { "use strict"; const isXkcdDotCom = (window.location.hostname === "xkcd.com"); const isComicPage = (new RegExp(/^\/$|^\/\d+\/$/).test(window.location.pathname)); if (isXkcdDotCom && isComicPage) { window.location.hostname = "explainxkcd.com"; } else { window.alert("The current page does not appear to be an xkcd comic page."); } }());
</pre>

'''New tab/window:'''

<pre>
javascript:(function() { "use strict"; const isXkcdDotCom = (window.location.hostname === "xkcd.com"); const isComicPage = (new RegExp(/^\/$|^\/\d+\/$/).test(window.location.pathname)); if (isXkcdDotCom && isComicPage) { const newLocation = new URL(window.location.href); newLocation.hostname = "explainxkcd.com"; window.open(newLocation.href, "_blank"); } else { window.alert("The current page does not appear to be an xkcd comic page."); } }());
</pre>

Code explanation:

<pre>
javascript:

// As a best practice, encapsulate everything within a self-invoking function,
// to not interfere with the global namespace of the current page.
(function() {
  "use strict";
  // Develop in "strict" mode, to be more picky.

  // Check if we're at exactly the root domain of xkcd.com,
  // no "www" (which redirects to the root domain anyway), and no subdomains.
  // Also no need to worry about the protocol,
  // as both xkcd.com and explainxkcd.com redirect from HTTP to HTTPS.
  const isXkcdDotCom = (window.location.hostname === "xkcd.com");

  // Check if we're on a comic page.
  // The path for a comic will be either the root of the site ("/") for the current comic,
  // or a numbered page ("/123/").
  const isComicPage = (new RegExp(/^\/$|^\/\d+\/$/).test(window.location.pathname));

  // The above regular expression is explained as follows:
  // / = begin regex.
  //     ^  = match the beginning of the string (i.e. require it to be the first thing in the path).
  //     \/ = match a forward-slash (must be escaped with a back-slash).
  //     $  = match the end of the string (i.e. require it to be the last thing in the path).
  //   | = match EITHER the regex above (i.e. the root path), OR the regex below (i.e. a comic number).
  //     ^  = match the beginning of the string (i.e. require it to be the first thing in the path).
  //     \/ = match a forward-slash (must be escaped with a back-slash).
  //     \d = match a decimal digit.
  //     +  = match ONE OR MORE of the preceding item (i.e. one or more decimal digits).
  //     \/ = match a forward-slash (must be escaped with a back-slash).
  //     $  = match the end of the string (i.e. require it to be the last thing in the path).
  // / = end regex.

  if (isXkcdDotCom && isComicPage) {
    // Yes, we're on a valid comic page at xkcd.com,
    // so navigate to the corresponding page at explainxkcd.com.

    // Get a copy of the current URL, ...
    const newLocation = new URL(window.location.href);

    // ...set its domain to explainxkcd.com...
    newLocation.hostname = "explainxkcd.com";

    // ...and open it in a new tab/window by specifying the target as "_blank".
    window.open(newLocation.href, "_blank");

    // For the xkcd.com site root (which is the most recent comic),
    // this will take us to the main page at explainxkcd.com,
    // which also has the explanation for the most recent comic.

    // For numbered comic pages, this will navigate to explainxkcd.com/<number>/,
    // which redirects to the correct page for that comic number.

  } else {
    // We're not on a comic page at xkcd.com,
    // so show an error message instead of navigating to explainxkcd.com.
    window.alert("The current page does not appear to be an xkcd comic page.");
  }
}());
</pre>

[[208: Regular Expressions|Tap, tap, PERL!]]

[[Category:Meta]]