Apple has released the first iteration of Safari 5, bringing with it ‘official’ support for a variety of usability extensions, many of which can be found at Apple’s own Safari Extensions Gallery.
Similar in concept to Firefox’s add-ons, Safari Extensions are a significant step up from previously available ‘plug-ins’, in that the latter lacked automated installation and any sort of management support. Not only that, plug-ins require low-level programming expertise in order to create them, whereas anyone with a grasp of HTML, CSS and some JavaScript know-how can have a go at building extensions – so expect a bucketload of the things from hereon in.
To install extensions from within Safari, navigate to Apple’s gallery page and simply click on the install button next to your extension of choice. Then select Safari > Preferences > Extensions and you should see your new installation appear in the Extensions management dialog, where enable/disable, uninstall and other options can be accessed.
Actual functions differ from extension to extension – some apply in-page modification to selected sites such as Facebook, while others alter browser functionality such as tab behaviour, or add to the interface via buttons and menu options. The best way to find out what works for you at this early stage is to do a little experimenting yourself. We’ll be back soon with our pick of the bunch, so watch this space.