Usually, this kind of blog post I write for my Freewareblog www.c3surfstheweb.de, but since this topic crosses my path daily at work, I thought, I might share my knowledge in my advertising blog (since for some strange reason, more people read this blog than my freeware blog).
We all use Browser for our daily work. We use them for connecting to the world wide web as well as for doing our work. I was and I am still surprised how many people only use “the browser” as a basic tool. But there is much more you can get if using the right one with the right extensions. This could not only make you more productive, it can save you a lot of time. So, here are some things I use on a daily base that help me stay productive.
01 Microsoft Edge
I recommend a Microsoft Browser. That this has come. Amazing! I disliked Microsoft Internet Explorer. And even the early versions of Edge were a no-go for me. But things changed when Microsoft switched the code base for their Browser to Chromium. For the Non-Techies: Microsoft used the open source code from Google´s Chrome Browser (you know the most used Browser in the world currently) and added some fine stuff from their end to it. As a result, today´s Edge is one of the most performant, most secure, and most convenient browsers on the market for business work. I say especially for business work (for private surfing, I stay with the Brave Browser). But the integration of Office 365 AND Co-Pilot makes for me the best choice in my point of view. In addition, you have this nice site, where you can add websites and some pretty handy tools. But let´s stay with Co-Pilot for a second. We are in the AI age now. I think AI is a beneficial thing on certain topics. It´s a useful tool to help me write queries for JIRA or if I need that, it can help me write some small Python scripts for tools I want to use. But it´s a starting point as well for inspiration. And having such a powerful tool integrated into a browser that I can seamlessly use without leaving my current working environment makes it pretty handy. Another thing (esp. when you do have not the latest and greatest in Notebooks it can save you some of your RAM so that you don´t get a machine that is slow af when you have 20 Tabs open.
Another big plus is: It´s mostly approved by IT. Next to some better browsers like Arc or Brave, your IT usually shouldn´t have any complaints if you use Edge. Esp. Windows-User has this one per se as a default Browser. We Mac-Ppl have to install it separately, but that´s ok. Usually, your IT department offers you this browser in their Software pool.
Browser + Add-Ons for the win
The right Browser is just one part of the story. It gets better if you are using some nice little extensions or Add-Ons to boost your productivity. I don´t want to come around with some fancy-slancy Add-Ons for very specific purposes. More like ones that became “common usage” in my point of view, and it surprises me often, that people still use ZERO extensions.
Here are 5 extensions I use more or less daily:
01 Grammarly
Grammarly is my No.1 as a non-English native to correct my English typing. Especially on longer mails, presentations or like here on blog posts this extension is my daily driver and helped me a lot to avoid typos and (let´s say) avoidable writing mistakes.
Link: Grammarly: AI Writing and Grammar Checker App – Microsoft Edge Addons
02 Awesome ChatGPT Screenshot & Screen Recorder
Yes, you can do Screenshots on Mac and Windows with “on board” tools (Win+Shift+S or CMD+Shift+ 3,4,5 (depending on what kind of screenshot you need)) but when it comes to large website screenshots, I stick to this extension since it allows me easily to screenshot large websites without any problem. I can even modify and comment on them if I like.
Link: Awesome ChatGPT Screenshot & Screen Recorder – Microsoft Edge Addons
03 Print Friendly & PDF
So many times I need some article or text from a website, but highlighting and copying stuff does not do the job. Here is where print-friendly comes into play. With a single click, I can get a webpage or an article in a very reading-friendly way that I can download as a PDF document.
Link: Print Friendly & PDF – Microsoft Edge Addons
04 Image Downloader
One of my most used Add-Ons is Image Downloader. This Add-On saved me so many hours because it can identify images on websites and with one click I can download it even when right-click is not possible. This one is an absolute must-have in every Browser.
Link: Image Downloader (google.com)
05 Window-Resizer
Sounds a little bit “specific” but believe me, if you work on websites or online and you need to look at something in a different resolution, that’s one of the smartest extensions. With one click you can resize your browser to any resolution that is implemented by default in this extension but you can add any screen resolution you like to it as well.
Link: Window Resizer (google.com)
These are just 5 of the 30+ extensions I usually have installed on my Browser, but those are mostly focused on special needs I need for my job in an advertising agency. If you are interested, I can share some more specifics about the creative job I do.
But the general purpose of this post is to share my most practical extensions everyone that who has an office job can use.
Hope this helps! Have a productive day!
Title Image by krakenimages on Unsplash
