Hootbar (Twitterbar): Firefox Plugin to Post Twitter Updates from Address Bar

In my previous post, I shared about an interesting Firefox plugin or Firefox add-on to search for twitter users and topics (#hashtags) directly from the address bar. There is another one which can enable you to even post status updates also from the address bar. Not only you can post updates to twitter but you can also post to multiple social networks (twitter, facebook, youtube etc) at once. This firefox plugin or firefox add-on is Hootbar which was earlier known as Twitterbar as well. It also does the shortening of URLs before posting to the network. This Hootbar or Twitterbar is a product from the makers of HootSuite.

How to install Firefox Plugin- Hootbar or Twitterbar

• Open Mozilla Firefox 4 browser.
• Go to Tools –> Add-ons.
• On the Add-ons screen, search by typing “Hootbar” in the search box.
• Install the add-on. It will ask to restart the firefox to complete the installation.

How to use Hootbar or Twitterbar

You can tweet a link or post a status update message all by just clicking a button or by typing simple commands in the address bar. You can even customize the options from the address bar itself. However, to use this Hootbar or Twitterbar, it will need to be authorized first by twitter and other networks so that these networks can accept updates from this application.

Tweet a URL or link with Hootbar or Twitterbar

You can easily post a link to the page which you are browsing or viewing just by clicking the twitter icon present in the address bar. This will post a link to the page you are viewing.

Post any text, message or status update with Hootbar or Twitterbar

Just type the message, status update into the address bar and click twitter icon or type –post after the message to post it to twitter.

How to use multiple twitter account with Hootbar or Twitterbar

You can even manage and work with multiple twitter accounts with Hootbar. All you have to do is to type –account in the address bar and it will allow you to sign in with a different twitter account.

You can type message followed by @twittername and –post to post using twitter account specified in the twittername.

How to post status updates to multiple social networks (twitter, facebook, linkedin and more)

You can even post messages and updates to the multiple social networks just by clicking the Hootsuite button. This will allow you to post the messages to all the social networks that HootSuite supports which includes Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, Foursquare, WordPress, Ping.fm and many more.

You can even schedule the messages and track statistics.

Customize Hootbar Options

You can even open the options screen just by typing the command –options in the address bar. This will open the options dialog box where you can customize to suit your needs. It allows you to customize the following;

• Hide or unhide the hootsuite bar icon present in the address bar.
• Open the twitter page in new tab after status update is posted.
• You can customize the text which is added just before the link when you share a link to the page you are currently viewing. You can also use $$ as a placeholder to pick up the page’s title even.
• You can decide which service to choose for URL shortening from the available ones.
• You can add or remove multiple twitter accounts.

Allow further customization with the Hootlet command

You can type the hootlet command –hoot after the message to send it to hootlet where you can further customize it and choose network options.

Do share how did you like this firefox add-on or firefox plugin and did it help you to improve your productivity.

This post was written by...

Maninder – who has written 283 posts on HackTik.com.

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