When I first started to use Gmail as my main email provider, I was saddened to learn that I could not put my signature below every email I sent out. My email signature is used to provide my contact information to recipients, and also as a constant reminder for referrals. Having my email at the bottom of all messages was not the way I wanted my emails structured, so I migrated over to using Outlook. Greasemonkey has brought me back to using Gmail.

What is Greasemonkey?

Greasemonkey is a Firefox Add-on that according to Aaron Boodman (the creator):

Allows you to customize the way a webpage displays using small bits of JavaScript.

Hundreds of scripts, for a wide variety of popular sites, are already available at http://userscripts.org.

You can write your own scripts, too. Mark Pilgrim’s definitive Greasemonkey guide, diveintogreasemonkey.org will show you how.

In lamens terms, Greasemonkey allows you to customize a page via Firefox, a web browser, beyond what the site has capabilities for at that moment. You can customize the way a web site performs under your Firefox browser to the way YOU want it to work without hindering the functionality of the site.

What does this have to do with Gmail? After installing Greasemonkey, you can install scripts that will customize the features of Gmail and make your life much easier. These customizations vary from new skins for a new visual appearance, changing the way labels appear, to even moving your signature to the bottom of every email. That last script was the one I was looking for.

Scripts That I Use

I’ve customized Gmail to work the way I want it, and would like to share with you the scripts that I use when using my Gmail account.

To install the scripts, you must first be using the Firefox web browser from Mozilla. Then you must install the Greasemonkey Add-On (successful installation can be seen when you see a little monkey in the lower right and corner of Firefox). When visiting the pages for the following scripts, each as a “install script” button in the upper right hand corner of the page. Simply click on this and each script will give you a prompt to be installed. Finally, visit your Gmail account to see changes. Links that will direct you to where to download Firefox and Greasemonkey are at the bottom of this article.

• Gmail Air Skin: This nifty script allows you to visually change Gmail to be a bit more simplistic and appealing. It’s not really necessary, but I personally favor the new look.
• Gmail Signature Float: This script allows you to move your signature at the bottom of your message instead of the bottom of every email. It allows allows you to exclude the “–” that automatically goes above each signature to signify the end of your post. I typically like to say, “Thank you,” or “Your help is appreciated,” here, so I decided to use this script as well. Thanks goes out to Tim Jarrett for taking the time to create this script!
• Gmail Spam Count Hide: This script excludes the spam count from the “Spam” tab. I use this script because I don’t really care to see how much spam I’ve caught (it is Spam afterall), and it’ll be deleted after 30 days anyways so why bother?

I am always in search of new scripts that can help improve my experience with Gmail. If you use a script not mentioned here, be sure to drop it in your comment and I will definitely try it out.

You can download Firefox here and the Greasemonkey Add-on here.

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Steven Castaneda, Realtor, is a real estate consultant with Keller Williams Realty specializing in Houston Real Estate. He has been consulting on Houston Texas Real Estate transactions for over 2.5 years, and focuses on coaching his clients to make the most informed and intelligent decision possible with their real estate investments.