Metrolyrics and anti-copy

Metrolyrics has a "anti-copy" script running in its website, which doesn't allow us to copy (Ctrl+C) from the website directly. So, what do we do?

1) Please use only if necessary.
It makes it hard for other guides to respond to MORE queries if we can't copy lyric sites. We are NOT going to type the lyrics out for the IS. There are tons of other lyric websites around, so please try the others first:

• www.songmeanings.net,
• www.lyricsmania.com
• www.azlyrics.com
• www.elyrics.net
• www.lyricsmode.com

2) If you must use it, here are a few tips to disable anti-protect

• Disable Javascript
  
  
  
  • You can do this manually by going into the Tools>Options menu of your Firefox. Go to your Content Tab and Uncheck "Enable Javascript." Remember to turn this back on when you're done because some sites require this for content to load.
  
  
  • If you have the NoScript extension installed (this extension enables javascript from only websites you "trust," as malicious javascript can be potentially harmful), just disable javascript for metrolyrics and you're fine. If you have questions on how to do this, please email me at rnhung@gmail.com.
  
  
  • If you have the Greasemonkey extension installed, it may be easier just to install this script. It claims to just disable the anti-copy feature of Metrolyric sites. I have not used this myself.
  
  Thanks for reading.

Cybersearch - Searches right in your address bar!

CyberSearch Firefox Extension allows you to conduct searches right in your address bar. And better yet, it can be customized with keywords so that you could be site-specific when you search! For example, if I wanted to search for lyrics for "Bubbly" by Colbie Caillat, I could...

Open a New Tab
Go to www.google.com
Search for the Bubbly Song
And look through the sites that have the lyrics.

OR I can use CyberSearch and...

just type in "lyrics bubbly" (I have lyrics as a keyword to search songmeanings.net, elyrics, and some other lyric sites) in the address bar, and it would run the search right on your current page!

This is a bit hard to explain, but I've attached a video demo of how it works for a ChaCha query:


Video created with ScreenToaster

Look at it go!

Note: I am using the TMP extension as well so it won't close my main page (and open the new page on a new tab).

You can find the website here or the firefox addon page here.

After you've installed it, here's a quick video guide to set up keywords:

Video created with ScreenToaster

Thanks for reading!

Blog -- Interesting Facts, I need your help!

Hello ChaCha folks!

I always get the jollies when I come across an interesting question... one of those that you'll never forget. I'm interested in seeing what things you guys all come across everyday, and I'm thinking of starting a blog where you guys can all post and share.

I plan on using posterous (a blog platform thats relatively easy to use--you can post by emailing!), and you can find the site here. There's not much to see now (only two posts by me :( ), but if you would like to sign up and contribute, please email your email address to me here.

That's all! Thanks for reading!

Bad speller? Auto-correct!

I have to admit my spelling isn't PERFECT (and my grammar is even worse, but that's not the point here). Firefox's spelling correction feature for textboxes is a VERY handy tool for us ChaCha'ers... from the common "teh" misspelling to the "CHaCha" (lets hope none of you have gotten a QC for that), but what about the extremely lazy folk like me? What if its TOO MUCH to look at your message and locate all the underlined words, right click, and correct? Why doesn't Firefox have an auto-correct feature?

Well, I bet none of you are lazy enough to even think of searching for something like this (thank goodness)... but just recently I did a quick search and, to my surprise, no Firefox addon that does this.... NONE!

I didn't give up, and I found Universal Auto-Correct. Originally built as a add-on to another program, this script autocorrects most common typos (just like Microsoft Word does). It uses Wikipedia's list of common misspellings, and can be customized with your own words as well (I haven't figured this out yet). This program runs outside-Firefox, so it will work with all programs: your AIM, email, blog, ChaCha. This program only takes up 5MB of memory usage, so it won't slow down your computer much at all. You can download it through Lifehacker's servers here.

Want to run this program on Windows Start-up? Paste a shortcut into your Startup folder: C:\Documents and Settings\Username\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

Here's the program in action:


Video created with ScreenToaster

Comment.

Keep backspacing out of your Guide Console?

In Firefox, the backspace button is a shortcut key to returning to the previously viewed webpage (same as pushing the "back" key on your toolbar).

If you're like me, you've pushed the backspace button too many times accidentally. Its frustrating especially when you're in the middle of the question, you've realized you accidentally "backspaced out" of your question screen, and sometimes may even realize you have lost your question!

Well you can disable that feature.

Type "about:config" in your Firefox url address bar
Click "I'll be careful, I promise" on the warning screen
Search for browser.backspace_action and double click
Change the value to "2"

Here's a video demo (feel free to enlarge):

Video created with ScreenToaster

Hope that helps! Comment!

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays everybody! Hope this past year went with much many memories with friends, family, and other loved ones. And may 2009 be one filled with even more!

I drew you all a tree:



Happy Holidays Everyone!

Earnings Exporter

Earnings Exporter automates the retrieval of your ChaCha question history into Excel. It also provides simple analytical tools to satisfy your curiosity.

Current Version:
Earnings Exporter v2_00h (180 KB)

Past Versions:
Earnings Exporter v2_00g (177 KB)
Earnings Exporter v1_02d (122 KB)
Earnings Exporter v1_01 (95 KB)
Earnings Exporter v1_00 (96 KB)
Earnings Exporter v0_01 (60 KB)

Screenshots:

Version History:

v2_00g
Category Analysis
Daily Analysis Charting

v1_02d
1004 error to be tested
Earnings now works with Category Pay charts
Msg box message on Main Grab
Deleted extra cells when already analyzed page
Analysis Page header text now fits
Buttons on Analysis Page moved
Added percentages on Charts on Analysis page

v1_02c
1004 error to be tested
Earnings Chart bug Fixed

v1_02b
1004 error still to be tested
Deletes charts when opening up a new one

v1_02
Attempt Fix at Refreshing on Failed ChaCha Pages
Test tto see if user/pass is inputed

v1_01
Fixed Transcriber Abort, Clarify Analysis. Was duplicated from Expeditor
Removed Top Guide Analysis on To Do list
Average Time Per Question
Average Earnings Per Search Time
Added Comments

v1_00
Change file name

v0_03 Removed Extra Cells due to Time Format Change
Analysis Button on datasheet moved
Fixed Failure to update due to pre-existance of sheets
"Already Analyzed" msg no longer comes with Chart Buttons

v0_02
The header of each page overwrote the data for the last line of the previous page. Fixed.
Added Version History page
Data no longer contains more than one header row
Added count for each type of question: GE/SP/EX/VT/network
Changed Count Analysis Method to SumIF
Changed Time Analysis Method to SumIF
Changed Earnings Analysis Method to SumIF
Pie Chart Capability for Analysis

v0_01
Completed Simple framework to Fetch Data
Created Simple Analysis Method

Compatibility
To the best of my knowledge, this is compatible with Excel 2003 and Excel 2007.
It is NOT compatible with Excel 2008 (Mac OS) or OpenOffice.

Found a Bug? Have suggestions?
I believe this should be bug-free in everything that it does. Please report bugs to me here. I'm also open to suggestions.

Usage:
You must enable your Macros to work with this spreadsheet. You can do this by lowering your security settings on Excel.

For Excel 2003:
Go to Tools > Macro > Security and make your changes. I have mine on Medium so I get prompted every time I open a worksheet requires macros.
For Excel 2007:
Click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click Excel Options. In the Trust Center category, click Trust Center Settings, and then click the Macro Settings category.

To Do List:
Analysis of Individual Referral Earnings
Start and End page
Wait time between questions
Pivot table reporting
Category Analysis