Get A Minimalist Gmail With Greasemonkey
Take a look at Leo Babuta’s Zen Habits site, and you’ll know he’s a fan of content-focused minimalism. His Gmail web interface is likewise ultra-trim, and he details how to get there with Firefox and some Greasemonkey scripts.
In addition to running a few scripts like Gmail 3: Hide Labels, Chat and Footer, Gmail Remove Stars, and Gmail Real Estate, Leo details the settings and usage required to keep Gmail from becoming unwieldy, at least by his standards. Turn off gadgets, remove unnecessary email “streams” (a good idea for any setup, really), and using Gmail’s built-in Tasks to assign emails to actions so they don’t sit in the inbox, taking up screen and brain real estate.
Hit the Zen Habits link for a full run-down and before-and-after screenshots, and share your own minimalist Gmail tips in the comments.
Minimalist Gmail: How to Get Rid of the Non-Essentials [Zen Habits]
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Comments (AU Comments | US Comments)
I like the idea, but prefer mine more. Using only the UserContent.css file, I made it almost identical except kept/moved the search area next to the Refresh link, and moved my username/offline status/Settings link just below the search, still in the header with the other function buttons. It isn't perfect, but works for me.
And in conjunction with Better Gmail
Phillip Reblin
I use a bunch of Stylish scripts to make Gmail look more like what I want. I actually tend to shy away from Greasemonkey where I can, because I like the INSTANT way Stylish works, versus the "now you see it, now you don't" way GM works.
jkrell
To each his own, but I actually find the "stock" Gmail layout to be pretty uncluttered, especially when compared to other Web-based email apps.
But then again, that's the beauty of add-ons like Greasemonkey: Giving the user the ability to tailor things.
Ideally, i'd LOVE to see this kind of granular tailoring available from within Gmail.
Do labels and stars really take up a significant amount of "brain real estate"? I find these incredibly useful for organization (which lifehackers should be interested in). One label for craigslist, ebay, misc purchases, classes, etc.
Then I can star emails which I need to respond to, but don't feel like doing immediately.
No search!
I made my own gmail greasemonkey script (based on existing ones) that hides invite a friend, footer, and the top bar with different google products, settings, logout, etc
The only thing I dislike about these scripts is that even the slightest change in Gmail code (which is not rare) causes them to distort the whole page - and the fix takes usually one day to appear... (same with "facebook fixer" scripts)
very nice for low res laptops!
agentsmyth
The Real Estate script looks nice but doesn't seem to work for me...