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I'm a big fan of It's All Text for Firefox, as it's really helpful to be able to quickly open up gvim and write out code, wiki markup, etc in a powerful editor rather than trying to do edits in a large text box. Is there a similar plugin for Chrome? I'm looking for a cross-platform solution, or at least something that will work on Linux.

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4 Answers

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On macs:

On Windows:

Other platforms:

from https://github.com/stsquad/emacs_chrome/blob/master/servers/README

Because the Chrome(ium) security model doesn't allow for extensions spawning processes we can't just exec() the editor process. Instead we have to implement an "edit server" which listens to XmlHttp requests on port 9292 (default) and then sends a response when the edit is complete. We include a couple here:

Both of these require you run a webserver too, (e.g. http://opencoder.net/edit-server):

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+1 Didn't realize it's that hard to spawn processes with Chrome. – Jeff Mar 28 '11 at 1:15
Sorry, didn't realize you already posted TextareaConnect and TextAid before harrymc. It looks a little like your post is only addressing Macs; and the links could be replaced with the program names. Edit your post for a little clarity and you have my vote =) – Jeff Mar 28 '11 at 7:38
@edited for clarity =) – kriegar Mar 28 '11 at 7:56
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up vote 8 down vote

Some possibilities are listed below. It would be easier if you told us what is your operating system.

Edit with Emacs Chrome extension

It's Chrome's answer to Firefox's "It's all text" extension, which makes composing emails, blog posts, and other long-form text in a browser a lot more tolerable. (Hooray!)

Since Chrome extensions can't spawn arbitrary processes, the Edit with Emacs extension requires the cooperation of an additional edit server that can. The edit server is implemented in elisp and is bundled with the extension.

TextareaConnect

TextareaConnect a clone of the "It's All Text!" Firefox extension for Chrome. It allows you to edit any textarea using an external editor like Vim, Emacs, gedit, Kate etc. Since Chrome API won't allow spawning new external processes, TextareaConnect relies on separate http-server, TextareaServer, for starting the external editors.

[EDIT] According to its web page, TextAreaConnect is currently not usable because of incompatible updates to Chrome

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+1 best answer I've seen so far in terms of what I'm looking for. I'll keep the bounty open for now in hopes that there's an easier solution that doesn't involve running a server to receive commands, but it doesn't sound like it. – Jeff Mar 28 '11 at 5:11
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up vote 6 down vote

Text editor anywhere is really neat if you are using Windows.

Text Editor Anywhere allows you to edit text anywhere with your favorite text editor. It provides a means of taking advantages of some advanced features (like auto-completing, spell checking and syntax highlighting) that are only available in an external text editor. It may also save you from web browser crashes.

For example, you can use Vim to tweet or reply a post in Chrome with the help of Text Editor Anywhere.

  • Support all kinds of text editors
  • Support all applications
  • Support Unicode
  • You can pass complex parameters to the editor
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Looks pretty awesome and I like that you can use it for more than just Chrome! Thanks! – Jeff Nov 14 '11 at 23:45
fjut, I can't thank you enough for making me discover this gem. – Giacomo Lacava Mar 16 at 23:01
This is really good! I was always looking for chrome extension but this do the same thing and it is even better and more polished! Thanks! – Jiri Apr 12 at 7:45
Thanks, this is just what I was looking for :-) – luqui Apr 19 at 22:34
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up vote 3 down vote

I found this via google, and took the time to register so you don't have to :)

http://www.chromeplugins.org/google/chrome-tips-tricks/edit-text-your-favorite-text-editor-chrome-9876.html

The hidden link is this program called listary, which seems very useful (I'm gonna try it right after this post). It works with windows explorer, it's not a chrome plugin. Basically you can pop up a sort of command prompt in the corner at any time, run a program or open a folder or whatever, and then go back to what you were doing. They show someone editing text in their favorite editor and having it go straight to an email in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDHXhm7YSw8&feature=player_detailpage#t=48s

The app page is here: http://www.listary.com/

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This is windows specific. Runs as an app outside of the browser. – kriegar Mar 27 '11 at 7:54
my bad, I shoulda read more closely. Bummer, I've found it pretty handy. – CreeDorofl Mar 27 '11 at 15:06
+1 Good answer, but unfortunately not exactly what I'm looking for. – Jeff Mar 28 '11 at 1:14
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