Fluid - Create Site Specific Browsers

Icon for FluidHave you ever wished that you could have one copy of Safari for Facebook, and a different copy for your “serious” work? With Fluid, you can! Fluid is a nifty utility which lets you create site-specific web browsers (SSBs). These are web browsers which only work on one (or a few) specific websites. If you click on a link for any other website, it will open in your regular browser. From the website:

Using Fluid, you can create SSBs to run each of your favorite WebApps as a separate desktop application. Fluid gives any WebApp a home on your Mac OS X desktop complete with Dock icon, standard menu bar, logical separation from your other web browsing activity, and many other goodies.

As you can see here, I’ve got one on my dock for Facebook and one for Twitter:

Icons for Facebook and Twitter on a standard OS X dock

Facebook and Twitter SSBs on my dock

I find this really helpful to keep my Tweeting and Facebook messing around to those browsers - I don’t even have bookmarks for Twitter or Facebook in my regular browser, because I only use them in these specific browsers. It means that when I close those two I quit doing Twitter and Facebook stuff and get back to writing ATMac articles for you all - I find in really helps me keep the activities separate in my head.

Other things people have mentioned using SSBs for include:

  • GMail, Hotmail, or whatever web-based email you use
  • GCal, Remember The Milk, or any other online calendar/to do list that you use
  • Your favourite online games
  • Your school library’s website
  • Your online banking and bill paying

I’m sure there are many more uses - what could you use it for?

- Ricky Buchanan

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About the Author

Ricky Buchanan

Ricky Buchanan is 34 years old and the founder and main writer for ATMac. She's bedridden with severe CFS/ME or perhaps a primary mitochondrial disorder - the doctors are not sure. When she's not working on ATMac or her other websites she composes music, listens to audio books, does other disability advocacy, watches TV with her flatmate, and enjoys her cat.

4 Comments For “Fluid - Create Site Specific Browsers”

  1. [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Nicole Rodovsky and ATMac Blog, Ricky Buchanan. Ricky Buchanan said: RT @atmacjournal New ATMac post: Fluid - Create Site Specific Browsers http://bit.ly/9reZW8 [...]

  2. This is pretty cool. Off to check it out right now!
    Dave Doolin’s last blog: Startup Weekend – Start a brand new business in 56 hours (Saturday Morning Surfing) My ComLuv Profile

  3. @Dave: Let me know how it goes for you!

  4. [...] applications do you think are best suited as standalone desktop applications?Update: Fluid – Create Site Specific BrowsersI would love to hear what you think. Let me know what sites you have converted to a SSB in the [...]

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