Disable Facebook’s theatre mode

You have probably been aware of Facebook’s “theatre mode” for viewing images since the last features upgrade about 2 months back. While I admire Lightbox-like image galleries, Facebook’s implementation does not seem quite as polished, in my opinion. Understandably, keeping the eyecandy to a minimum allows for faster delivery of the myriad of other scripts loaded upon visiting Facebook. At the same time, however, there should have been an accessible option to disable “theatre mode” altogether. Here, I will show you how this feature can be disabled using an easy-to-install Greasemonkey script.

If you have a web browser that supports Greasemonkey (for Firefox) or script importation (Opera natively supported; for IE; NinjaKit on Chrome; GreaseKit or NinjaKit on Safari), make sure that it is installed and activated.

Next, go to Userscripts.org and install the ‘facebook Photo Theatre Killer’ script and you are done! Wasn’t that easy? Now, revisit a photo gallery via your Facebook account and the annoying “theatre mode” should be gone.

Fix Facebook’s small font annoyance

At the start of November 2010, I noticed that the font size on Facebook was noticeably smaller than I was accustomed to seeing. For a while I put up with it, but it got incredibly annoying as the days progressed. So, being a fan of Firefox extensions and Greasemonkey scripts I began my search for an add-on fix.

I like to keep Firefox lean and fast, so tacking on another extension to the ones I already use was not my first solution. Thankfully, someone over at userstyles.org, a great site for Stylish custom scripts, had a simple fix for both Greasemonkey and Stylish users. Whichever method you choose, the fix works by simply overriding Facebook’s current font-size CSS. Nothing else is modified.

After applying the Greasemonkey user script, Facebook text was once again comfortable to read. Give it a try and you will immediately notice the difference.

UPDATE: I would not be surprised if the authors of FFixer decide to include this fix in their update to this awesome Greasemonkey script.

Add/remove features from Facebook with FFixer

Facebook has become one of the largest social networking websites with over 500 million active users as of July 2010. Since its launch in 2004, Facebook has evolved in many ways making it easier to find friends and share stories. However, not everyone likes the changes that have been applied over the years and would prefer to preserve some familiarity, even if for their eyes only. Introducing FFixer, a Greasemonkey browser plugin (created by Vaughan Chandler) that provides a variety if awesome enhancements to your Facebook. Stop being satisfied with what you are forced to accept and take control of your Facebook experience!