Netflix Notes: Add a “note to self” next to movies in your queue
Comments(27) To install:
- Install Greasemonkey
- Restart Firefox
- Install Netflix Notes
Description:
This happens to me all the time: I decide to add a movie to my Netflix queue -- perhaps because it was recommended by a friend, perhaps because I saw a good review, perhaps for some other reason.
Then, months later, I can't remember why I put it in my queue! To address this problem, I wrote a little Firefox Greasemonkey script called Netflix Notes.
Netflix Notes changes your Netflix queue so that you can add a private "note to self" on each movie in your queue. The main point of this is to remind yourself why you added a particular movie -- e.g. because a friend recommended it, you read a good review, and so on.
It only works with the Firefox web browser. If you are using another browser, such as Internet Explorer or Safari, Netflix Notes won't work for you.
I would love it if Netflix obsoleted my work by integrating this functionality natively into their website! But in the meantime, you can use my program.
30-second demo:
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: Can other people see my notes? A: No. The notes are stored on your computer, not out on the Internet. Only someone using your computer can see your notes.
Q: Where, exactly, are the notes stored? A: They are stored in your Firefox profile. To see them, navigate to about:config, and then type "netflix" into the filter box.
Q: You should store the notes on the Internet! I want to be able to see them from every computer I use. A: Yes, I would love to add that capability; but I haven't had a chance to do so yet.
That is fantastic. Looks like it's simple to use. I often want to remember why a movie is in my queue.
I installed this and it is AWESOME. I have sent a very similar suggestion to Netflix and I hope they take it.
I want to be able to leave a note, then when I get my "Your DVD has been shipped" e-mail, I want the note in there!
But in the mean time, this is a GREAT work around! THANK YOU!
Love it, unfortunately FF3.5 breaks it. Hope an update is available soon, thanks so much for all your effort!
Hi Steve,
Hmmm... I just tried it with FF 3.5, and it worked for me. What does it do for you? Maybe try reinstalling?
Would it be possible for you to modify this so that the notes also show up for the movies on the rental activity page? Its the link on the Queue called "Show all DVD activity". The page format is different so just including the page for the script won't work.
http://www.netflix.com/ReturnedRentals?lnkctr=RRIQ
I understand now why it wasn't working. I don't use Greasemonkey, I use a compiler than makes an .xpi file and I install that, and it defaults to expiring extensions at 3.0.*, so I just recompiled it and reinstalled it and it's fine. Sorry for the mistake and thanks for confirming; that enabled me to fix it!
[...] mikemo » Netflix Notes: Add a “note to self” next to movies in your queue. [...]
I have been using netflix notes for several months now and love it! Suddenly, the notes aren't showing up anymore.
I looked at about:config and the notes are all still there.
I tried reinstalling both greasemonkey and netflix notes, but it didn't help.
I miss my notes!!
Please help. Thank you.
ptrivelas, really? Hmm. It still works for me. Not sure what could be going on!
Awesome app Mikemo. Thanks!
I'd love to try this script but unfortunately I'm a Google Chrome user. Any chance we'll see a port sometime soon?
Hi Niko, I too am now a Chrome user. I've been meaning to port this script to Chrome, but haven't had a chance yet. I'll update here if I do port it.
Thanks for the quick reply Mike!! I'll keep an eye out and I'm looking forward to any updates.
I have been wishing for something like this for ages. I just installed it. Works great! Thanks so much!
Well, I just upgraded to FF 6. Sadly Netflix Notes no longer works - specifically I'm installing it via a greasemonkey compiler, and I set the version to be 8 instead of 6, s it should be compatible as far as the add-on manager knows. And in fact, it shows up in the add-ons as being compatible and enabled, but going to Netflix, no notes. So sad! It's great!
Steve: Hmm. Not sure what's going on. I just upgraded to FF 6, and Netflix Notes (which was already installed on my machine, in the standard way, not using any special greasemonkey compiler) still works.
Mike - I set up Greasemonkey and installed Netflix Notes again, and nothing. I wonder if something is conflicting? I have no idea what that would be. Bummer!
I, too lost my notes temporarily, after upgrading to Firefox 6 from 5. "Add note" WAS STILL THERE under my films, but all my notes under 200 films had disappeared. However, When I clicked "reload page" once or twice, they RE-APPEARED. There must be a small glitch in Firefox 6 to prevent the notes from reloading right away.?
I'm seeing the same issue as Allen today. I am able to add and save new notes but previous notes are not visible. The about:config entries for the old existing notes showed Netflix Notes.OldNote but showed Netflix Notes. NewNote for new entries. In other words, there are now two spaces between "Netflix Notes." and the movie name for new movie notes.
Actually it looks like two carriage returns (as opposed to two spaces) are the extraneous characters between "Netflix Notes." and the movie name for new movie notes. I'm running Firefox 6.0.1 with Greasemonkey 0.9.8.
Just to clarify, reloading the page does not work for me unlike what Allen said. So, this is definitely broken for me. I could re-enter all my notes by hand since new notes are fine but I have a lot of existing notes.
Tom, would it be possible for you to manually edit the notes to fix them? They are stored in a file called "prefs.js" inside your Firefox profile. To find your profile, follow the instructions on this page: https://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Profiles
(Oh, and you should probably exit Firefox before editing the prefs.js file)
Mike, thanks for the response. Your suggestion to edit prefs.js worked and nothing more sophisticated than Notepad was needed. So now things are back to normal for me. Wonder what happened to cause the format of the notes stored in prefs.js to change?
Hey Mike, Once I've located the file in prefs.js, what do I have to do to"edit" in order to restore my Notes. I tried highlighting it, but I don't know the procedure for restoring my former notes
Allen, first create a new note for a movie. Then look in pref.js to see that this new note looks different than your old notes. Specifically, there will be some junk characters (mostly newlines) before and after the movie name for new notes. Then use your favorite text file editor (such as Notepad) to make the movie names for old notes look like the one for new notes.
Mike - thank you for writing Netflix Notes.
Much appreciated.