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Andrey “Rarst” Savchenko —  — Software — block, flash, java, opera, plugin

On Demand Plugin mode – native flashblock in Opera

Last week I posted about Opera ad/content blocking functionality and some time after I got surprise on newish feature I missed. I noticed this page linking to my Opera flashblock post and reply there saying that it is now obsolete.

Wait, what did I miss? Turns out Opera had recently got in its not-really-mainstream-tweak On Demand Plugin mode that is essentially native flashblock.

What it does

Opera Turbo is a feature that came into desktop version of Opera from mobile. It is integrated proxy service that compresses and cuts down pages to reduce traffic and increase speed on slow connections. On fast connection it is not recommended to use because of quality loss and increased latency.

But you can’t really slim down Flash or Java content on the fly. So it comes with On Demand Plugin mode for that. And since some recent Opera version this mode can be used separately from Turbo!

When enabled all content powered by Opera plugins is replaced with Play placeholders. Nothing is downloaded or run until you explicitly click play.

opera_on_demand_plugin

opera_on_demand_plugin

Yep, exactly how various flashblock implementations usually work! Native and no hacks!

How to enable

Sadly Opera tends to bury deep some quite useful features. On Demand Plugin mode can be enabled on preferences page:

opera:config#UserPrefs|EnableOnDemandPlugin

I also highly recommend this awesome post that tells how to toggle mode with custom interface button, keyboard shortcut and menu option.

Strong features

Blocking is not limited to Flash. Anything plugin-powered is blocked – very comprehensive.

Using it for several days and no issues – everything works just fine and no content is broken by block. Hit play and it just works.

Downsides

Content on some sites (like Kongregate) tends to slip through blocking. I am not sure what it depends on, maybe on specific types of loading or something.

Overall

Smooth and native implementation of flashblock concept. Some hoop jumping to enable, but awesome anyway.

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7 Comments

  • Saurabh #

    You can change the on-demand icon that replaces the content too. Check here: http://my.opera.com/lachralle/blog/2010/02/16/opera-10-50-has-built-in-click-to-flash?cid=28897202#comment28897202

  • Saurabh #

    Oops I linked to a comment itself of the page itself: http://my.opera.com/lachralle/blog/2010/02/16/opera-10-50-has-built-in-click-to-flash

  • Rarst #

    @Saurabh Interesting tweak. I wish Opera made it easier to change images in interface. Most of the time people are forced to either modify files or stick with reusing standard images.

  • Saurabh #

    @Rarst True. The inability to change the speed dial icons easily hurts the most. Corresponding speed dial extensions on Chrome and Firefox meanwhile make that look especially simple.

  • EuroVPS #

    i as far as i can tell, opera it's gaining on chrome and firefox, but a bit slowly. nonetheless i always had an attraction towards opera and i hope it will satisfy all browsing needs soon.

  • Rarst #

    @EuroVPS The important fact that Opera is growing and being developed steadily. Personally I don't care much about where it is in number of users, as long as it is damn good browser for me. If I may ask what does it still lacks as for your needs?

  • Vadimir #

    Thanks very much for this tip! The best thing about it - no need to install any 3rd party plugins, just tinker with buil-in functions in Opera.