Pooya
(pkLaunch: Greasemonkey Script for Yahoo Launch)
pkLaunch
News
(June 21, 2007): Older pkLaunch versions can now be found in the archive.
(May 25, 2007): pkLaunch is NOT working for music videos anymore. pkLaunch 0.0.0 is out. Read the changes.
(Aug 19, 2006): pkLaunch 0.9 is out!
(Jan 25, 2006): A new discussion section is added.
About
This Greasemonkey
script opens all Yahoo Launch music videos
in a new window so that they will be playable with MS Windows Media Player or
mplayerplug-in
in Firefox.
This script is released under GPL.
How to Install
- Make sure you have the latest Firefox 1.5.
- Install the lastest Greasemonkey extension and restart Firefox.
- Open pklaunch-0.0.0.user.js
- Install it by clicking on Tools / Install This User Script...
- Goto to Yahoo! Music, or Yahoo! Music Worldwide sites:
- United States: http://launch.yahoo.com/
- Australia & NZ: http://au.launch.yahoo.com/
- Canada: http://ca.music.yahoo.com/
- France: http://fr.launch.yahoo.com/
- Germany: http://de.launch.yahoo.com/
- Italy: http://it.launch.yahoo.com/
- Spain: http://es.launch.yahoo.com/
- UK & Ireland: http://uk.launch.yahoo.com/
- Spanish: http://espanol.music.yahoo.com/
Note to Mac users: You need to download Windows Media Player for Mac OS X.
Changes
Please check here again for new versions, because I'm working on adding
other features such as showing the clip title/artist, playlist
functionality, showing original ads (to make Yahoo! happy with this
script) and many other things.
v0.0.0: Yahoo! disabled wmv playback and replaced it with a Flash player.
This means that pkLaunch is not working anymore. The good news is that the flash
play now works on all platforms and OSes that support flash. Still Launchcast
radios are not working. I released version 0.0.0 which disables video playback
and just checks for updates. I try to release a newer version of pkLaunch that
supports radios.
Please use the discussion section below to let me know if there is any other
feature rather than the radios you want to be added to pkLaunch.
v0.9: A new auto update feature is added. International Yahoo! Music sites are now supported.
Test it out at Yahoo! Music:
Australia & NZ -
Canada -
France -
Germany -
Italy -
Spain -
UK & Ireland -
Spanish.
v0.8.1: Fixed a bug in my script.
v0.8: Fixed getting clip information.
v0.8rc2: Fixed Yahoo session cookie.
v0.8rc1: A more stylish look which also fixes some bugs. You can now select
whether you want mediaplayer controls or not and also set the resize option. Setting
the resize to ON sometimes make the video go black.
v0.7rc1: Now works in Firefox 1.5 using
Greasemonkey 0.6.4.
v0.6rcX: Fixes Yahoo changed URLs
v0.5: Thanks to Brandon Barlow, I added two high quality 768kbps and 512kbps to the
bandwidth options. Enjoy these high quality streams on you broadband. I also
disabled the clip info bar because of the changes in the new greasemonkey
release. I'm still trying to find a work around for that. Some window
resizing issue are solved too. (2005-07-31)
v0.4: Now the player shows clip info such as song name, artist and also it
catches more video clips. (2005-07-02)
Note: Due to a security vulnerabilty in greasemonkey, the new GM 0.3.5
has disabled some of its functions which means the clip info will be empty
with this release. It will soon be fixed when the new GM is relased.
(2005-07-19)
v0.3: A more stylish window is now opened with which you can
set the bandwidth and also resize the whole window more
easily. (2005-06-05)
v0.2: Opens a new window with an embed tag to show player (2005-05-20).
v0.1: Fixed the original broken code.
Archive
Discussion
Here you can ask your questions and leave your comments about pkLaunch.
New features? [Hide]
What features do you like to see in the future versions of pkLaunch?
New features? [Hide]
Can you make the code work for UK Yahoo Launch PLEASE? Thank YOU
New features? [Hide]
I will look into that. I guess I need separate yahoo UK/CA/... logins to be able to do that. Can anyone create a Yahoo UK account, no matter where s/he is?
New features? [Hide]
i think it is the same problem as with the german version: if i look into the Page-Info of the Greas-Monkey-pkLaunch window i can see that the NOT german videos are marked as media-type video/x-ms-asf whereas the german videos are marked as unknown you can verify this with simply using one of the videos on http://de.launch.yahoo.com
New features? [Hide]
Just wanna say love the script - you've done a cracking job on it. Would it be possible to include a random element in it like Y! Launch has at the moment? So once your selected song finishes it then plays another one? Not sure how difficult it would be - but it would be certainly cool!
New features? [Hide]
Just started using the script. Excellent. I like the Random feature also in YLaunch. Any chance you can add this feature?
New features? [Hide]
Could you make a Opera 8.5x version? PS: jscript are native supported in opera, so it dosn't need Greasemonkey. thx
New features? [Hide]
I'd like to see a version that allows other plugins like VLC, as opposed to mplayerplug-in.
New features? [Hide]
first I want to thank you for this exellant script , you really did something I was looking for it since years. I wish you can add support for LAUNCHcast so we will be able to listen to the radio channels also. Thank You again
New features? [Hide]
This is a great script. Is it possible to get it to work with yahoo radio?
New features? [Hide]
I would like to see an epiphany version using Totem. I have greasemonkey installed but even with mplayerplug-in it doesn't work. It would be nice to be able to use epiphany, especially if I could use Totem to play the videos.
New features? [Hide]
can you add the "full screen" function to the videos?...and no commercials
New features? [Hide]
I am looking for a pluggin for my winamp or Itunes which will work on the latest yahoo messenger - That way whn I play music on winamp or even on itunes - the name of the tune you are playing should show on Yahoo messenger. is there any such pluggin still available ? I remmeber there was one but that was compatiable with the old Yahoo. Now with this new version 8 nothing works :(. Can you help Pooya??
Won't work [Hide]
I have Firefox 1.5. I installed GreaseMonkey and pklaunch and it won't work.
Won't work [Hide]
Can you tell me what exactly is happening? Did you restarted your Firefox after you installed greasemonkey? Do you see the smiling monkey on the bottom right hand side of browser window? You know that this script is only for music videos and not the radio stations, don't you?
Won't work [Hide]
Kinda Like, it didn't work for me either it gave a warning i need to install netscape 7.1 to play it, and i did restarted firefox and i see the monkey, but it just doesn't work
Won't work [Hide]
Same problem here. The exact error is: ERROR To use this application with Netscape, you must use version 7.1 or above. Download now. Please use the following error code when writing to Yahoo! Help. (Error Code: 12)
Won't work [Hide]
That means that the pkLaunch did not run at all. Can you try installing a simple Greasemonkey script to make sure greasemonkey is working Ok? You can try: http://diveintogreasemonkey.org/helloworld/divein.html
Won't work [Hide]
that helped. when the "hello world" didn't work, i figured out that greasemonkey was turned off because i had clicked on the monkey icon at some point. i was wondering why he was frowning, just didn't know until now that clicking the icon turns greasemonkey on & off. yahoo videos working now. thanks pooya!
Won't work [Hide]
Had the same problem with FF 1.5 when it was released. That version of greasemonkey I used needed to be an upgrade only, since it did not make the gm_scripts folder. Just to make sure, check if you have th gm_scripts directory in your Firefox profile directory, and pklaunch.user.js file is present there. This one worked for me! In windows, the path must be like: C:\Documents and Settings\USER\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\default\gm_scripts
Won't work [Hide]
I don't know if this answer is further in the thread, I didn't have patience to read through it...Make sure that your media player is up to date (I had the won't work problem, updated my windows media player and voila...)
- [Hide]
i love this script, whether its the ability to get those asx links or simply watch commercial free videos in firefox this script has it all... I was wondering if a download feature would ever be available, currently I must record the video with vlc or flashget.... thank you very much for this script!
No Video [Hide]
i installed pklaunch, restarted firefox and then installed userscript, but when i click on the link to the music video and the pklaunch window appears the music video does not play. can u help my figure out what the problem is?
DAP and Y! Launch [Hide]
I successfully downloaded Greasemonkey and the pklaunch script, however each time I try to watch music videos on Y! Launch my Download Accelerator Plus window opens, prompting me to download a file. I've tried disabling DAP, but this results in the same problem. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks!
Some Videos doesn't work with (768 / 512) [Hide]
Hey, at first it's a great script. Thank you for your worktime. My problem is, that some videoclips do not work, the firefox pop up do not load the windows media player, i don't why ! I hope you can help me! for example : http://de.music.yahoo.com/musicvideos/lists/top.asp#23165316 => click on the position 1 ("Dieser Weg") that do not work => click on the position 2 ("Behind These Hazel Eyes) that work i hope you can explain me and find a solution! greetings Daniel
Some Videos doesn't work with (768 / 512) [Hide]
As others mentioned too, pkLaunch uses music.yahoo.com servers so it will not play videos that are not available for US users. I already looked into that but there's still some problems that need to be solved.
Some Videos doesn't work with (768 / 512) [Hide]
Hey Pooya, ok thx for your answer. i'll hope you find a way for this problem and you build this into your script. best regards Daniel
My Videos? [Hide]
Is there you can add the ability to play the "My Videos" stream? I like the continuous stream instead of having to individually click each video to start it.
Won't work on MacosX [Hide]
I have a mac and tried using your script and it doesn't work with Mac OSX 10.4.4 It says I need netscape 4.X.
Nevermind [Hide]
I got it working! yay! I had to install the new script.
Does Not Work. [Hide]
1. I have Firefox 1.5 2. I installed GreaseMonkey 3. I opened pklaunch-0.8.1.user.js 4. I installed it by clicking on Tools / Install This User Script... 5. I went to music.yahoo.com to test it. 6. I made sure GreaseMonkey is enabled...I made sure pklaunch is enabled when I right click on GreaseMonkey Logo at lower right corner. 7. I clicked on a video and it tells me that it needs a plug-in...when I click to install a plug-in...it tells me no plug-ins exits.
Does Not Work. [Hide]
What OS are you on? It seems like your browser don't play Windows Media Video (WMV) files. If you are on Mac then install MS media player. And if you are on Linux, BSD, etc. install mplayer & mplayerplug-in. You can test it by visiting somewhere like this: http://midistudio.com/MPlayer9/embedWMV-2.htm
Does Not Work. [Hide]
I have a Win. 98SE OS. If I download MPlayer would it work with Win. 98SE? What are the steps I would have to do to make it work?
Does Not Work. [Hide]
win 98... lol .. why don't you upgrade the OS... anyway... you need windwos media player for win 98... good luck :P
Does Not Work. [Hide]
IT works on Winows 98 yes it does yes it does...nah na na...who's laughing now :) Well, I fixed a few days after I originally posted here, but I forgot to post back. I needed this 2 plug-ins. WMP PLUG-IN for Netscape Navigator (same as Firefox) http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/version64/plugin.aspx I also needed the Active-X plug-in http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/launch/videos/videos-07.html ***NOTE*** For those users that use Firefox Pre-Loader first unload it (turn it off). Close firefox and restart for changes to take effect. The goto Yahoo music.
Yahoo radio [Hide]
Thanks a lot for the great plugin! Would it be possible to support Yahoo radio as wel? I am on a Mac and want to listen to my friend's station...
Does not work with new Flip4Mac [Hide]
Just wanted to drop a line with some info... I had pklaunch working fine under MacOS 10.3.9, using WMP 9 for OS X. Installing the new Flip4Mac extension to Quicktime broke it however, all I get is a blank box when trying to watch a movie. So, I'd recommend holding off upgrading your WMP on OS X. Thanks for the script, BTW, it works great!
Does not work with new Flip4Mac [Hide]
You need to reinstall WMP 9. You may also have to reassociate .asf files (the Yahoo music video file format) with WMP. Create an empty file with TextEdit and rename it with an .asf file extention. Then Get Info and Change All to open with Windows Media Player. There are more details at my blog: http://stufftedfound.blogspot.com/
No video feed [Hide]
I've run through the above procedure - installed the grease monkey - restart firefox - install script - then goto yahoo music - select a music video - a pop up window appears with the option to select 768 bandwith and the happy monkey appears at the bottom right hand side of the window, but thats it - Just a black box and you can't right click on it either. I tried the "hello world" script successfully. I have MP10 installed, is there a particular codec that needs to be installed? Cheers Andrew
No video feed [Hide]
That black box should be media player, right click on it and see if you can see media player options, is there any "error details" option there? Try another video or try opening the same video again. I think with WMP10 no special codec is needed.
No video feed [Hide]
Here are the Error Details - You do not have access to the location or file. (Error=80070005) Windows Media Player cannot open. You may need to reboot to complete installation of a downloaded component. Please verify that the path and filename are correct and try again. (Error=80070005)
No video feed [Hide]
Try turning off resizing and turning on controls. To see what exactly is going on. Sometimes when the resize is on the video gets hidden. It's a known problem with Firefox & Media Player.
No video feed [Hide]
I'm having the same problem here but i'm using a linux box here with F1.5, media player conectivity ext (with mplayer & all codecs), greasemonkey. The "hello world" script runs successfully. Also tried turning off the resizing and turning on the controls... without success. I would like to be more spesific but the popup message isn't much descriptive.
Wont work with radio [Hide]
Work only for video, is it possible to find a script that will also work for the radio
pkLaunch still wokrs to me... [Hide]
Well, I have justa instaled it on my computer and it wroks fine to me. I'm in Brazil and I'm running it from SUSE 10.0. Actually the fist time I tried it opened that page from Yahoo trying to detect my connection speed, then I tried again and it worked.
pkLaunch still wokrs to me... [Hide]
lol, yes you are right, it is working. It was a problem with my settings.
Stopped working [Hide]
I'm on a Mac and it stopped working for me. The launch.com box where the video is going to be opens, but after a while quicktime opens and it says something like invalid url. Please help I have the latest version of pklaunch. It was working fine before.
can't figure it out [Hide]
I've got all the updates, the pklaunch tab opens, but no video plays... i can't figure it out
can't figure it out [Hide]
it worked... I had to go to /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins and copy all the plugins to the other folders: /usr/lib/mozilla-1.7.4/plugins and /usr/lib/firefox/plugins and the it worked!!!!!
doesn't work at all [Hide]
i installed everything like you said. But every time I tried to play a video a missing plugin apears. Someone told me that I need the mplayer pluging so it could work, i already isntalled it but it doesn't work... please help
MISSING PLUGIN FIX!!! [Hide]
I had the same problem as a lot of you with the missing plugin. To fix it just go and download this plugin and it should work fine. http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/version64/plugin.aspx
trouble with video playing [Hide]
i have installed greaemonkey and the plug in...however when i click on the video all i am getting is a blank black screen...there is no error message and i can't right click the box...i reinstalled mp10 and still nothing...HELP!!!!!
trouble with video playing [Hide]
I get the black screen instead of the player, too. Hello World does not work, and neither does any other script I tried. I'm using GM 0.6.4 and Firefox 1.5.0.1.
trouble with video playing [Hide]
I have this same problem -- using 1.5.0.2 -- other GM scripts are working; pklaunch 0.8.1 isn't the window opens up but only a black box shows
trouble with video playing [Hide]
Hmmm, it's working OK here. Are you using music.yahoo.com or the regional ones? Can you tell me your OS/player? If it is Windows Media Player then right click on the black box and tell me if there's any "Error Details" there.
trouble with video playing [Hide]
Windows XP SP2 w/WMP 10 There is no error message; just a black box. If i right click inside the box I get a firefox context menu (WMP doesn't open). I have no script, adblock, and GM installed and everything but GM is disabled
trouble with video playing [Hide]
have you definitely enabled greasemonkey? the monkey should be smiling :)
hello world [Hide]
also how do i prevent to hello world from appearing all the time
Thanks! [Hide]
Thanks for this. I haven't been able to download since Streamking and getYahooMusic stopped working. Now, we have you!!!
Black screen [Hide]
The window launches and everything, but when i hit play, it changes the the "pause" button, as if it is about to play, then about 2-3seconds later, stops. In the end, i get a black player screen with controls @ the bottom. Any ideas?
New Feature Suggestion [Hide]
I just want to say you are a lifesaver, I consider this to be Greasemonkey's Killer App and THE REASON for getting Greasemonkey. A new feature I would like to see added is the ability to download the streams to your PC with a download link(I know a way to do this but it is a little more complicated requiring the use of VLC).
Streamdown [Hide]
I just right click, properties and get the link and put it into CoCSoft Stream Down . Really easy and i can do a couple at a time.
New Feature Suggestion [Hide]
Yeah. Downloading MMS streams directly from firefox with this GM script is not possible (atleast as far as I can think of). I can make finding the link a little bit easier but I also don't want to make the UI more cluttered. Let see.
playlist [Hide]
i noticed the 'append to playlist option in the mplayer window. how do i use this?
New Feat: Launch Using Windows Media Player [Hide]
Hello, I really really this thing. As a new feature, is it possible to have an option to launch actual WMP instead of the windowed plug-in. Thanks!
save vids? [Hide]
this might be a silly question, but is there any possible way I could save the videos to my hard drive? thanks so much. either way, the script rocks.
save vids? [Hide]
I was trying not to get into downloading bussiness. Not letting the users to download videos is probably the reason why Yahoo is not yet supporting Firefox. But anyway, now that everyone knows it, take a look at: http://www.uneasysilence.com/archive/2005/10/4382/ or use Farando Barajo's LyFox: http://fernyb.2ya.com/
Mplayer won't play [Hide]
I have installed the script and it works up until it tries to play the video. It starts with buffering 0%, and then says something about connecting to serve, and then nothing happens. Any ideas?
Thanks!!!!!! [Hide]
Many many many thanks my friend!!! you do not know what I have looked for like being able download the videos of yahoo in 768kbps!!! =) PD: Sorry for my ingles.
Question [Hide]
Does pkLaunch still work?I'm using Firefox 1.5.0.2 and pkLaunch 0.8.1 on Windows XP Pro SP2.When I click on any video in Launch all it does is popup in the pkLaunch window.It says data at the top and then a black box where the videos should be,then the title under the box and the bw dropdown is set to 768(doesn't work at any speed BTW),controls on,and resize off.Also the monkey is lit up in the bottom right corner indicating greasemonkey is active.I went to the http://members.aol.com/jrzycrim01/mozilla/wmp/vidtest-HS.html site to test my windows media installation but it plays other windows media videos fine.What could be the problem?
IT DOESN'T WORK ANY MORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! [Hide]
I used to do it couple months ago and it was bitchin' I Loved it I Downloaded Like 500 Vids. BUT NOW THAT I tried it again It doesn't work can some one Help Me Please????? I'm Using Windows Media Center Edition. Firefox 1.5.0.2 Greasemonkey 0.6.4 pklaunch-0.8.1.user.js And Follow All The Instructions To Make It Work. But When the Video Loads In the New Screen It Says... Additional Pluggins Are Riquired To Display All The Media On This Page. Then It Says CLick Here To Download .I Do So,But It Tells Me That No Needed Pluggins Were Found. Thanx For Your Help!!!
IT DOESN'T WORK ANY MORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! [Hide]
Hi, I'm in school right now and it works fine here in Linux with Firefox 1.0.8, Greasemonkey 0.5.3, and mplayerplug-in. Can you try opening another music video? Are you using music.yahoo.com or one of the local ones?
IT DOESN'T WORK ANY MORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! [Hide]
OK I got my setup to work.It was just a matter of uninstalling VLC player.I was using VLC player to save the videos from Launch but when I installed I though it would be good to install active-x plugins and mozilla plugins and associate it with asf files.BIG MISTAKE! That was what was causing my problem. Now that I uninstalled then reinstalled VLC 0.8.4a-win32 without the extra options it works fine.Thanks pooya for the great script.You shouldn't be blamed for my stupid mistake.
IT DOESN'T WORK ANY MORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! [Hide]
How did you get it to play nice with VLC I tried uninstalling and reinstalling a couple times with different options checked and cleared the cache ... never had mozilla or activex plugin selected. anytime vlc is installed for me, it goes to black box. if uninstalled wmp loads up on win xp mce sp2 w/ff 1.5.0.3
Finally Got It To Work [Hide]
Well, I fixed a few days after I originally posted here, but I forgot to post back. I needed this 2 plug-ins. WMP PLUG-IN for Netscape Navigator (same as Firefox) http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/version64/plugin.aspx I also needed the Active-X plug-in http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/launch/videos/videos-07.html ***NOTE*** For those users that use Firefox Pre-Loader first unload it (turn it off). Close firefox and restart for changes to take effect. The goto Yahoo music.
Finally Got It To Work [Hide]
You don't need Active/X plug-in. If you install that then you can use Yahoo! Music without pkLaunch. But many people prefer not to make their browser unsecure like IE. And also there are people on Mac and Linux who can not install ActiveX.
doesn't work ... [Hide]
Hi , My config : Linux Mandriva 2006, Firefox 1.5.0.2 I installed the script , but the problem is that if I go to the menu tools/manage user script I see it but when i click right on the monkey I don't see the script. I tried the Hello word and it works. So when I go to music.yahoo.com, it doesn't work, just the message from yahoo telling OS incompatible. Thanks for your help
WORKS PERFECTLY [Hide]
Thanks a bunch, the script works perfectly! Yahoo has released a fix to get the videos to work (http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/launch/videos/videos-07.html) but i still use your script because it skips the ads and provides the full WMP control of the video. v0.8.1 even shows the title, artist, and album. This script is PERFECT!!!
Doesn't work for me :( [Hide]
Umm, that fix doesn't work for me... That's why I'm here ;P I've tried literally everything on this page (above this point) and it still says there's a missing PlugIn - and can't find a suitable one. I notice under manage scripts, I had a couple of yahoo music sites listed under "enabled". I removed them, and it went back to the standard error page "Error code 22". My setup: I'm on Win 2k, WMP 9, I have VLC installed, but the FF extension is disabled so shouldn't (hopefully) be a problem; the test video works (Pink Floyd as above), GreaseMonkey is installed + enabled, I don't know how many other extentions are installed... I don't see pklaunch when I right-click the monkey :( Could that be the issue? Does anyone know what more I can try? As far as I can see I've done everything! :'( I guess I should mention one last thing: I'm in the UK.
Doesn't work for me :( [Hide]
Umm, update: it now says Error code 24... Is that random or is that random? Still same "update firefox" guff, but the error code's changed :S
Doesn't work for me :( [Hide]
OK fixed. That was terrible! I did *everything* on this page, even uninstalled the activex part. Then it told me to get it the hell back, so I did and it works. I don't know exactly what I did, but it works, no ads; so I guess I'm using your script :D TY