Snow Leopard has brought a host of improvements to OS X, but Safari has been changed in one way that could ruin your day if you're used to using third-party plugins. Support for Input Managers has been removed in 64-bit Safari, which means that popular Safari plugins like Saft won't work.

Getting these plugins to work again in Safari is easy, but there is one tradeoff to keep in mind.

Re-enabling plugin support for Safari is as simple as forcing Safari to start up in 32-bit mode. When you choose "Get Info" on Safari, you'll notice a checkbox in the window that says "Open in 32-bit mode." Check this box.

That's it. Safari will now open in 32-bit mode, and any Input Manager plugins you were using before upgrading to Snow Leopard, like Saft or PithHelmet, should work just fine. Additionally, running Safari in 32-bit mode allows Multiclutch's custom trackpad gestures to work; these weren't working for me when I ran Safari in 64-bit mode, probably because Multiclutch is a 32-bit prefpane.

There's one caveat to running Safari in 32-bit mode: there's a tradeoff in stability. One of the features you gain by running Safari in 64-bit mode is that Safari will "sandbox" plugins like Flash, so if (when) Flash Player crashes, it doesn't take all of Safari down with it. This is because when Safari runs in 64-bit mode, plugins actually run as their own separate processes rather than being bundled up with Safari. But when Safari is run in 32-bit mode, Flash and other plugins work the old way, which means if (when) Flash crashes, so will Safari.



If you can't live without your plugins (and I can't – Safari without Multiclutch or PithHelmet is like a day without sunshine), then the small sacrifice in stability you'll suffer by running Safari in 32-bit mode is probably going to be worth it to you.

Note: if you're running anything that runs off the SIMBL input manager plugin like Saft or PithHelmet, you might have to take a few extra steps to get things running properly in Safari on Snow Leopard. This procedure is specifically tailored toward getting PithHelmet running, but the steps for Saft should be similar (Procedure courtesy of versiontracker.com user tech.bear).

As many Mac users already know, Saft is the "Swiss-Army Knife" of web browser plug-ins. Some of the most loved features in Saft include: full screen browsing, tab thumbnails, and auto-hiding the download window.

Much to the chagrin of fans, Saft was "broken" inadvertently by a recent Apple security update. Thankfully, Saft 10.0.4 was able to regain support for Safari 3.0.4. Saft is a wonderful plug-in for Safari; if you haven't taken a look lately, try downloading the free trial.

You can download Saft as a trial version or get a full license for $12.

[via DownloadSquad]

Back when we were worried about Input Managers in Leopard, the biggest cause of concern for me was the potential loss of Saft, the absolutely essential plugin for Safari from Hao Li. Well now that the situation has settled down (at least for the time being), Hao has released a new version of Saft 10.0.1 that conforms to the new Input Manager restrictions in Leopard. It has basically the same features as before, but is now compatible with Safari 3.0.4 in Leopard. He originally released Saft 10.0 as a Safari launcher (which actually didn't work for me), but the new 10.0.1 version allows it to run as an Input Manager and works like a charm.

Saft 10.0.1 is $12 to buy or $6 to upgrade from the Tiger version. A demo is also available. As far as I'm concerned, it's worth every penny (and then some).

Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

Every heavy user of Safari I spoke to said the same thing about the Safari 3 beta, 'it is great, but I sure do miss Saft.' Saft, for those who don't know, is a great Safari add on that enables lots of new features for the browser including:

• Full screen mode
• Smart URL completion
• Growl support

Plus lots more. Well, Safari 3 beta users jonseing for some Saft love need not moan any longer. Saft has been updated for use with the Beta, so get to downloading.

Saft costs $6.

[via the Ubergeeks]

There's a disturbing rumor floating around the Mac web today. According to this article at Infinite Loop, Leopard will no longer support Input Manager hacks. Input Managers allow programmers to insert code into cocoa applications, thus allowing the addition of new functionality. etc. These are somewhat controversial as some claim this is a potential security hole. Nonetheless, Jon Hicks brings this up in connection to my absolute favorite input manager plugin, Saft for Safari, which will presumably be rendered non-functional in Leopard. As Hicks notes, its not clear yet whether this also affect the widely used SIMBL plugin architecture (whose author, Pith Helmet developer Mike Solomon, says he won't be sure until he can play with Leopard). If, like me, you're a big fan of Saft and SafariStand and Chax, etc. this is cause for concern.

It is to be hoped, of course, that the authors of the various plugins will find some other way of implementing their feature enhancements, even if Apple does close the Input Manager route. The best thing would be for Apple to implement an open plugin architecture for doing this sort of enhancement, but I won't be holding my breath on that one. In any case, this is a potential concern for those of us sure to upgrade to Leopard right after it launches.

Hao Li is at it again with a new version of Saft, quite possibly the Safari plugin that deserves to go the route of CoverFlow. If you aren't familiar with Saft's extensive and constantly evolving feature set, check out our past coverage to get familiar. This latest v8.3.5 update features:

• New feature: Option to block auto-completion in the location field
• Improvement: Customizable format of the dated download folder
• Improvement: Nicer tab thumbnails

This is a free upgrade for registered users and is available from Hao Li's site.

PimpMySafari noticed that Saft, a vital Safari plug-in, has been updated to version 8.3.0. New and updated features include:

• New feature: AutoComplete always on
• New feature: Tab thumbnails (like Shiira’s Tab Expose, not Omniweb style)
• Improvement: Also restore tab history when undoing closing tab
• Improvement: Undo support for closing other tabs

Saft is available from haoli and sells for $12 for either Panther or Tiger, though the Tiger version is the only one being updated. A demo is available, but if you're already an owner, you can snag the 8.3.0 upgrade from haoli's Saft for Tiger download page.

Since I'm on spring break and the only destination I have in sight is my couch, I figured it would be a good time to wipe my Macs since I haven't done it in a while. This time around, I decided to learn how to create a clean backup image with Carbon Copy Cloner, but this post isn't about my adventures in getting responsible and efficient with backups. It's more about the fact that I just noticed Saft offers some really handy new tab abilities in Safari that I don't think we've mentioned on TUAW.

I guess since version 8.2.6 (it's up to 8.2.8 now) Saft has offered new options for tab placement that you can see in my screenshot. These can really come in handy, depending on your behavior with surfing/researching on the web and how you manage tabs.

Add Saft to your list of universal binary apps, as a recent update to version 8.2.5 can be run on those smokin' new Intel iMacs and MacBook Pros. In addition to UB support, Saft has also gained a few new features such as creating dated folders for organizing downloads, reversed tab order (anyone know what this one means?), a shortcut for Look Up in Dictionary as well as a Danish localization.

As usual, version 8.2.5 is a free upgrade for registered users.

I was bumming last night when I discovered that the latest Apple Security Update, which included a Safari micro-rev, broke Saft. Imagine my joy this morning when I awoke to Saft v8.1.1. The latest version adds support for  Safari 2.0 (412.2.2), improves ad blocking features, fixes a bug or two, and adds a warning before you close a window with multiple tabs open.

If you don't already own Saft, you really need to download it right away and at least try it. Don't you trust us?

When it comes to Safari-enhancing plugins / applications, I like Saft. I'm always on the look out for improvements, and a few came today in the form of Saft version 8.1.0.

For all of you who never used Saft, because you didn't want to give up the ad-blocking features you enjoyed with PithHelmet, you'll be glad to know that you can now use Saft for "Ad/banner blocking with simple URL pattern matching." Just don't block our ads. I need to buy some new socks...

There's also a Finnish localization and more support for surfing in porn mode. You can download it here. There's a demo available, it's a free upgrade if you're already running Saft, and it only runs $12USD if you decide to buy it. If you still need convincing that it's worth the money, make sure you read over all its features.