If you're like me, and you want to look up information about a particular anime series or movie, or voice actor, or even which fansubbing group releases a particular series, there is only one website to visit: AnimeNfo.
AnimeNfo has a very large database on just about every aspect of an anime series. It's not always up to date with the latest releases, but it is continously updated by fans for fans.
To be able to quickly look up information from within your browser, I have created the AnimeNfo Toolbar. With this toolbar, you can do searches from within the Internet Explorer. It's a 'helper DLL', and it comes with its own installation script. It only works for Win98+ (98,ME,2K,XP) and Internet Explorer 5+.
If you, like me, use the excellent Firefox browser, then the IE extensions will be of no use to you. However, that doesn't mean you are left with the slow route -- in fact, the procedure is much easier!
Take the following steps:
Aren't you putting an extra strain on the AnimeNfo server?
No, I am not. The toolbar uses the exact same search mechanism as the site itself -- in fact, the server can't see the difference between a request from the search form on the site and a search from the toolbar. Rather, it is the other way around: because people can search from the toolbar, they don't have to navigate to the site itself before doing a search, resulting in less traffic for the site!
How do I install the toolbar?
Download the install-file here, save to disk and execute the installer.
How do I get rid of the toolbar?
Close all IE windows, and remove the toolbar normally via the 'Add/Remove Programs' item in the control panel.
Neat! How do you make those toolbars?
I followed the tutorial found here. If you know what you're doing, it's actually quite easy. If you don't know what you're doing, it'll take you a bit longer to get your toolbar up and running.