Save a bookmark nuisance : Help!

[kevs]

When I save a bookmark, FF, brings up a box, and in that box is list of folders. Often one folder in this little box is open and expanded.
They should all be closed. I'll check, and all my folders and subfolders are closed indeed.

The nuisance expanded folder, clutters up this tiny box and makes it harder to place the new bookmark.

Any way to solve this long running nuisance. Thanks!

[jscher2000]

Is Firefox highlighting the last folder you saved in? Or is there any other pattern?

I can't think of any quick way to close all the folders in the list box at once.

If you click the top level folder (Bookmarks Toolbar, Bookmarks Folder) and press the left arrow key, that folder hierarchy will close, but Firefox seems to remembers whether folders under that hierarchy were expanded or collapsed, so pressing the right arrow key (or clicking) to expand it again will likely fill the box.

[kevs]

J
When I do the save bookmark, in tiny box, FF has a random folder expanded, not that last one used, and no logic to it. This have been going on for years. Super nuisance. I would love the trick to get that folder in there to collapse. And it does not correspond at all to when you check your folder bookmarks to see what is open or expanded.

Conversely, I WOULD LOVE if FF would remember last folder save bookmarked to. Often very often, I'll google something as then save 5-6 bookmarks to the same folder, and still I have to tediously navigate to that folder each time.

[jscher2000]

If you want to re-use one of the last 5 folders, it should be on the recent folders drop-down. Usually that drop-down says "Other Bookmarks" but if you click it, there should be 9 options:

* The three main containers
* Choose
* Five most recent folders

In my case, since I mostly leave stuff in Other Bookmarks, that list isn't very current, but in your case, it could be helpful.

[kevs]

Thanks J, that does help. I've always never understood what other bookmarks was! Pity, they don't called it 'most recent".

That said, when you do menu, show all bookmarks, what is expanded, there does not correspond to what is expanded when you do save bookmarks, correct?

[the-edmeister]

Thanks J, that does help. I've always never understood what other bookmarks was! Pity, they don't called it 'most recent".

That 'title' for a folder could be confusing now-a-days. There is a Recent Highlights category / folder / listing in the Show history, saved bookmarks, and more drop-down menu button; that Recent Highlights is a combination of history and saved bookmarks AFAIK.

IMO, Mozilla confused the situation when they changed Unsorted Bookmarks to "Other Bookmarks" with Quantum - that "Unsorted" folder was used for 'quick saving' of a bookmark where the user didn't place the new bookmark in a specific folder; used more like a 'junk drawer' to sort thru later and then categorize into folders - or not to categorize.

That said, when you do menu, show all bookmarks, what is expanded, there does not correspond to what is expanded when you do save bookmarks, correct?

Show All Bookmarks is the Library window display for "Places"; bookmarks, browsing history. downloads history, and tags. Tags is a somewhat recent change / addition, but the other 3 have been in the left column of the Library since Firefox 3.0 in June 2008 and the Library window has not changed very much at all over the last 10 years.

And the dialog box / window for "Save" a new bookmark has been changed a few times over the years; and has served to provide user confusion from time to time as the developers have fiddled with minor changes and haven't changed the appearance of that dialog in any major manner. iirc, Firefox 4.0, 29 Australis, 40-something, and 57 Quantum have been when those changes have provoked confusion.

Tip: When going to save a new bookmark - open the Bookmarks Sidebar via the keyboard command, peruse your folder structure and select the 'target' folder; then drag'n'drop the Tab into the folder you want the new bookmark placed within. Takes getting used to a new routine, but sure saves time when looking for the folder you want in the long run, and is less aggravating when Mozilla changes things once again. I have been doing that since Places landed in Firefox 3.0; just wish I knew about "drag'n'drop" for saving bookmarks back in 2002 thru 2007, although "Bookmarks" was a lot less confusing in the early years of Firefox / Firebird / Phoenix.

[kevs]

ED, Very cool tip. Cmnd D was for save bookmark, Cmnd B to open up sidebar, same, one keystroke.

But I like your method because the sidebar is nice and long, whereas, the other way is this tiny box.

There used to be an add on that made a nice long box, but it always had issues...

Ah... but your method, does not have the 5 recent folders that I see with normal save bookmark, which shows 5 recent folders under other bookmarks..?

Finally Any idea why, (original post), why with normal method, save bookmark, FF is showing expanded folder (nusisance) when those folders are not expanded. Thanks!

[the-edmeister]

Finally Any idea why, (original post), why with normal method, save bookmark, FF is showing expanded folder (nusisance) when those folders are not expanded. Thanks!

I can't answer that accurately; I gave up on the "normal method" in Places long before Firefox 3.0 was released, during the alpha Minefield development stage as Firefox 3.0 was being developed. (Minefield is the original name for what is now called "Nightly" sometime after Firefox 4.0 hit Release.)

With the little I spent over the intervening years playing with that feature to try to provide support or answers to other users as how that feature worked or works, (iirc) the exact action or response was changed once or twice which did confuse some users over the changes. For me the "wrong" folders always seemed to appear for me; and I never tried to try to figure out what the folders that Firefox decided to display coincided with as far as "last used" or by domain relationship or other - that POS feature was beneath my time to try to understand.

Also, that drag'n;drop method works far beyond the Bookmarks Sidebar, users can use that to the Bookmarks Toolbar and to with of the Bookmarks Menu drop-downs; the Bookmarks Menu Bar 'word' and the Navigation Toolbar button. although the action of those two for opening the drop-down menu can be very squirrely when it comes to opening the 2nd, 3rd, & subsequent levels of folders - overshoot your intended target location by a "ch" and the Menu drop-down will close abruptly forcing you to try again. That's why I stuck with the Bookmarks Sidebar along with an extension named Bookmarks Sidebar Scroll Retainer (which is no longer available) to have the Sidebar hold its position for as long as Firefox was open; closing the Sidebar didn't reset the position to the top when I closed the Sidebar. Lost that extension with Firefox 44 when Extension Signing was enforced; prior to that I kept 'bumping' that extension to keep it working.

[kevs]

Hey Ed, I just tested for first time dragging into the bookmarks Toolbar (which I keep at the top forever), and that works. So I don't even need sidebar.
But it would be great if one folder in the toolbar was recent folders saved too......
Again, sometimes I am shopping and I save 7-8 bookmarks into a specific folder that is nested three deep....

PS What is Bookmarks Menu? And why can't I delete it, clutter.
And if I'm not going to use Other Booksmarks, I'd like to delete that too, but can't seem to.

BTW, you also use Synkmark to sort; or something else?

[the-edmeister]

Bookmarks Menu is where all bookmarks are stored. That is a "smart folder" as is the Other Bookmarks folder and the Bookmarks Toolbar folder. Delete any of those three and you break the Bookmarks folder system from what I have seen posted.

I have rarely used the Bookmarks Toolbar folder. I place higher value on the extra space at the top of the browser window than having a dozen or so bookmarks showing all the time. The Tab Strip and the Navigation Toolbar are all I have ever felt the need for as long as I have used Firefox. So. the Bookmarks Sidebar has been my "go to" since I started using Firefox in 2002. And before that the Favorites Sidebar is what I used in IE5.0 and 5.5 which helped with my transition to Firefox (actually Phoenix was the name at that time).

Never heard of "Synkmark" before, but I have played with the Firefox Sync service quite a bit. I don't really have a need for a service such as that; no Smart phone and currently just one desktop PC.

[kevs]

I don't see anything in Bookmark menu, (or other) No option to delete it anyway, so it's just clutter to have it there really showing.

I only use Bookmark Toolbar, forever, so handy right at top row. I have 27" imac.

What is The Tab Strip and the Navigation Toolbar? (another way to say, Sidebar bookmarks -- oh. so you leave sidebar there all time? But that takes up way more space (2"), than a tiny toolbar on the top!

You don't alphabetize your bookmarks?

Final Q - Turns out your dragging method, which is cool to know,thanks, leaves out a great feature, just noticed, when doing save book mark (command D, with box), what is an elegant way to describe that method? With that method I use often the little + symbol on the bottom left to add a new folder...Don't have that with drag method correct?

[the-edmeister]

Tab strip is the "tab bar" and the Navigation Toolbar is where the Location Bar. toolbar buttons, and add-on buttons are located. I open and close the Bookmarks Sidebar as needed from the keyboard, but if I had a 27" monitor I would probably leave it open all the time.

Alphabetize bookmarks? Sometimes yes for specific areas of my bookmarks list, but overall - NO. The alpha sort is crap in that the sort doesn't go into the folders; each folder would need to be sorted individually.

That + symbol feature isn't necessarily "left out" of drag'n'drop IMO; drag'n'drop for saving new bookmarks is a hidden or undocumented feature that few users ever find them self. I didn't find it myself either, I saw it mentioned here in a support thread around the time of Firefox 0.8 or 0.9 and have been using it since.

[kevs]

Thanks Ed, and then how do you make your new bookmark folders?

[the-edmeister]

Right-click in the bookmarks where I want the new folder to be placed and use the New Bookmark ... menu item.

[GeraldB]

Helpful discussion; thank you to all.