Restoring selected bookmarks

[Odin2]

I have a JSON file backing up my bookmarks. I'd like to restore only those bookmarks outside the bookmarks toolbar. Is this possible? If so, how?

[kerft]

Partial restore is kind of a pain. In the future always make an HTML bookmark export as well as the JSON files.
Make a new temporary Firefox profile, open it simultaneously by the open button at URL about:profiles. With them both running, in the new one restore the JSON. Then, in the new one's library, right click the folder you want to copy and click copy. In the old one library go to the desired place and paste. You can do ctrl-A to try to select multiple folders. To avoid copying a folder you don't want you can delete it in the new temporary profile first.
In some cases this could be useful - https://www.jeffersonscher.com/ffu/bookbackreader.html

[dickvl]

You can't use the clipboard to move over folders from one instance to another instance.
This is only possible with bookmarks.
For folders only the folder ID is on the clipboard.
Firefox does place text/html flavor on the clipboard that you can can paste in an HTML capable text editor to get folders and its content.
The HTML code you get is similar to what is used for an HTML backup (A HREF tags).

You can possibly export the bookmarks to an HTML backup and edit this file to remove the Bookmarks Toolbar folder (look for PERSONAL_TOOLBAR_FOLDER="true").
You can restore the JSON backup and re-import the HTML backup with the Bookmarks Toolbar folder you created before to restore.
Note that the Bookmarks Toolbar folder is a sub folder of the Bookmarks Menu folder in an HTML backup.

[Odin2]

Thanks very much, kerft and dickvl. I'm finally getting around to what appears to be a problematic solution--but if I can pull it off it will be a great help to me. Dickvl, you seem to be saying that kerft's suggestion won't work. Is that correct? You have made your own suggestion, but it's hard for me to follow. Would it be possible for you to provide step-by-step instructions?

[dickvl]

There is this tool that you can use to export the URLs from a JSON backup to an HTML backup.
https://www.jeffersonscher.com/res/bookbackreader.html
You can edit this HTML backup and remove the Bookmarks Toolbar folder content.
The Bookmarks Toolbar folder is a sub folder within the Bookmarks Menu folder.

Code: Select all

<DT><H3 PERSONAL_TOOLBAR_FOLDER="true" >Bookmarks Toolbar</H3>
  <DL><p>...</DL><p>

As long as you only have bookmarks and not folders you can easily use the clipboard to transfer selected bookmarks from one Firefox instance to another Firefox instance if you have both instances open (you need the -no-remote command line parameter).
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/Com ... ne_Options
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/Moz ... x_Profiles

[dfoulkes]

Odin2

Add to what others have posted... it might be good to post what you are trying (in the end) to accomplish.

I was thinking... maybe you removed some bookmarks and need them back... if that is the case you could always create a new profile, restore all the bookmarks into that new profile using whatever process others have suggested... and then you should have all those bookmarks in that new profile... you could always run both profiles at the same time... and open Show all Bookmarks in both profiles. Find the bookmark(s) that you want in your main profile and copy it... move to you main profile and paste it into your profile. This would work if you are just looking for a few bookmarks...not good of tons of bookmarks are needed.