Some questions about the Bookmark file

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ineuw
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Joined: March 19th, 2006, 4:17 pm
Location: Québec, Canada

Some questions about the Bookmark file

Post by ineuw »

What is the size limit of the Firefox Bookmarks?

What can cause corruption of the files?

Which is the preferable archive HTML or JSON?

I also noticed that Chrome/Chromium/Vivaldi all readily import Mozilla HTML format for their bookmarks. Is it a standard?

Thanks for any info.
Firefox 115.0.2 (default install) in Linux Mint 21.2 Cinnamon 64 bit, updated on 2023-07-31 00:05
lenny2
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Joined: June 8th, 2022, 3:10 am

Re: Some questions about the Bookmark file

Post by lenny2 »

ineuw wrote:Which is the preferable archive HTML or JSON?
The HTML bookmark file can be imported into any browser, and the imported bookmarks are added to existing bookmarks (old bookmarks + bookmarks from the import will be there).
JSON file is a proprietary format of Firefox, it cannot be used with other browsers. Restoring bookmarks from JSON completely replaces existing bookmarks (will be only bookmarks from json).
Also bookmarks are contained in file places.sqlite, this file can be used for backups/recovery of bookmarks.
favicons.sqlite - bookmark icons.
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BruceAWittmeier
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Re: Some questions about the Bookmark file

Post by BruceAWittmeier »

ineuw wrote:What is the size limit of the Firefox Bookmarks? Don't know if there is one - I have a 20MB bookmarks file.

What can cause corruption of the files? I suspect lots of possibilities - not shutting down properly

Which is the preferable archive HTML or JSON? - HTML - you can view your bookmarks.html file in your browser

I also noticed that Chrome/Chromium/Vivaldi all readily import Mozilla HTML format for their bookmarks. Is it a standard? HTML is most universal

Thanks for any info.
There are a couple options to clean up a bookmarks.html file

Tidy - Free utility to clean up html code
https://www.w3.org/People/Raggett/tidy/

Validator - accepts HTML and validates the syntax - displays errors and description on how to fix
For local files use Validate by Direct Input tab specifying the path to your bookmarks.html file
https://validator.w3.org/

KompoZer - Free program to build html web pages - has an IDE Design Mode editor (view as the browser should display) and - it also will force corrections each time a file is loaded if the file contains errors. It will not tell you what the errors are. Also has Source tab (at bottom right) to view the raw HTML.
https://sourceforge.net/projects/kompozer/

Composer in SeaMonkey - Displays the HTML file as a series of links - also has in the Menu View > HTML - I am not too familiar with this program.
https://www.seamonkey-project.org/releases/

Geany - Free HTML editor - I am not too familiar with this program
https://www.geany.org/


I frequently backup my bookmarks using HTML with the Firefox menu option and append the date to keep a few copies for safety.

My recommendation is save Bookmarks as HTML.
I recommend KompoZer - I have used it for about 20 years and is very reliable.
The way I use KompoZer is install the program. Once installed you can drag/drop an html file onto the Icon and it will start the program and load the file.
I then save the file adding Kom to the file name to identify it has been cleaned.
You can then delete all your bookmarks in Firefox Bookmarks menu completely and import the bookmarksKom.HTML to restore the corrected file.
I often take a long windy road to my destination. Upon arrival, I wonder how I missed the shortcut.
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ineuw
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Joined: March 19th, 2006, 4:17 pm
Location: Québec, Canada

Re: Some questions about the Bookmark file

Post by ineuw »

Many thanks to everyone for the gems of knowledge.
Firefox 115.0.2 (default install) in Linux Mint 21.2 Cinnamon 64 bit, updated on 2023-07-31 00:05
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