Suggestion regarding Export/Import Bookmarks from HTML

Discussion of features in Mozilla Firefox
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Grand Dizzy
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Joined: February 28th, 2005, 3:57 pm

Suggestion regarding Export/Import Bookmarks from HTML

Post by Grand Dizzy »

I've just tried using Export / Import Bookmarks from HTML and found its behavior confusing.

For Export, I expected it to export only the selected bookmarks, but instead it exported my entire bookmarks collection.

For Import, I expected it to import them to the current folder, but instead it imported them into a folder in the Bookmarks menu. It took me a long time to find it since I wasn't told they would be placed there and I never look in the Bookmarks menu normally.

I think this is confusing, and I would like to suggest the following (in the hope that someone from Mozilla reads this):

1. Change the name of the menu command to "Export all Bookmarks to HTML…"

2. On importing bookmarks, display a message stating where the bookmarks have been imported to, or allow the user to choose where they go.
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dfoulkes
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Re: Suggestion regarding Export/Import Bookmarks from HTML

Post by dfoulkes »

Maybe brushing up on that area will help you...

....BTW ... I just tested something... when you click on Export bookmarks it opens up a file-manager type display to let the user choose the location for the exported file... BUT at the top of that display it displays 'Export Bookmarks file' ... kind of says it all.

http://kb.mozillazine.org/Export_bookmarks

http://kb.mozillazine.org/Import_bookmarks

Mozilla very rarely come here.. have you searched on AMO for something you need?
As you can see she's (The CAT) always alert and on the prowl for Meoware !!
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the-edmeister
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Re: Suggestion regarding Export/Import Bookmarks from HTML

Post by the-edmeister »

Firefox has never had a feature when a user could "export" a selection of bookmarks, and IMO thinking that Mozilla should relabel that menu item is asinine, considering that your signup date for this forum is 28 Feb 2005.

There is a "trick" to doing that which has been posted in this forum many times, but I got my own way of doing that and never added that "trick" to my "bag of tricks" / Clippings file.

I open the exported bookmarks.html file in Firefox.
Then I use the edit page bookmarklet from here https://www.squarefree.com/bookmarklets ... #edit_page which enables the designMode mode in Firefox.
Then I highlight and delete all the bookmarks that I don't want.
Save the "edited" bookmarks.html.
Then import that edited file.

As far as where the "imported" bookmarks end up, it works the way it works. iirc, it has always been the Bookmarks Menu folder where the imported bookmarks.html file ended up.
IMO, too complicated to have it the way you would like it to be; bookmarks.html format is so "old school" now, and it may not be around for much longer. Many versions ago the default bookmarks that come with Firefox were taken out of the bookmarks.html file format; AND a bookmarks.html file is no longer automatically created in the Profile folder as it was for many years when a new Profile was created. It still is possible to enable the bookmark.html format for the Profile folder, and have that bookmarks.html file save / "export" new bookmarks as it did for so many years - but I can see the "handwriting on the wall", some day it may just be gone. Legacy formats don't last forever and with the way Mozilla has been removing API's and files in recent years ...

IMO, the "end" of the bookmarks.html file format was "seeded" all the way back in June 2008 with Firefox 3.0 when the Places scheme was instituted to replace bookmarks.html for bookmarks storage. I'll be surprised if it still around in and way, shape, or form come 2018.
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Drumbrake
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Re: Suggestion regarding Export/Import Bookmarks from HTML

Post by Drumbrake »

the-edmeister wrote:Firefox has never had a feature when a user could "export" a selection of bookmarks
But it should definitely have it, it's outrageous IMHO that we still have no way at all to merge bookmarks from different profiles : the json (or this new jsonlz4 format) will overwrite everything, whilst the html file will import everything (creating an enormity of duplicates) and put the imported bookmarks in a random place in the library that you will have to find.
the-edmeister wrote:There is a "trick" to doing that which has been posted in this forum many times, but I got my own way of doing that and never added that "trick" to my "bag of tricks"


I've read about it and then forgot again: could you post a link to that?

As for the end of the html format for bookmarks, it would be all good *if* the json/jsonlz4 format would be capable of merging bookmarks instead of simply overwriting: as of now, we have no such option - and that's stupid considering how many users have several profiles and can't merge the bookmarks in single profile.

As of now, if I don't intend to lose my bookmarks or create a gigantic mess of duplicates, the only option I have is to keep my separate profiles each with its own bookmarks.
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dfoulkes
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Re: Suggestion regarding Export/Import Bookmarks from HTML

Post by dfoulkes »

Thankfully I don't have to mess with multi profiles with multi bookmarks... but in the rare occasion where I want to ...maybe... copy a number of bookmarks from my main profile to say... a test profile or?? .... here is what I do.

1st. I have both profiles open...

.... In that Test profile I create a folder while in the library ... I just name it something basic for now.... Play or Test or ??? does not matter.
.... In my main profile I get into the library and I can highlight some bookmarks (in a folder), right click and copy... then move over to that Test profile, right-click on that new folder and paste. One thing it does not do is bring over icons... no big deal... If I need the icon... I just visit the site.
.... If say I want to copy all bookmarks that contain the word 'weather' I just type that word in the search bar of the library... all bookmarks containing 'weather' are listed... a CTRL+A highlights all of them... I right-click/copy... go to my target folder in that Test profile... right click and paste.

There are other variations of the above that a user can do... like placing a '//' into the search window and you have just about all of your bookmarks...maybe even use Tags???

I don't do much beyond that kind of stuff but it does help me when I want a group of bookmarks copied from one profile to the other.
As you can see she's (The CAT) always alert and on the prowl for Meoware !!
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the-edmeister
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Re: Suggestion regarding Export/Import Bookmarks from HTML

Post by the-edmeister »

Drumbrake:

I have searched thru my postings here a bit - 935 pages of 30 each - just too many to find those "tricks" threads. There must be some breakage in the older parts of the database, too many threads I wanted to view wouldn't display. I'm sure that I would have posted at least an inane comment in those types of threads or asked a question, that's why I tried to look thru my posting history here rather than doing a global search by "word".

Two approaches will work to be able to "import" only those bookmarks that you want.
One - export in html format and delete the the bookmarks that you don't want to "import" to another Firefox installation.
bookmarks.html files are basically text files. Export in HTML format and edit out the bookmarks that you don't want to merge with another Firefox installation. As long as the <!DOCTYPE NETSCAPE-Bookmark-file-1> statement remains at the top of the bookmarks.html file Firefox will import all the bookmarks that are within that file. Any DL & DT "tags" missing further down the html file shouldn't make a difference other than with the folder hierarchy level. I guess you could call it self-repairing. But that <!DOCTYPE ...> has to be there, that's how Firefox recognizes that file as an html file with bookmarks in it.

I used to speed that process up by viewing an exported bookmarks.html file inside Firefox and then toggling the designMode using the bookmarklet - which still works. Then highlight and delete the bookmarks / folder
that I don't want to "import" elsewwhere. Then save the edited bookmarks.html file.
Main advantage as I see it - Favicon images do get imported.

Two
Basically, this is how I recall that "trick". Basically what Doug explained.

In the Library > Bookmarks you can open a folder of bookmarks and in the right-pane click on one bookmark, and then do { Ctrl + A } to highlight all the bookmarks showing there, then right-click and use Copy. Then Paste those bookmarks into a text editor. Then add the <!DOCTYPE NETSCAPE-Bookmark-file-1> to the top and save it with an html suffix.
Downside - only URL's are copied, Favicon inages aren't.


Ed
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dfoulkes
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Re: Suggestion regarding Export/Import Bookmarks from HTML

Post by dfoulkes »

That part 2 is close to what I've done...(above) but I found that just the copy from one profile and then pasting it into the other profile works (no icons) ... seem that it gets all stuff needed.... but glad that I don't do that often.
As you can see she's (The CAT) always alert and on the prowl for Meoware !!
Alfred001
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Re: Suggestion regarding Export/Import Bookmarks from HTML

Post by Alfred001 »

So is there a way to import bookmarks into a particular folder?
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the-edmeister
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Re: Suggestion regarding Export/Import Bookmarks from HTML

Post by the-edmeister »

Alfred001 wrote:So is there a way to import bookmarks into a particular folder?
No. "Import Bookmarks from HTML" places the imported bookmarks in the Bookmarks Menu folder, which is the main folder for storing bookmarks.

If you use "Import Data from Another Browser..." the imported bookmarks will end up in a folder named "From Chrome" (or IE, the browser imported from) and that folder will be in the Bookmarks Menu folder. iirc, the "From Internet Explorer / Chrome" folder can be renamed - although I haven't done that in like 15 years.

Also, after either "Import" you can "drag" bookmarks or folders containing bookmarks to a different location; or use "cut n paste" to rearrange bookmarks to where you want them.

.
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