bookmark sharing and archiving with Firefox ... sigh

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danll
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Joined: March 2nd, 2010, 4:20 pm

bookmark sharing and archiving with Firefox ... sigh

Post by danll »

Boy, it used to be that the way to share and archive bookmarks with Firefox was definitively Xmarks. That used to work great. Now, at least with FF 56, it does not work at all. At least the standard 4.4 Xmarks doesn't. You can download from the Mozilla site some strange update to Xmarks (4.5.0.1a) which sorta works, but doesn't share bookmark separators. Crapola. So hey, Firefox Sync used to be a pile of trash, long ago. Didn't work, actually screwed up bookmarks etc. Now it seems to work fine. Though like the new Xmarks, it seems to only save ONE version of your bookmarks. A library of bookmarks from last week or last month appears to be no longer available.

C'mon Firefox and Xmarks. Is this really that hard? Things are supposed to get better with time, not worse.

Edit: It actually looks like FF Sync DOES keep old versions of your bookmarks with "Restore". My mistake. But that option in Xmarks seems to have disappeared.
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the-edmeister
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Re: bookmark sharing and archiving with Firefox ... sigh

Post by the-edmeister »

XMarks is a 3rd party service and extension for Firefox. It is up to the owners of XMarks to keep it compatible with Firefox and update it as necessary.

The Bookmarks Restore feature has nothing to do with Sync. "Restore" is part of Firefox, using the automatic backup feature in Firefox - 16 'daily' backups are saved.

That said, don't use Sync and Xmarks together; many users have reported 'trashed' bookmarks as a result of using both.
A mind is a terrible thing to waste. Mine has wandered off and I'm out looking for it.
danll
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Re: bookmark sharing and archiving with Firefox ... sigh

Post by danll »

Thank you for the correction. Yes, "Restore" isn't part of FF Sync.

Well, Xmarks used to work a treat. I have to believe that the Xmarks 4.5.0.1a is a beta version.
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malliz
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Re: bookmark sharing and archiving with Firefox ... sigh

Post by malliz »

So complain to Xmarks they have a bad reputation for being late with updates
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danll
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Re: bookmark sharing and archiving with Firefox ... sigh

Post by danll »

I'm complaining here, because this is a forum for Firefox users, many of whom use Xmarks (because the original Firefox Sync was pathetic). I'm not aiming my complaint at Firefox. Maybe other Firefox users will do the same!
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the-edmeister
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Re: bookmark sharing and archiving with Firefox ... sigh

Post by the-edmeister »

Dlester99 wrote:I'm complaining here, because this is a forum for Firefox users, many of whom use Xmarks (because the original Firefox Sync was pathetic). I'm not aiming my complaint at Firefox. Maybe other Firefox users will do the same!
You're singing to the choir. A lot of us here at mozillaZIne have our own complaints - just look at all the non-current Firefox versions and SeaMonkey browsers that we are using when we post here. The difference between us and you is that we "saw the light" years ago when this nonsense started and adapted in our own way.
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danll
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Re: bookmark sharing and archiving with Firefox ... sigh

Post by danll »

Um, you mean you moved to Chrome? Sorry about that.
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lovemyfoxy
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Re: bookmark sharing and archiving with Firefox ... sigh

Post by lovemyfoxy »

No, they either stayed with an older FF, a Nightly or ESR or moved to SeaMonkey. You can't customize Chrome much, and it's just a huge piece of spyware for Google. We'll all have to adjust.

@the-edmeister--
They announced it 8 years ago?
2 Desktops--Win 7 Ult.SP1 x64/6GB RAM /Firefox 52.9ESR/Waterfox64 2022.11/Thunderbird 52.9ESR/BitWarden PW Manager/Verizon FIOS wired network
sealkit
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Re: bookmark sharing and archiving with Firefox ... sigh

Post by sealkit »

Questions arising for those security aware people who are:
a. not yet decided whether the new chromium extensions will suffice their needs in FF
b. not ready to jump out of FF mainstream or to get a half year delay by shifting to ESR edition

1. Looks like Xmarks after v4.4.1 does not include Own Server functionality anymore. Was it finally dropped out of all Xmarks plugins for FF at last?

2. Those using FF Sync:
2.1. are you generally satisfied?
2.2. does Sync respect FF own or its add-ons proxy settings, so it doesn't try to connect directly with FF sync servers?
2.3. what is the current state of Sync architecture, does it allow decrypting bookmark data on the servers, do we have any guarantees in that regard (all sync parts are and will remain open-sourced, etc.)?

3. Anyone knows if we have (or soon will) an alternative solution to sync bookmarks on our own servers? Is it possible to implement Xmarks v4.4.1, including or even just limiting exclusively to own server functionality, by rewriting just user interface to suit new plugin requirements?
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the-edmeister
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Re: bookmark sharing and archiving with Firefox ... sigh

Post by the-edmeister »

sealkit wrote:2. Those using FF Sync:
2.1. are you generally satisfied?
2.2. does Sync respect FF own or its add-ons proxy settings, so it doesn't try to connect directly with FF sync servers?
2.3. what is the current state of Sync architecture, does it allow decrypting bookmark data on the servers, do we have any guarantees in that regard (all sync parts are and will remain open-sourced, etc.)?
IMO, Sync sucks big time, I gave up on it a few years ago.

You can run your own Sync server. I have never investigated running my own Sync server so I can't provide any insight.

No, encryption and decryption is done on the device; data stays encrypted as it flows to the sync server, while the data is on the sync server, and as it is sent 'back' to each device. That is a primary design feature of Sync. Yes, Sync is all open-source, that's what Mozilla is and does - open source software, and based upon Mozilla mission charter that ain't gonna change.
A mind is a terrible thing to waste. Mine has wandered off and I'm out looking for it.
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lovemyfoxy
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Re: bookmark sharing and archiving with Firefox ... sigh

Post by lovemyfoxy »

I gave up on sync too. I have a low-tech solution. If I'm traveling, I carry my bookmarks in an HTML file on a flash drive. You can click links right in the file. If I change the bookmarks, I replace the file with a new one.
2 Desktops--Win 7 Ult.SP1 x64/6GB RAM /Firefox 52.9ESR/Waterfox64 2022.11/Thunderbird 52.9ESR/BitWarden PW Manager/Verizon FIOS wired network
sealkit
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Re: bookmark sharing and archiving with Firefox ... sigh

Post by sealkit »

Those who gave up on FF Sync, are you referring to recent problems with syncing between several machines or platforms, or that was your experience from the past?

Also, is Sync still working with JSON files? Looking into those 15 automatic backups FF does for bookmarks for backup/restore functionality, those are json files having no icon data. HTML version, on the other hand, have bookmark icons data. Am I wrong in that Sync still doesn't perserve thumbnails/favicons with bookmarks?
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