Re: [Hendrix] Bookmarks and Smart Bookmarks
David McRitchie
has been marked follow-up to mozilla.support.firefox
which is where questions are posted and answered by
by Firefox users.
> I've been testing Firefox 4 beta for over a month now, and have just
> replaced it with the 4RC to see if you had addressed my main problem
> with Firefox: 1) The inability to sort bookmarks; and 2) your "bookmark
> toolbar". I've used Opera for the last 5 years and wanted to give
> Firefox a shot. Given my recent experience with Firefox, I'm switching
> back to Opera, thanks.
>
> Why?
>
> 1) No matter how I try to get my bookmarks and smart bookmarks to sort,
> there is no permanent, smart way to do it. I set up my smart bookmarks,
> sort them, save them, and invariably they are displayed on the bookmark
> toolbar with all my bookmarks in some randomly determined order. Call
> me anal, but I get used to seeing my bookmarks in alphabetical order,
> just crazy.
>
> 2) Your bookmark toolbar is silly. Take a look at how Opera's bookmark
> toolbar works: In the regular bookmarks section, you choose which
> folders or bookmarks you would like MIRRORED on the bookmark toolbar.
> The key here is that it is MIRRORED. It's not a separate system. When
> I am on the internet and want to add a bookmark to one of my most
> commonly used folders (which I generally have as visible on the
> toolbar), I just click on the relevant folder on the toolbar and click
> on "add bookmark", and the bookmark is added to that folder. Because it
> is MIRRORED (I keep capitalizing this because you don't seem to get it),
> this change is also reflected in my main bookmarks. I don't have to
> worry about managing two separate systems, which is basically what your
> bookmarks and bookmarks toolbar are, separate systems. This duality is
> unnecessary, confusing and time consuming.
>
> So much as I did enjoy firefox in many other ways (the skins, the
> add-ons for functionality, appearance and making surfing cleaner), I
> have to leave you now because similar to traveling, I can't work or play
> on the internet without my maps (bookmarks), and you've done a bad job
> at this aspect of the browser. Sorry! // Stein
>
> Browser Details: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 5.1; rv:2.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/4.0
> Note to readers: Hendrix gives no expectation of a response to this feedback
> but if you wish to provide one you must BCC (not CC) the sender for them to
> see it
This, of course, has nothing to do with Firefox 4, it is all old stuff. Had you
posted for help in mozilla.support.firefox you would have had your solution
a year ago.
Firefox is customizable, you can change configuration variables, use extensions,
use styles, use options, use customization. The bad part is that when Mozilla
changes Firefox, everyone has to add in additional code to each of their extensions
to replace what Mozilla removed, or to handle an additional version of Firefox.
You have the same problem to a lesser degree if it is all in one application.
Sorting Bookmarks - Firefox
Sorting of your bookmarks is easy, change options so that it is not automatic.
Automatic sorting will drive you crazy if you try to immediately change a
bookmark you just created, or wanted to review your latest added bookmarks.
SortPlaces -- https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/sortplaces/
see my notes on extensions, there would be notes for SortPlaces
http://www.mvps.org/dmcritchie/firefox/firefox.htm#sortplaces
also see the MozillaZine article
http://kb.mozillazine.org/Sorting_and_rearranging_bookmarks_-_Firefox
Please note use of bookmark separators as well as folders.
Bookmark Orientation - Firefox
First a little orientation bring up the bookmarks Toolbar in the sidebar ("Ctrl+B").
There are three major bookmark folders
(1) "Bookmarks Toolbar" that you see on the bookmarks toolbar
(2) "Bookmarks Menu" what you see in the bookmarks menu, if you had previous
bookmarks they would probably be in nice folders, with unassociated bookmarks
at bottom.
(3) "Unsorted Bookmarks" introduced in Firefox 3 (no folders within), this is where
simply bookmarking a page with the bookmark star on the location bar go into.
You can move or change the folder anytime later so it will be on bookmarks toolbar
or preferable a folder within, or in your structured bookmarks menu.
Bookmarks - Opera
I have no idea what you want me to see in Opera for bookmarks, my bookmarks in
Opera mostly came from my Firefox. You can look at ALL of your bookmarks,
which I guess you refer to as mirroring, in the Bookmarks Sidebar("Ctrl+B") and in
the "Library" List (also referred to in Bookmarks menu as "Organize Bookmarks",
or "Show All Bookmarks") using "Ctrl+Shift+B" .
Smart Bookmark Folders -- Places
Smart Bookmarks has been applied to 3-5 different things, but I think
you are referring to "Smart Bookmarks Folders", personally I would suggest either
burying them in a single folder somewhere perhaps named "**", or removing them,
they don't deserve space on the bookmarks toolbar.. You only mention them in the title.
Smart Bookmarks folders | How to | Firefox Help
http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Smart%20Bookmarks%20folders
Restore the default Smart Bookmarks Folders | Troubleshooting | Firefox Help
http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Restore%20the%20default%20Smart%20Bookmarks%20Folders
Bookmarks Toolbar - Firefox
You can see how I use my bookmarks toolbar in Firefox by looking at a picture
in a style I wrote and use: (the picture is wrong, the after picture is about real size,
the Before picture is reduced to about 1/2 width and height).
Bookmarks Toolbar Blue/Folders, Red/Bookmarks - Themes and Skins for browser - userstyles.org
You can even see the bookmarks that I have in the bookmarks toolbar here:
http://www.mvps.org/dmcritchie/firefox/lessons/intro/k.html
you can read about them in
http://www.mvps.org/dmcritchie/firefox/kws.htm
http://userstyles.org/styles/9091
To bookmark a webpage or file in Firefox that you are viewing in Firefox
Click on the bookmark star and it will be automatically bookmarked to
the "Unsorted Bookmarks" folder. To change it to a more practical location
in a bookmark folder click on the filled star to bring up the bookmark
and modify it. There are three drop-downs, you can make it a lot more
understandable by installing an extension and removing the "Tags" which
I consider nearly useless, very confusing to untutored users, and extremely
inefficient. To make bookmarking easier install
Add Bookmark Here ˛
https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/add-bookmark-here-2/
For some help with the extension see
http://www.mvps.org/dmcritchie/firefox/addbookmarkhere2.txt
--
HTH,
David McRitchie, extensions I use are briefly documented on my site
Firefox Custom: http://www.mvps.org/dmcritchie/firefox/firefox.htm