By Hank Pearson, Treasurer and Webmaster,
ASCIi (Arizona Association for Computer Information, inc.)
www.asciigroup.org
hank.pearson(at)asciigroup.org
Obtained from APCUG with the author's
permission for publication by APCUG member groups.
Wouldn't it be nice if you could view a searchable webpage of
bookmarks for your favorite websites? You can, but why?
Find Bookmarks with Forgotten Names
One reason to view your bookmarks as a webpage (as an
alternative to looking in a menu) is to be able to find sites
when you can't remember the first word in the name.
Let's say you have a Firefox bookmark named Carbonite Online
Backup, and you can't remember Carbonite but you know you are
looking for the word Backup. On your Bookmarks page (you will
soon learn how to view), you can easily search for Backup.
You are using Firefox, aren't you? If you haven't discovered
Firefox, download it from Mozilla (http://mozilla.com). It's
free, fast, and secure. Make Firefox your default browser.
View Bookmark Descriptions and Tags
Another reason for a bookmarks page is to give you plenty of
room to view (and find) descriptions of your bookmarks. You will
learn how to add tags to improve your searches.
Zoom In and Out
A third reason to display your bookmarks on a webpage is to
allow you to zoom the text in and out so you can see it clearly.
To zoom any webpage, press Ctrl+Plus or Ctrl+Minus, using the
numeric keypad.
DIY for Fun and Learning
So, how do you display your bookmarks as a webpage? You could
download a tool to do the work for you, or download a tool to
search bookmarks. But it's easy enough to DIY (Do It Yourself).
It's interesting, fun, and educational. Are you just using your
computer to perform certain tasks, or do you also enjoy learning
by experimenting? If you like to learn, this tip is for you.
Find the Bookmarks File
You don't need to create a bookmarks webpage. It already exists
on your own hard drive! The name of the file is simply
bookmarks.html. Press Win+F to find it. (While holding down the
Windows key (next to Alt), press F, for Find.) In the left
window pane, click 'All Files and Folders'. In 'All or part of
the file name', type 'bookmarks.html' (without quotes). Click
Search.
If you get multiple results, it's easy to determine which
bookmarks.html file to use. It's the newest one. In the View
menu (of your Search Results window), click Details. In the
right window pane, click the Date Modified column header (to
sort the list). The file you are interested in has the newest
date and time (for a file with the Type shown as Firefox
Document).
Bookmark the Bookmarks File
Double-click that newest bookmarks.html Firefox Document to open
it in Firefox. Press Ctrl+D to bookmark the bookmarks.html file.
In the Name field, insert a hyphen (-) at the beginning (to name
the bookmark '-Bookmarks'), so this new bookmark will appear at
the top of the list.
Now, with your Bookmarks page displayed, press F5 to refresh the
view. (F5 is a common shortcut key for Refresh.) Surprise? The
new -Bookmarks bookmark is at the bottom - not the top. Let's
address that. (This is Firefox 2.0.0.11. Future versions might
vary.)
Create Another Top Bookmark
First, create another bookmark that will be displayed at the
top. For example, open Google.com, press Ctrl+D, and name the
bookmark -Google (starting with a hyphen).
Sort Your Bookmarks
Now, in the Bookmarks menu, right click any bookmark, and click
Sort by Name. Look in the Bookmarks menu to confirm that the
bookmarks are indeed sorted. Note the two bookmarks that begin
with hyphen (-) at the top of the menu.
Look at your Bookmarks page again, and press F5 to Refresh. The
new bookmarks are still at the bottom.
Rearrange Your Bookmarks
To force Firefox to rearrange your bookmarks page, move a
bookmark in the menu. In the Bookmarks menu, drag, for example,
either new bookmark that starts with a hyphen up or down to
precede or follow the other bookmark that starts with a hyphen.
(Having two hyphen-prefixed bookmarks lets you rearrange those
two at the top without rearranging the other bookmarks.) Press
Escape to close the menu.
Refresh your Bookmarks page with F5. The bookmarks on the
webpage are now arranged as shown in the Bookmarks menu. (Do you
need to refresh three times? No, we simply demonstrated that the
bookmarks.html file is rearranged when you move a bookmark in
the menu.)
Finding Bookmarks on the Page
When you are viewing your Bookmarks webpage, press Ctrl+F for
Find. Type Backup, for example, and press Escape (to close the
Find toolbar). To find the next occurrence of Backup, press F3.
(F3 is a common shortcut key for Find Again.) When you find the
desired bookmark (link), click it (or Ctrl+click to open the
site in a new tab). (Or press Enter, or Ctrl+Enter to open the
site in a new tab.)
Add Descriptions and Tags
To add or change descriptions of your bookmarks, in the
Bookmarks menu, right-click the bookmark you want to edit, and
click Properties. In the Description field, type anything
(including your own tags) that might help you find your bookmark
and remember what it is for. After clicking OK and pressing F5
(for Refresh), you will see your new Description in the
Bookmarks page.
Make Changes through the Menu
Now that you know where bookmarks.html is located, you might be
tempted to edit it directly with a text editor. Mozilla warns
that it is automatically generated, so do not edit it, as your
changes would be lost. Make your changes through the Bookmarks
menu.
Displaying your Bookmarks as a webpage is a start in discovering
many more tips and tricks related to Firefox.
___
Hank Pearson (hank.pearson(at)asciigroup.org) is the Treasurer
and Webmaster for ASCIi (www.asciigroup.org).He
is a long-time member who frequently writes articles for the
group’s newsletter, and has served as President, Secretary,
Newsletter Editor, and Presentations Coordinator.
This article has been provided to APCUG by the author solely for
publication by APCUG member groups. All other uses require the
permission of the author (see e-mail address above).
