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Bookmarking Sites

This chapter explains what bookmarks and tags are, why they are useful, and how to create them. It also explains how to organise bookmarks and tags.

Bookmarks

Bookmarks (also called "Favorites" in some browsers) are links to Web pages. By saving bookmarks in your Firefox browser, you can easily revisit pages without having to remember the address or search for them again, much like using bookmarks in a book. Firefox includes a set of default bookmarks, including an example of Live Bookmarks.

This chapter describes how to bookmark Web pages and how to access and organise your bookmarks.

To import lists of bookmarks from another application, see Importing Bookmarks from an HTML file in the Firefox Knowledge Base at
http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Importing+Bookmarks+from+an+HTML+file  

If your bookmarks are missing or if you are having other problems with bookmarks, see the Troubleshooting section at
http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Bookmarks#Troubleshooting 

How to bookmark a page

There are many ways to bookmark a page. Listed below are the most common ways of bookmarking a page for later use:

Bookmark star

You can use the bookmark star inside the location bar to create or remove a bookmark. 

No Bookmark:
FFBookmark01_NoBookmark.png 

Page Bookmarked:
FFBookmark02_Bookmarked.png

To create a bookmark using the bookmark star

  1. Click the star:
    • Click once to automatically place the bookmark in the Unsorted Bookmarks folder.
    • Click twice to open the Edit Bookmark dialog (below).
  2. Fill in the required information and choose a folder. For a complete list of folders click the drop-down arrow to the right of the Folder box. 

    FFBookmark03_EditDialog_1.png

To remove a bookmark using the bookmark star

  1. Click the star to open the Edit Bookmark dialog.
  2. Click  Remove Bookmark.

What each field means

  • Name: This is the title of your bookmark. It appears everywhere the bookmark does. Firefox automatically fills in this field with the title of the current page, but you can always change it.
  • Folder: This is where the bookmark is stored. It can be a default folder or a folder you create. There are three standard choices: 
    • Bookmarks Menu: The drop down menu on the menu bar.
    • Bookmarks Toolbar: The optional toolbar; for help with this toolbar see How to customize the toolbar: http://support.mozilla.com/kb/How+to+customize+the+toolbar 
    • Unsorted Bookmarks: This contains bookmarks that are not shown in your menu or toolbar.
    You can put your bookmarks in sub-folders of these folders by instead selecting Choose... and picking a folder from the Folder dropdown.
  • Tags: Tags are optional descriptive words or short phrases that help when organizing or searching bookmarks. For example, tags for an artist supply store might be "art supplies, paint".

Bookmarks menu

To bookmark the page you are currently viewing, click the Bookmarks menu and choose Bookmark This Page. This brings up a dialog very similar to the one above with the Bookmark Menu selected as the default folder.

Keyboard shortcut

To bookmark a page using the keyboard, press Ctrl+D (Cmd+D on Mac). This displays the Edit Bookmarks dialog box as above.

Context menu

Right-click anywhere on the page and choose Bookmark This Page. Or, right-click the title in the page's tab and choose Bookmark This Tab.

Drag and drop

  1. Click and hold the tab that is displaying the page you want to bookmark, or click and hold the favicon in the location bar. (The favicon is the Web page's icon, just to the left of the page title in the location bar.)
    FFBookmark07_Favicon.png
  2. Drag and drop the tab or favicon on the Bookmarks toolbar. The bookmark is automatically created (Firefox uses the page title for the bookmark's name).

You can also drag the bookmark to the Bookmarks menu or sidebar and drop it in an existing folder.

Where to find bookmarks

Your bookmarks can be displayed in a toolbar, a sidebar, or a menu. These are explained below.

Bookmarks toolbar

The first place you'll see bookmarks is the bookmarks toolbar. By default it is displayed below the main toolbar. Firefox comes with a few bookmarks on the toolbar to help get you started. You can remove these, or leave them there, and add your own.

If you'd prefer not to use the bookmarks toolbar, you can hide it. On the View menu, point to Toolbars, and then click Bookmarks. (Toolbars that are visible have a check mark next to their names in the View > Toolbars menu.)

Bookmarks menu

The Bookmarks menu shows all your bookmarks, including the bookmarks on the bookmarks toolbar (but not including Unsorted Bookmarks). To see the bookmarks that are in the bookmarks toolbar, click the Bookmarks Toolbar folder. The Mozilla Firefox folder (located in the lower part of the Bookmarks menu) contains some bookmarks to help you with using Firefox and getting to know Mozilla.

FFBookmark08_Bookmarks_3.png 

Bookmarks sidebar

You can also see all your bookmarks (including Unsorted Bookmarks) by opening the bookmarks sidebar, a small panel that opens to the left of the page you're viewing.

To open the bookmarks sidebar, click the View menu, click Sidebar and then click Bookmarks. You can also open the bookmarks sidebar using the keyboard, by pressing Ctrl+B (Cmd+B on Mac).

FFBookmark08_BookmarksSidebar.png
 

Library window

You can see both your bookmarks and history using the Library window. To open the Library window, click Bookmarks > Organise Bookmarks.

The Library window lets you:

  • Browse your bookmark folders
  • Search for pages you've bookmarked
  • View and edit tags
  • and more

If you want to find a page you've bookmarked, but you can't remember the location where you saved it, open the Library window and search using its Search Bookmarks bar.

FFBookmark09_Library.png 

The "Smart Location" Bar

You can quickly find pages you've bookmarked in the location bar. When you type a few letters of the bookmarked page's name, web address, or tag name, the "Smart Location" feature displays a list of your bookmarks matching what you typed. Click the link of the page you want to display.

If none of your bookmarks match the text you typed in, then you can click the right-arrow and Firefox searches the Web for that text.

Organizing Bookmarks

You can change the order in which bookmarks appear in the Bookmarks menu with the bookmarks sidebar or the Library window.

Re-arranging using the bookmarks sidebar

To re-arrange bookmarks or bookmark folders using the bookmarks sidebar:

  1. Display the bookmarks sidebar (click View menu > Sidebar > Bookmarks).
  2. Expand the folder you want to re-arrange by double-clicking on it.
  3. Click and drag the bookmark or folder you want to move. If you want to move it into a different folder, drag it on top of that folder.

The item you moved will now appear in the position or folder you specified.

To make a new folder, hold down the Ctrl key while you click somewhere in the sidebar (not on another bookmark) and select New Folder from the context menu. 

Re-arranging using the Library window

To re-arrange bookmarks or bookmark folders using the Library window:

  1. Display the Library window (click Bookmarks > Organise Bookmarks).
  2. Open the folder you want to re-arrange by double-clicking it.
  3. Click and drag the bookmark or folder you want to move. If you want to move it into a different folder, drag it on top of that folder.
    • If you want to make a new folder, click the Organise icon and then click New Folder.

The bookmark you moved will now appear in the position or folder you specified.

Re-arranging the Bookmarks Toolbar

To change the position of a bookmark on the bookmarks toolbar, click and drag the bookmark you want to move. If you want to move it into a folder on the bookmarks toolbar, drag it on top of that folder.

Sorting bookmarks

You can sort bookmarks alphabetically with the bookmarks sidebar or the Library window.

Sorting using the bookmarks sidebar

To sort bookmarks by name using the bookmarks sidebar:

  1. Display the bookmarks sidebar (click View menu > Sidebar > Bookmarks).
  2. Right-click while you click on the bookmarks folder you want to sort and select Sort By Name from the context menu.

The bookmarks in the folder will be sorted alphabetically by name. Only the bookmarks in the folder you specify will be sorted. The sub-folders inside it are not sorted unless you specify them.

Sorting using the Library window

To sort bookmarks by name using the Library window:

  1. Display the Library window (click Bookmarks > Organise Bookmarks).
  2. Open the folder you want to sort by double-clicking it.
  3. Right-click on the bookmarks folder you want to sort and select Sort By Name from the context menu.

The bookmarks in the folder will be sorted alphabetically by name. Only the bookmarks in the folder you specify will be sorted. The sub-folders inside it are not sorted unless you specify them.

Smart Bookmarks folders

You can create "Smart Folders" in the Places Library. These folders are like saved searches that update automatically. For information on using Smart Folders, see Smart Bookmarks Folders: http://support.mozilla.com/kb/Smart+Bookmarks+Folders 

Deleting bookmarks

You can remove bookmarks using the bookmarks sidebar or the Library window.

Deleting using the bookmarks sidebar

To delete a bookmark or bookmark folder using the bookmarks sidebar:

  1. Display the bookmarks sidebar (click View menu > Sidebar > Bookmarks).
  2. Hold down the Ctrl key while you click the bookmark or bookmark folder you want to delete. Then click Delete in the context menu.

The bookmark or bookmark folder and its contents are removed.

Deleting using the Library window

To delete a bookmark or bookmark folder using the Library window:

  1. Display the Library window (click Bookmarks > Organise Bookmarks).
  2. Find and select the bookmark or bookmark folder you wish to delete.
  3. On the toolbar, click Organise > Delete.

The bookmark or bookmark folder and its contents are removed.

Note: If you accidentally delete a bookmark or bookmark folder, you can undo the deletion by clicking Edit > Undo.