How to Organize Your Browser Bookmarks
Can’t easily navigate through your browser bookmark list because it’s too long and jumbled? Here’s how to fix it on Chrome, Firefox, IE, and Edge.
Have your browser bookmarks turned into a disorganized mess? The more webpages you save as bookmarks, the longer and more unmanageable your bookmark list can become, especially if you don’t store the pages in folders. But fear not. You can work with your current bookmarks to reorganize them and store each one in a logical spot. Whether you use Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox, or Edge, you can get a handle on your bookmarks so they’re quicker and easier to access.
Let’s assume you’ve gathered lots of favorites or bookmarks over the years but haven’t organized them properly or even arranged them alphabetically. So searching for a specific bookmark can take awhile. Well, one helpful action you can take is to sort them.
Let’s start off by working with Google Chrome and then we can segue to the other browsers.
Chrome
To add a bookmark in Chrome, click the star on the top-right corner of the browser window. A drop-down menu will appear, where you can change the name of your bookmark, and select where it will appear, like in the Bookmarks Bar or in a specific folder.
You can also click on the settings icon on the top right () and select Bookmarks > Bookmark this page, which will produce the same drop-down menu, as will selecting Ctrl + D on Windows and Command + D on Mac.
Manage Bookmarks
But now your bookmarks are just an endless list of random websites, with no rhyme or reason as to how they’re organized. To clean things up, open Chrome and Settings > Bookmarks > Bookmark manager.
Add a New Folder
Right-click just outside your list of bookmarks, and you’ll find a menu with commands to Add new bookmark or Add new folder. Select Add new folder and type in a name.
Drag and Drop
The new folder will appear at the bottom of the list, but you can drag and drop it anywhere you’d like it to reside. You can then drag specific bookmarks into that new folder you created.
Remove From a Folder
To remove a bookmark from a folder, go into that folder, click on the site to remove, and drag it left to the folder in which you’d like it to live. You can also right-click and select Delete if you wish to get rid of it entirely.
Firefox
Are you a Firefox user? The process for bookmarking a site is similar to Chrome: click the star icon in the URL bar; select Ctrl/Command + D; or click the icon that looks like books on a bookcase > Bookmarks > Bookmark This Page.
Organize Bookmarks
Open Firefox. Click on the Bookmarks icon > Bookmarks > Show All Bookmarks. A Bookmarks library menu will pop up, where you can click on the Organize menu to create new folders and cut and paste bookmarks. You can also right-click on any empty area to display a similar menu. Then, just drag and drop sites into and out of specific folders.
Internet Explorer
Launch IE. Then open your favorites, either by navigating to Favorites > Organize Favorites or by clicking the star icon on the top right > Add to favorites > Organize favorites.
Sort By Name
In the pop-up window, right-click on any site in your favorites list and select “Sort by name.” Your favorites list is now organized alphabetically, so at least you know where to find a particular page.
New Folder
That’s a good first step. But if you have dozens or even hundreds of favorites, you still need a better way to organize them. And you can do that by storing similar favorites in their own unique folders. At the “Organize Favorites” window, click on the “New Folder” button.
Lets Move
Give the folder a name, such as Tech Sites. Now look through your favorites list to find a site that you wish to store in the new folder. Drag it to the new folder or click on the site > Move > [new folder] > OK. The favorite is moved to the Tech Sites folder.
Another way to move favorites is through the old cut-and-paste method. Right-click on a favorite that you wish to move and click on the Cut command from the pop-up menu. Right-click on the folder that will be the favorite’s new home and click on the Paste command.
Windows File Manager
Working in the browser’s Organize Favorites window can be slow and clumsy; you can work more easily with the folders and favorites using your Windows file manager.
Open File Explorer or Windows Explorer. Browse to the folder: C:\users\[your username]\Favorites. Now you can create new folders, move favorites, and perform other tasks in a wider and more user-friendly landscape.
Side by Side
You can even open two Explorer windows side by side to more easily move favorites to new folders.
Microsoft Edge
On Edge, Microsoft’s newest kid on the block, Favorites operate much like they do on IE. To save something, click the star icon on the right and save it to Favorites. To access, click the Hub button (which looks like a shooting star). There, you can right-click to add a Folder, into which you can drag your favorites.
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Originally published at www.pcmag.com.
