Managing Bookmarks

[DickB36]

You ereally MUST start treating your "Manage Bookmarks" utility as the TOOL IT NEEDS TO BE, instead of as the TOY it is now.

First of all, NO bookmark - and, ESPECIALLY, no FOLDER  -- should be REMOVABLE (whether accidentally, or deliberately) without  CONFIRMATION by the user.

And, while you're at it, the "Delete Folder"  (or "Delete Bookmark" menu option should not be ANYWHERE NEAR the "Sort by Name" option.  Right now, at least the first is RIGHT NEXT TO "Sort"!  Not nly EASY to make a mistake; but CERTAIN to cause MANY of them...

I love FF; and have been using it for MANY years.  So, as you might imagine, I have LOTS of bookmarks, and LOTS of folders.  You see the problem?

Please; fix it!

[DickB36]

Add this, too:

The SAME protection should be applied for MOVING FOLDERS – which is very easy to do – INADVERTENTLY -  when you’re using a mouse to get around in this utility.

DickB36

[RickyOOH]

Totally agree!  Trying to search for exising bookmarks is a total disaster.  FF's bookmark section is archaic at best, no sense of development to serve the end-user.  For those of us who have been in webdev for decades, it's known as UX or user experience.  The current bookmark section is written to serve their Mozilla's own developers, not the end-users.

And as always, if there is an actual, usable set of instructions, where is it hidden?  Why isn't there a link icon or even a notes icon on the section linking a complete, usable, understandable instruction set so we can somehow creep into the mind(s) of those who wrote the code for it?  Terrible communications skills.

[DickB36]

RickyOOH, We don't need INSTRUCTIONS, we need a BULLET-PROOF way of "Managing Bookmarks."

BTW, "why not have a separate, expandable to full-screen, bookmark section/function " 

We have this already: "Manage Bookmarks" (under the "Bookmarks" tab).  But it is a place where bookmarks go to GET EASILY and PERMANENTLY LOST. 

It just needs to be re-purposed as a basic FF "TOOL" (like its  developers' tools).

[RickyOOH]

Lost bookmarks is an understatement.  This is what I'm referring to.  A simple "Sort" button would help.  "SIMPLE" being the operative.  And make it inclusive of ALL saved bookmarks.  The current mess is simply not intuitive.

[DickB36]

>>A simple "Sort" button would help. <<

There IS a "Sort" sub-menu option; under "Manage Bookmarks" ("Bookmarks" tab).

But it's RIGHT NEXT TO the "Delete Folder"  option!!!  Is this a "design-for-failure," or what?

But, INADVERTENT drag-and-drop is just as destructive as ANYaction that ACCIDENTALLY deletes a folder.

[RickyOOH]

You've made my point!  NONE OF IT IS INTUITIVE!!!!  Designed by code writers FOR CODE WRITERS (who have no idea what either end-users want or their competition is blowing them away with!

[RickyOOH]

Just a thought, but why not have a separate, expandable to full-screen, bookmark section/function where it all isn't squashed into a tiny little section on the right column???
TELL YOUR DEVS TO START THINKING FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE END USERS; NOT SINGULARLY FROM THAT OF THE CODE WRITERS.

[DickB36]

>>just a thought, but why not have a separate, expandable to full-screen, bookmark section/function <<

There IS.  Check out "Manage Bookmarks" under"Bookmarks" tab.  But this is where bookmarks go to disappear.

[riskyjbell]

I enjoy firefox and try to use it as my main browser.  HOWEVER, it is a PIA to find a bookmark in this browser.  There is no simple way to navigate through all my folders and links.  Are we supposed to use the manage bookmarks to find a link?  If so, it's not a great option.  Can we just have a nice simple way to navigate folders, sub-folders and links?

[DickB36]

>><Are we supposed to use the manage bookmarks to find a link?<<

Yes.

But it is an inadequately designed "tool"

[axd1967]

totally agree.

bookmark management is POOR, as if written by someone with almost no experience in UI.

when searching for bookmarks, it is impossible to find where a bookmark lives. the only to find out it to click the bookmark, after which the "Add bookmark" dialog shows - among other things - a tree that is difficult to navigate.

bookmark management is a shame.

[DickB36]

The FF Manage Bookmarks module needs to be re-built, fro the ground, up.

It should be -- it could be -- a superior "complementary tool" to the best Internet Browser on the market

[axd1967]

Meanwhile, it has become possible to open the bookmark folder with the "Show in Folder" action, so it looks like this can be closed.

[VKP]

I lose my bookmarks every time FF updates and I have to reinstall them. What a pain. Mozilla used to be much better and a whole lot less hassle.

[RickyOOH]

Code writers of today are just not as insightful as in the past.  Much has been lost in the education process - no insight, no perspective from the user's side.  Such a shame.

[DickB36]

RickyOOH,

Ricky0H,

Good point!

[DickB36]

>>I have to reinstall them<<

VKP,

HOW do you do that-- I mean, without creating HUNDREDS of duplicate bookmarks???

[VKP]

I have had some success with using restore.

[RickyOOH]

Whoever writes/maintains the Bookmarks section appears to NOT pay attention to current UX/UI methods.  What they have now reminds me of the work dev'd using EDLIN back in the 80's.  It's archaic at best.  it wastes a lot of user time.  There is no easily accessible documentation or instructions.  Searching it is a disaster, as is sorting.  And the layout is embarrassing.

Maybe it's time for a third party to get into the game, write a replacement and license it to Mozilla.  It appears they are never going to do anything to fix it.

[DickB36]

RickyOOH,

Thanks for this! (you sound like a long-time developer, too)

[RickyOOH]

Long enough to ...... well, let's just say "Long Enough".  It's terrible to see problems and issues we solved long ago to re-appear as 'new'.  I would hate to see the curriculum(s) used today for training developers.  For starters, it's not possible they are required to take any communication courses (writing, grammar (including grammatical construction), logic, stats, for starters.  I'm just not that old to not know the differences.

[DickB36]

Re: code-writers

Here's my favorite example (along the lines you mention).

When  Microsoft published its programming standards, it emphasized the point that, when presenting a User with a choice, the default option should always be "No" (if the User accidental selects that,  he can re-submit the request; no blood, no foul).

But, in the drop-down Options menu of Microsoft's own File Manager (as File Explorer was called, back then), the pre-selected option for "Delete" was "Yes"!

Today, we aren't even asked...

[JohnBoyTheGreat]

Completely agree. I've been using Firefox since the beginning (since before the beginning, when it was Netscape...). In all those years, the bookmark management tool has improved very little.

I don't know how many bookmarks you have, but I have 255,462 bookmarks in my Firefox browser, so I need a better solution rather than the many workarounds I have developed. (You can find the exact number going to "about:support", scrolling down to the section labeled "Places Database", and clicking on the button marked "Show Statistics".)

The developers do not seem to recognize the importance of bookmarks. Our bookmarks are our lives, sometimes!

In past years, I have lost bookmarks which were incredibly valuable, which I could never retrieve--especially when Firefox crashed. Now, it's better, but it still needs a lot of improvement...

1. First thing I'd like to see is "folder location" added to the "Manage Bookmarks" tool. It can be extremely difficult to find where a bookmark is when searching.
   
   
2. Second, the option to arrange by folder in "Manage Bookmarks" would be of tremendous value.
   
   
3. Third, I agree with your idea that bookmarks should have a user confirmation--but it should be able to be switched off if users don't want confirmation. For folders, this is even more important.
   
   
4. Fourth, someone suggested a trash can for deleted bookmarks and folders. That would be a nice way to prevent accidents, because bookmarks are valuable and important!
   
   
5. Fifth, I'd like to see the ability to remove duplicates from a folder and subfolders, or even a selection of folders, in which one or more folders is the primary. I have many duplicates. Some are duplicated on purpose because they belong in more than one category, and others are duplicated because I've visited and bookmarked the same site multiple times.
   
   
6. Sixth, there should be a built-in option for secure, private bookmark folders. There's an extension which will do it, but it would be nice to have a better system built-in, with a recovery if you forget the password. People may need to secure their bank sites, credit card sites, research, or for many other important reasons. (We all know that some people will hide porn sites, but that's not the only valid reason for a feature like this...)
   
   
7. Seventh, I'd like to see some options to add color to bookmark categories, so they are easier to find when scrolling through thousands and thousands of bookmarks and folders.

I hope these fit with your ideas, because I think they could all make the Bookmark Management System in Firefox ten thousand times better than it is!