Restore ability to preserve desktop bookmark order in Firefox Android

[bvanmater]

A recent Firefox Android update made it so that bookmarks and bookmark folders are now automatically sorted by date created (or used, perhaps?), most recent first. From what I can gather from this bugzilla report (https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1928574), this was a deliberate design change.

This change is extremely detrimental to the way I use bookmarks. I have hundreds of them, all neatly organized into folders and subfolders and ordered precisely how I want them. I absolutely do not want Firefox to arbitrarily override this ordering.

Previously, when syncing bookmarks from the Desktop browser, Firefox Android preserved the ordering of bookmarks. It was possible to sort bookmarks as you liked in the Desktop browser, and this would carry over to mobile. The only way to restore this behavior at the moment is to access the Secret Settings menu and toggle off the Enable Compose Bookmarks flag.

Please add an easily accessible (not buried in developer settings) option to disable this automatic sorting and restore the previous behavior.

Instructions for disabling automatic sorting currently:

1. Open settings.
2. Tap on About Firefox
3. Tap on the Firefox logo 5 times to enable developer settings.
4. Back out to the main settings menu, scroll down to Secret Settings, and tap on that.
5. Find the 'Enable Compose Bookmarks' toggle and turn it off.

[Jon]

Thanks for submitting an idea to the Mozilla Connect community! Your idea is now open to votes (aka kudos) and comments.

[alcornoqui]

So it was this!!! Thank you bvanmater, it was bugging me too!

This is intolerable and is gonna mess with precisely the people who uses bookmarks the most. Please fix it.

[Aetherblade]

Yes please, I thought this was a bug. I don't really understand why anyone would want this, or if they do why not make it optional indeed. Sometimes of course having the newest up top is nice, but I assume most people have a system instead of just a random list going on - which gets destroyed now.

[dewey]

Even after toggling off the settings, it's still not organized as I had it on desktop. I had those folder in specific places, I don't want them put on top just because they're folders.

[Chris-S]

Total agreement with the O.P. I too have 100's of structured Bookmarks and Folders that I do not want Firefox performing arbitrary re-ordering.

Those developers who thought this change was a good idea need their thoughts expanded to include 'user' views.

I have implemented the documented workaround that seems to work, but more testing time needed.

Please please make this Bookmark change a 'user' enabled option for those who want it.

P.S. Thank-you for the accessing the 'Secret Menu' guide, did not know this menu existed. I don't normally join forums, but felt strongly enough about this issue to 'join up' to make this post reply.

[GabiB]

Bvanmater, this did the trick! It really makes no sense why Mozilla would ever design mobile specifically to work like this. I've always used bookmarks alphabetically and have them sorted specifically, there are a few hundred in there. Really bad on Mozilla's part.

[MarryM]

Thank you so much, instant gratification following your instructions!

[hodgepig]

I thought this was a bug as it just makes a mess of bookmarks. Thanks for posting the fix/workaround.

If someone at Mozilla thinks this is a good idea then it should be implemented as an option you can enable, not just applied by default to break everyone's sort order.

[WizGnome]

All very well to have a workaround, but the bookmark sorting should not have been broken in the first place.

[Fab1]

Thank you so much for the solution