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transfer one folder of bookmarks to another computer

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  • Last reply by cor-el

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It looks like I must have accidentally deleted one folder of bookmarks from my desktop. Fortunately I have a copy of all the Firefox bookmarks on my laptop. How can I transfer this one folder from the laptop to the desktop? I do not want to copy ALL the bookmarks from the laptop because I would lose the latest bookmarks that are on the desktop. There are about 100 bookmarks in the deleted folder, probably thousands of others. Any suggestions?

It looks like I must have accidentally deleted one folder of bookmarks from my desktop. Fortunately I have a copy of all the Firefox bookmarks on my laptop. How can I transfer this one folder from the laptop to the desktop? I do not want to copy ALL the bookmarks from the laptop because I would lose the latest bookmarks that are on the desktop. There are about 100 bookmarks in the deleted folder, probably thousands of others. Any suggestions?

Chosen solution

What works for me is to select all the bookmarks in this folder and copy these items to the clipboard. If you paste this selection in an HTML capable editor (flavor: text/html) then I get <A HREF> type entries. I can save the file and import this HTML file to transfer the bookmarks to another profile. They appear under the Bookmarks Menu folder.

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All Replies (6)

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https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profiles-where-firefox-stores-user-data Try working with the above. You can get your bookmarks off the other cpu https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/import-bookmarks-html-file and it will not effect web short cuts on the desktop as they are under Windows Desktop control.

Please let us know if this solved your issue or if need further assistance.

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Several thoughts:

(1) If this just happened, you can try using the Undo feature in the Library window. Either:

  • Ctrl+Shift+b
  • "Show All Bookmarks"

Then look for the Organize menu and see whether Undo is available. Like most programs, this works backwards through recent changes, so it may not be what you're looking for if you don't want to lose other changes.

(2) Sometimes a folder is not deleted but instead gets "misplaced" by being dragged into a different folder.

If you remember a bookmark in the missing folder and go to that page, the blue star should light up on the toolbar if it still exists somewhere. If you click the blue star, then next to the name of its current folder location click the button with the "wide v" icon, Firefox should show you where in the hierarchy that bookmark is saved.

Then you can go over to the Library window (see #1) and move that folder back where you want it.

(3) You are correct that the backup/restore feature is a complete replacement. However, you can use the export/import feature, grab just the folder you want, and delete the rest of the import.

Of course, it's a good idea to make a backup in case your desktop bookmarks get really messed up with duplicates.

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Pkshadow said

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profiles-where-firefox-stores-user-data Try working with the above. You can get your bookmarks off the other cpu https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/import-bookmarks-html-file and it will not effect web short cuts on the desktop as they are under Windows Desktop control. Please let us know if this solved your issue or if need further assistance.

OK, I would like to try to get the folder in an HTML file, but when I followed the instructions, I got ALL the bookmarks in the HTML file. Is there a way to get ONLY the target folder?

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jscher2000 said

Several thoughts: (1) If this just happened, you can try using the Undo feature in the Library window. Either:
  • Ctrl+Shift+b
  • "Show All Bookmarks"
Then look for the Organize menu and see whether Undo is available. Like most programs, this works backwards through recent changes, so it may not be what you're looking for if you don't want to lose other changes. (2) Sometimes a folder is not deleted but instead gets "misplaced" by being dragged into a different folder. If you remember a bookmark in the missing folder and go to that page, the blue star should light up on the toolbar if it still exists somewhere. If you click the blue star, then next to the name of its current folder location click the button with the "wide v" icon, Firefox should show you where in the hierarchy that bookmark is saved. Then you can go over to the Library window (see #1) and move that folder back where you want it. (3) You are correct that the backup/restore feature is a complete replacement. However, you can use the export/import feature, grab just the folder you want, and delete the rest of the import. Of course, it's a good idea to make a backup in case your desktop bookmarks get really messed up with duplicates.

Thanks for your reply. I like the idea of using the "Blue star" method to determine if the folder has been replaced. It told me that it was indeed gone.

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bob-m said

OK, I would like to try to get the folder in an HTML file, but when I followed the instructions, I got ALL the bookmarks in the HTML file. Is there a way to get ONLY the target folder?

No, the export is all or nothing.

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Chosen Solution

What works for me is to select all the bookmarks in this folder and copy these items to the clipboard. If you paste this selection in an HTML capable editor (flavor: text/html) then I get <A HREF> type entries. I can save the file and import this HTML file to transfer the bookmarks to another profile. They appear under the Bookmarks Menu folder.