This presentation was originally presented at a Volug workshop on February 25, 1999. The handout is also available (18.5KB MS Word).

1. Bookmarks vs. Favorites
   (Netscape vs. Internet Explorer)
   Introduction
   Whichever browser you use, organizing website addresses or URLs are important if you wish to find that "perfect site" again and especially if you want to share your list with others. The two most frequently used web browsers are Internet Explorer and Netscape. Internet Explorer calls your collection of web addresses "favorites", Netscape calls them bookmarks. I will be using bookmarks and favorites almost interchangeably and am basing my comments on the basic version 4 of each (this computer has Netscape Communicator, so we may encounter some changes). I will review how to add and organize URL’s for both; demonstrate one tool which allows you to convert your bookmarks or favorites amongst the various formats; and then show you a way of sharing your best sites with others.

   Tip: Ensure you always have a recent backup copy of your web address list. Upgrading, software crashes, or switching browsers are all possible "where are my bookmarks?!!" scenarios.

   Add a Bookmark or Favorite:
   Adding to your bookmark list are similar in both Netscape and IE.

   1. When you are at a site you would like to bookmark, go to the Bookmarks/Favorites menu and select the Add Bookmark/Favorite option; or,

   2. Right click on the link pointing to a site - especially helpful when dealing with frames; or,

   3. Newer versions of the software have an optional side bar. You can add links by dragging them from the main window; or,

   4. Drag or use right mouse key to create shortcut on your desktop

   5. Netscape also allows you to manually insert a bookmark from the edit bookmarks menu

   From this point, differences appear:
   Netscape automatically saves the site at the bottom of the bookmark file and you will have to go into the edit menu to move the URL.

   Internet Explorer files the site alphabetically in the main folder by default. It also allows you to edit the name and file it in a subfolder. To select a folder, click the Create In button and select one of the available folders, or click New Folder to create a new one. I have found it is better to "file" a site in the appropriate folder right away. (This is unless you use the "drag & drop" onto the Explorer Bar method when you can place the site anywhere, but cannot rename it on the fly.).

   When you save "as is, " the names given are taken from the Title field of the HTML page and many start with Welcome to XYZ Company… or How to Use the Internet for Legal Research ….

   Give the link a meaningful name (.i.e. Legal Research - Using the Internet );
   keep the name short

   For Netscape bookmarks, you will have to go into the "edit menu" to rename the URL

   One important difference between Netscape and Internet Explorer may help you understand why these browsers organize your URL’s differently.

   Netscape puts all your sites into one file (an HTML page) while IE saves each as a separate file. If you look at the directory structure in Windows Explorer, you can see the difference at a glance. These differences are important to understand if you wish to share your bookmarks with others. It is also why finding a tool to convert bookmarks and favorites can make life easier … even if you just use one kind of browser.

   Organizing Your Bookmarks:
   

   If you spend much time browsing the Web, you will quickly accumulate a long list of bookmarks and will want to organize them in some manner to make returning to those sites easier, even if you use the optional on-the-fly organization with IE .

   Again the basics for organizing your sites are similar between the two browsers. The edit option opens a separate menu allowing you to organize your links by creating folders and subfolders, changing names and moving the URL’s. However, again there are some differences:

   1. Netscape allows you to place individual URL’s in any order and later versions will also automatically sort by Name, Creation date, Last visited or location.

      Internet Explorer automatically sorts them alphabetically although you can view by name or creation date while in the edit mode (using Explorer Bar or drop down menu seems to get around this, but you have to change it in each)

   2. Netscape allows you to insert Separators which appear as a line in your bookmark file URL (by product of the bookmark page being a single html file). .. use this if you don’t want create a (sub)directory, but still want to separate items.

   3. Netscape allows you to add a description to the bookmark (another by product of the bookmark page being a single html file) Use this section to add more details such as why this link is so exciting, signing on details, restrictions or general information. For example a link to a book seller or publisher might say… "Contact Library staff to order material"

   4. Internet Explorer allows you to organize your favorites from Windows Explorer, treating each URL as a file.

   5. Internet Explorer allows you to change icons - helpful to highlight a particular site

   Internet Explorer:
   As I mentioned, you can organize favorites on the fly with Internet Explorer. Or, you may accept the default. To edit Favorites, select Favorites and then Organize Favorites. I had mentioned earlier that IE saves your URL’s as separate files in one folder called Favorites. This is reflected in the editing mode for it looks like Windows Explorer and you can use the tools such as creating folders and subfolders and moving files. Like Windows Explorer, folders are sorted alphabetically as are the files within a folder. If you feel more comfortable, you can use Windows Explorer to organize your sites.

   To take advantage of the "change icon" feature to call attention to a particular website, right-click on a favorite; select Properties and then click on the Change Icon button.

   To rename a favorite, right-click on the favorite and select Rename. This menu also allows you to create a shortcut on your desktop and to delete the favorite.

   IE does allow you to reorder by dragging and dropping files or folders from the Favorites drop down or explorer bars. You may also edit the properties of a favorite such as the name, address or icon by right-clicking on the favorite from the drop down menu.

   Netscape
   

   In Netscape, from the Bookmarks menu, select the Edit Bookmarks... menu. All your bookmarks will be displayed. Click on the top item in the list (it will say something like My Bookmarks), then, from the Item menu, select New Folder.... In the Name box, enter a topic name for this new folder. Then click and drag your bookmarks into this folder. Repeat for all topics and bookmarks.

   If the names for your bookmarks aren't very clear, you can easily change them. Select a bookmark, then choose Properties from the Item menu. Here you can enter a new name for the bookmark. You can also add brief comments in the Description section of Properties.

   When you are done organizing, close this window to return to your browser, and select the Bookmarks menu again. You should see the topic names with arrows next to them. Hold the cursor over one topic, and a pop-up list will appear showing all the bookmarks you have assigned to that topic.

2. Converting to bookmarks from favorites
   

   Even if you never want to redistribute your URL collection, you may want or have to switch browsers. Another reason to convert… ease of portability. Copying one file onto a floppy is much faster and less complicated that a collection of 100 separate files. I can take my bookmarks with me.

   Before playing around with your bookmarks or favorites, make another copy to work with! Put it/them in an entirely different folder. In the case of your bookmark file, rename your working copy.

   The Software
   I am using Navex software for my conversions. I found it a few years ago and it does the job. You can find other free or shareware by searching the Internet or visiting sites such as Tucows or PC Magazine. I found this one easy to download and install the software… added bonus… the price was right. The latest Beta version allows conversion between IE , Netscape, Mosaic and Opera as well as a verification function and a way to merging two sets of bookmarks/favorites into one without duplicate listings.

   • Create a temporary folder to store your converted file – helps overwriting or
   • "misplacing" the file.
   • Instructions may vary depending upon your software. [Demonstrate the conversion]
   • Navex 2.0 available at http://mach5.ocs.drexel.edu/navex/

3. Making your own homepage
   (a.k.a. organizing bookmark page)
   Earlier I mentioned that Netscape's bookmarks are actually a file while IE favorites are a collection of files. The Netscape bookmark file is actually an HTML page with Headings and lines (folder names and separators) which can be used as a basic home page or as a link from your homepage. A converted set from IE will give you the major headings and a list of your links. If you do not have Netscape this makes an adequate homepage. However, if you have Netscape , you may want to fine tune your list by rearranging the URL’s (remember Netscape allows you to add separators and descriptions.

   The basic homepage - how to make it yours
   What we have done so far is set up an HTML page. Instead of using the default or other internet provider homepage which may take forever to download, make this your default home page.

   You have a couple of options. If you want your organized list of URLs to be your home page. Move the file to a permanent directory, do not rename it (i.e. file:///c:/Internet/besturls.htm)

   If you use Netscape and want this file to update whenever you add a new bookmark, save your old bookmark file as backup (bookmark.old) and place your newly reorganized file in the default bookmark directory (where you found your original bookmark.htm - probably in Program files\ Netscape \users\yourID. Rename this new file bookmark.htm.

   The easiest way, in both browsers, to set this as your homepage is to first open the page in your browser, select View Internet Options or Edit Preferences. Under homepage, click on the "Use Current" button, OK. Close. For versions which do not have this button, open your desired homepage in the browser, highlight & copy the address, go to Preferences, and paste the address under homepage.

4. Sharing - how to let others access your bookmark page
   If your company has a network, talk to your Systems Department about making this page available to other employees. It can be copied as a simple file. Employees can add it to their bookmarks or use it as their home page just like you might. Again, they don’t have to use Netscape . This page does not have to run off an internet server, but it can.

   I have taken this one step further. From my original bookmark page which was awkward to use as a single page or via the drop-down menu, I split the list into multiple html pages based on my folders. You can follow the same processes we covered here, just save each bookmark file under a different name and delete the "other folders". ** Repeat using longest file.

   Remember: Backup your bookmark file or list of favorites before working on them!

   You can then tie your pages together by creating a bookmark file which links to your pages.

   If you already use an HTML editor such as FrontPage you can use your bookmark page as a jump start, adding some of the other bells and whistles such as fonts, colours etc.

   Conclusion
   Internet Explorer and Netscape have some similarities and some differences in how they allow you to organize URL’s. These seem to change a bit with each new version (as I found out while preparing for this). Use the help menu to explore your favourite browser. Neither are perfect and you may not have a choice which you use on a daily basis. However, with conversion utilities, you are able to use both formats to your advantage. You can also share your list of best sites with others, giving new internet users a jump start.

   You probably have noticed that URL’s come and go. If you do share your bookmark page, I recommend learning some basic HTML so that you can go into the page and add or update sites. I still add to my favorites, but will update the webpages with any sites I feel might benefit other employees.

   My collection of web pages has served its purpose, but I fear that I should be soon moving to the next step … which is where Joe comes in….