What happened to bookmarks "Description" box?
In prior versions of Firefox, the Properties Box used to include a large text "Description" box where I could put login information and other details for that bookmark. Now, in version 62.0, that text box no longer exists. Old bookmarks that I have no longer have this information either.
I used this text box extensively and Firefox was the one browser that had this box. Now it appears to have been removed. Can I get this Description box back? Or do I switch to a different browser?
Thanks, Macbel
Gekozen oplossing
Hi macbel, cor-el gave you the steps to export your bookmarks out to a web page you can view in Firefox or another browser for reference.
Next Steps
If you use the Description field frequently, you could consider adopting a new program (or an add-on?) that will help you maintain your notes. I've tested one so far:
Zotero
Zotero is an open source bibliographic/research tool for collecting references. Zotero knows how to read a Firefox HTML bookmarks file and will preserve the descriptions. You can keep your storage purely local, or you can optionally sync with the Zotero cloud.
This is a one-way trip: you can send new references to Zotero from within Firefox using a Zotero add-on, but you won't be able to read/edit bookmark descriptions from within Firefox.
If you want to try it:
The Zotero research tool is available for Mac, Windows, and Linux from https://www.zotero.org/
When you import a bookmarks.html file, it creates entries for each page but it flattens the folder structure, so it comes out like this:
- bookmarks.html, with top-level Bookmarks Menu items
- Bookmarks Toolbar folder
- Folder1
- Folder2
- Other Bookmarks folder
When you click a bookmark, Zotero displays the Title, URL, and "Abstract" which contains the imported Description. (Screenshot #1) Double-clicking the item will launch the page in the default browser.
Zotero also has an optional Firefox Connector webextension, which allow saving new pages to a Zotero collection (either under the bookmarks structure, or other folders the user created in Zotero). (Screenshot #2)
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(I didn't look at cloud sync.)
Using a second program is less convenient than using Firefox features or a fully self-contained Firefox extension. However, it might suit your needs.
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the-edmeister said
There is no need to get Firefox anywhere else, Mozilla has every version of Firefox ever released since early 2002 on it's servers. Using sites like filehippo is what causes too many people to get "bed bugs" in addition to Firefox when they patronize such web sites. It's just a matter of knowing where to look and not going off half-cocked when your upset about something and making rash or ill considered decisions.
Got a link for that? Then I'll use that for my work computer instead.
olds97_lss said
the-edmeister saidThere is no need to get Firefox anywhere else, Mozilla has every version of Firefox ever released since early 2002 on it's servers. Using sites like filehippo is what causes too many people to get "bed bugs" in addition to Firefox when they patronize such web sites. It's just a matter of knowing where to look and not going off half-cocked when your upset about something and making rash or ill considered decisions.Got a link for that? Then I'll use that for my work computer instead.
He gave the link in an earlier post. See: Switch to Firefox Extended Support Release (ESR) for personal use.
Dockate said
OK I'm confused, are the description boxes where they are supposed to be in FF 60 ESR? In other words, FF 60 ESR is an older version, so the description boxes are still intact, or, it's the latest version of ESR, but the description boxes are still there as they have been since Netscape? "Install ESR 60 after removing Fx 62; your Profile won't be affected." If I uninstall FF, doesn't the Profile get uninstalled too?
Firefox 60 ESR is Firefox 60, plus near a year's worth of security updates.
Firefox data is stored in a profile folder separate from the program files. If you use Firefox's own uninstaller -- not a tool like Revo uninstaller which may seek out and remove everything a program puts on your computer -- then your data will remain intact.
If you want to be sure you don't lose data, make a backup: Back up and restore information in Firefox profiles.
jscher2000 said
olds97_lss saidthe-edmeister saidThere is no need to get Firefox anywhere else, Mozilla has every version of Firefox ever released since early 2002 on it's servers. Using sites like filehippo is what causes too many people to get "bed bugs" in addition to Firefox when they patronize such web sites. It's just a matter of knowing where to look and not going off half-cocked when your upset about something and making rash or ill considered decisions.Got a link for that? Then I'll use that for my work computer instead.
He gave the link in an earlier post. See: Switch to Firefox Extended Support Release (ESR) for personal use.
The link to the place where the installation files exist since 2002. With filehippo, I type in firefox and it shows them. On mozilla.org, I'm not finding anything but the latest version, or a page with 200 languages versions.
olds97_lss said
jscher2000 saidolds97_lss saidthe-edmeister saidThere is no need to get Firefox anywhere else, Mozilla has every version of Firefox ever released since early 2002 on it's servers. Using sites like filehippo is what causes too many people to get "bed bugs" in addition to Firefox when they patronize such web sites. It's just a matter of knowing where to look and not going off half-cocked when your upset about something and making rash or ill considered decisions.Got a link for that? Then I'll use that for my work computer instead.
He gave the link in an earlier post. See: Switch to Firefox Extended Support Release (ESR) for personal use.
The link to the place where the installation files exist since 2002.
There are many addresses for that server, but for example:
Dockate said
OK I'm confused, are the description boxes where they are supposed to be in FF 60 ESR? In other words, FF 60 ESR is an older version, so the description boxes are still intact, or, it's the latest version of ESR, but the description boxes are still there as they have been since Netscape? "Install ESR 60 after removing Fx 62; your Profile won't be affected." If I uninstall FF, doesn't the Profile get uninstalled too?
Those Bookmarks Properties Description boxes were in Firefox 61 and all earlier versions. I recommend using the ESR 60 version for two main reasons. one is that Description works there as it always did, and 2nd you get 7 versions of ESR 60 with those Description fields, That way you can allow Firefox ESR to update with the security fixes and you won't get future unwanted changes like this for about another year when the next ESR version comes out.
No the Profile isn't touched when Firefox is removed; it will work fine when installing Firefox 60 ESR, as long as that's all you do. It is almost impossible to screw up by merely uninstalling Fx 62 and installing the ESR 60.
jscher2000 said
There are many addresses for that server, but for example:
Curious where a link to either of those are on the main mozilla site.
jscher2000 said
olds97_lss saidjscher2000 saidThere are many addresses for that server, but for example:Curious where a link to either of those are on the main mozilla site.
How curious? You are free to search for them. I'm not going to.
We do have the second link in this support article: Install an older version of Firefox.
When I uninstall FF 62 & install FF 60 ESR will it restore my session (all my open tabs)?
Bewerkt door Dockate op
Dockate said
When I uninstall FF 62 & install FF 60 ESR will it restore my session (all my open tabs)?
In theory, yes. If you are nervous, as mentioned before, make a backup.
Thanks jscher2000! I will eagerly await the reintroduction of the description box.
I too found the deletion of the description box annoying. I see it in the release notes but that was after the fact. To use a second app defeats the use of Firefox which I love. Maybe a solution would be to make that description box an option. I never used it in fact I would save a bookmark and make sure the decscription box was EMPTY so when I saved my bookmark .html was clean..I can no longer do this..what a mess the back up appear to me now filled with these descriptions that I can no longer delete.
Bewerkt door oldbob2 op
Check this new WebExtension out: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/bookmark-notes/
The developer is still working on an Import feature for the existing saved bookmark descriptions. But it does look promising.
Thanks for that, but after reading the reviews, it appears that web extension, even with an import feature, doesn't come close to fixing what shouldn't have been broken.
Hi oldbob2, you can use my tool on the following page to convert a JSON-format bookmark backup file to an HTML-format export file, and one of the options is not to convert the descriptions. Maybe this will help if you find them too distracting.
the-edmeister said
olds97_lss saidStill, it would be interesting to me to know why it was removed to begin with.What difference would "knowing" make. It ain't gonna fix the situation.
Basically a Bug report was filed like 7 years ago about removing that feature which was used by a very small % of Firefox users. The pros and cons were discussed, a few years later that % was halved from what it had been. Consensus was reached and a number years later the developers carried thru and first hid the access to the data in Fx 62, then in Firefox 64 the data would be removed per another Bug report which dealt with that stage of the process. You have to give Mozillla credit for not just "pulling the plug" all at once.
That is what I took away from the original Bug report along with a listing of the Bug reports ID's for the subsequent reports that provided the separate tasks that were needed to achieve their goal. Then all those subsequent Bugs were done, the main one was finished and the version number where that solution would be released in.
I use the description field.
Removing a feature is deemed a bug "fix"? A textual description column seems like a trivial thing to code or debug.
Now we have to spend 5+ hours to research bookmark management software because Mozilla programmers can't code or can't be bothered with such trivial matters.
Hi sprout, even if you take lots of breaks, it won't take you five hours to read this thread and decide on your preferred approach.
In short, first, export your bookmarks to a web page (HTML-format file) that you can view in or import into a browser. See: Export Firefox bookmarks to an HTML file to back up or transfer bookmarks.
Then:
(1) If you just need to consult the existing descriptions, the HTML file may be good enough.
(2) If you need to occasionally update the descriptions but don't need them within Firefox, then you could consider using a reference program such as Zotero (more info earlier in this thread) to store your bookmarks and descriptions.
(3) If you can't live without integrated bookmark descriptions, you may consider the Extended Support Release of Firefox 60, also known as ESR. The ESR track was designed for companies that only want feature changes on an infrequent basis. So Firefox 60 ESR will only get security updates for the next 10-12 months, staying stable with the features of Firefox 60. Then ESR will jump to a new version, expected to be Firefox 68, which may or may not have a new way to store descriptions.
More info on this option: Switch to Firefox Extended Support Release (ESR) for personal use.
Dockate said
Thanks for that, but after reading the reviews, it appears that web extension, even with an import feature, doesn't come close to fixing what shouldn't have been broken.
You should at least try that Bookmark Notes extension. Sure it may work differently than you are used to, but given the new parameters for WE developers Jase is using what is available now.
The Import / Export feature was added in the new v1.1 (along with a couple of other enhancements) which may be available later today - 09-13 Thursday. I will try it out when it is updated in my Firefox 62 installation later today.
That developer is working at a furious pace ( that I haven't seen for many years) with enhancements based upon user feedback that is reported in the Issues section for that extension at GitHub. https://github.com/emmyemi/bookmark-notes/issues
Please get beyond your anger at Mozilla. That old Description field is gone forever regardless of how many users whine about its loss!
i am NOT happy to see that a field that i have been using for the last who knows how many years in Bookmarks has suddenly been DELETED!!! i'm sorry, i don't read the RELEASE NOTES - i just trust that FF will not DELETE things that users use.
GRRRRRR.
GRRRRRR.
Now i gotta put everything in KEYWORDS - Grrrrr.
Bad browser. Bad browser.