I have created Web browser bookmarks on different computers and would like to combine them into a single bookmark list. Can this be done?
A. It’s not the smoothest thing you can do, but I can suggest one fix that will merge favorites lists in the Microsoft Internet Explorer Web browser on one machine with those on a second computer.
You’ll have to decide if it’s worth the effort. I’ll also suggest a workaround.
Bookmarks are kept in a folder called Favorites that is designated with a star icon instead of the regular yellow folder symbol. This Favorites master folder holds files for each Web page and subfolders with categories corresponding to the outlined list that comes up when you open the Favorites item in the browser menu.
It is possible to make a copy of all of the material in this Favorites folder on one computer and then copy the whole kit and caboodle on top of the Favorites on a second machine. When you do this, Windows will overwrite Web pages with the same name and simply add any pages with different names to the mix. This gives you the merged list you are seeking, but there is some lifting required.
First, you need a floppy disk, a thumb drive or some other way of moving files between computers. So fire up whatever removable storage gear you want on the first machine, right-click on Start and then select Explore from the pop-up menu. Scroll down the list in the Windows Explorer display to that Favorites star icon and open it. Now tap Control + A to select all of the folders and files in the Favorites folder and then tap Control + C to copy them.
Now open the icon for your thumb drive or other storage and tap Control + V to paste the folder’s contents.
Next, move the storage drive to the second machine and reverse the process to paste the contents into the Favorites folder there. You will be warned that any files with the same name will be overwritten but that all new material will be added to the folders.
Next, copy all the files in the second folder and take them back for pasting in the first. At this point both machines will have identical favorites, and in the future you can synchronize them in this fashion.
This is a lot of bother, so let me suggest an easier approach with results almost as good. You can use the Export/Import tool in the browser to create files with the name bookmark.htm that hold all of the hotlinks on any given machine.
Click on File and then pick Import and Export in the drop-down list. Pick Export favorites and follow the prompts to create a file holding a list of the favorites. By default, this file is called bookmarks.htm but can be renamed if desired.
Now take the exported file to the next machine and use the Import side of the tool to bring the list into that browser. This leaves you with an addition to the favorites list that offers the bookmarks on the other machine. It’s not an exact copy as one gets with the first technique, but it does give access to all of the same material on both machines.
