How to Import & Export Favorites in Internet Explorer

How to Import & Export Favorites in Internet Explorer
INFO: This tutorial explains the procedure for exporting and importing your favorites in IE7.

NOTE: This tutorial concentrates on favorites, but the same procedure can be applied if you want to follow this method for managing your cookies and feeds. In this case, some of the dialogue boxes may be slightly different, but the principal is the same. See the section on E-mail for information on importing an attachment.

DEFAULT FILENAMES:
FAVORITES bookmark.htm

COOKIES cookies.txt
FEEDS feeds.opml

1) These options are found when you click 'Add to Favorites' (the yellow star with a green plus sign).

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2) One of the options here is 'Import and Export...'. Select this option. This starts the 'Import/Export' wizard.

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3) Click 'Next >' to continue. On the next screen, 'Import/Export Selection', you can select what to import or export - the options are Favorites, Cookies and Feeds, but the other options are dealt with in exactly the same way. For Exporting, continue to the next section, 'Exporting', else for Importing jump to the section headed 'Importing'.

EXPORTING

4) Exporting Favorites - select 'Export Favorites' and then click 'Next >'.

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5) The 'Export Favorite Source Folder' dialogue screen appears.

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6) You can either choose the default selection, in which case all favorites will be exported, or you can choose a specific item. Note that you cannot select more than 1 item at a time. When you have made your selection, click 'Next >'. This brings up the 'Export Favorites Destination' dialogue, with the option 'Export to a File or Address' already selected.

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7) Click 'Browse...' and then click to expand the 'Browse Folders' option.

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8) Under the section 'Favorite Links', in the left hand panel, click 'More >>'. From the sub-menu that appears, click 'Computer'.

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9) In the right hand panel, select the required drive or partition, in this case the 'G' drive/partition.

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10) You can then select a folder from this destination or you can choose to save the file in the root directory. When you have selected the destination, click 'Save'. This takes you back to the 'Export Favorites Destination' dialogue, with the destination you selected in the 'Export to a File or Address' box.

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11) If this is correct, click 'Next >', otherwise click 'Browse...' to restart the destination selection process from step 6. You can also change the filename and address manually in the 'Export to a File or Address' box by simply over-writing what is already there - in this case, 'G:\bookmark.htm' will cause the favorites file to be saved under its default filename in the root folder of G:\. When you click 'Next >' you might see a dialogue saying that the file already exists and asking whether or not you want to replace it.

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12) If you click 'No' at this point, you are taken back to the 'Export Favorites Destination' dialogue at step 6 so that you can choose another destination. If this dialogue doesn't appear, or you click 'Yes', the 'Completing the Import/Export Wizard' dialogue will appear.

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13) Click 'Finish' to confirm the procedure or 'Cancel' to abandon it. When you click 'Finish', a dialogue box will appear confirming your action.

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14) Click 'OK' to close the dialogue boxes.

IMPORTING

15) Importing Favorites - select 'Import Favorites' and then click 'Next >'.

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16) This brings up the 'Import Favorites Source' dialogue, with the option 'Import from a File or Address' already selected.

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17) You can select the source address using the same method as described in sections 7-9 above. You can also change the filename and address manually as described in section 11. When you have selected the source and returned to the 'Import Favorites Source' dialogue, click 'Next >' to proceed.

Capture15.JPG

18) In the 'Import Favorites Destination Folder', accept the default.

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19) Click 'Next >'. The 'Completing the Import/Export Wizard' dialogue will appear.

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20) Again, click 'Finish' to confirm the procedure or 'Cancel' to abandon it. If you click 'Finish', a dialogue box appears confirming your action.

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21) Click 'OK' to close the dialogue boxes.

E-mail

22) You can, of course, choose to export the file created in the exporting section above as an e-mail attachment. However, on the recipient's machine, this attachment will not import without modification. Firstly, save the e-mailed attachment. Next, right click on it and select 'Edit'. An example of the resultant header is given below. To allow the file to import correctly, you need to delete the first line beginning with '<!-- saved from url=...' and then re-save the file. You should then be able to import the file successfully as described in the importing section above.

E-mail Hdr.JPG
 

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Re: How to Import & Export Favorites in IE7

Hello Dwarf,

Let me be the first to congratulate you on the excellent job. ;)

Thank you!


Later :shock: Ted
 

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Re: How to Import & Export Favorites in IE7

I just posted the following message on another forum when I found this tutorial: It seems the only thing I did differently was to e-mail from one computer to the other. so why didnt it work?

on Dell PC with Win XP I loaded Windows Explorer, I clicked File and Import/Export to call up the Wizard and exported all my favorites including sub-menus. Then I e-mailed the resultant Bookmark.htm as a file attachment to my new Toshiba laptop with Vista.

Switching to the Toshiba I received the e-mail and saved the attachment in my Desktop Downloads folder and with Windows Explorer did the same as above in reverse to Import the file from my Downloads folder. everything went well until the Wizard finished. then I got a message:"not a valid bookmark file."

I opened the file and all the bookmarks are active links. I clicked on one to load that website, saved it as a favorite in my new Favorites, and it worked. so the links are accurate. why wont Internet Explorer receive it. I even thought that maybe the sub-folders had something to do with it, so did the whole thing again with only one folder. same problem. what am i doing wrong?
 

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Re: How to Import & Export Favorites in IE7

Hi cp-mbaby,

Thanks for informing me about the problem with the bookmarks as an e-mail attachment. I checked this myself and got the same result as you. I have managed to solve the problem and have added this to the Tutorial under 'E-mail' at point 22. Basically, the e-mail adds an extra line to the header information which causes the problem, and in order to solve it, this line needs to be deleted.
Dwarf
 

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Re: How to Import & Export Favorites in IE7

Thanks a lot. i really appreciate all the work you and other tutorial makers do. Until I got Vista I didnt know you people existed so I'd been hitting myself over the head with some of the MS problems solvers that assume a lot more knowledge than I have. I bet this added line is the reason some other data file transfers didnt work. From now on I'll open with Notepad and see. Now that I have imported favorites, guess what site was the first added?
 

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Re: How to Import & Export Favorites in IE7

Hi. I have a little problem. I just did an OS upgrade from Windows Vista Basic to Windows Vista Ultimate. I had a lot of bookmarks, so I saved my bookmarks. I did that by exporting them in to a file, and placed this file on my external Hard Drive. This file has an *.HTM file extension, but the import/export wizard tells me that it is in a wrong format on the import. How do I import it?? Thank You.


7i8h.jpg
 

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Re: How to Import & Export Favorites in IE7

Hi ilyabyk83,

Can you follow the instructions in Step 22 of my Tutorial and post a snip showing the file header. Do not modify this yet.
 

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System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dwarf Dwf/11/2012 r09/2013
    CPU
    Intel Core-i5-3570K 4-core @ 3.4GHz (Ivy Bridge) (OC 4.2GHz)
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z77 Extreme4-M
    Memory
    4 x 4GB DDR3-1600 Corsair Vengeance CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B (16GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI GeForce GTX770 Gaming OC 2GB
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition on board solution (ALC 898)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic VA1912w Widescreen
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    OCZ Agility 3 120GB SATA III x2 (RAID 0)
    Samsung HD501LJ 500GB SATA II x2
    Hitachi HDS721010CLA332 1TB SATA II
    Iomega 1.5TB Ext USB 2.0
    WD 2.0TB Ext USB 3.0
    PSU
    XFX Pro Series 850W Semi-Modular
    Case
    Gigabyte IF233
    Cooling
    1 x 120mm Front Inlet 1 x 120mm Rear Exhaust
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Comfort Curve Keyboard 3000 (USB)
    Mouse
    Microsoft Comfort Mouse 3000 for Business (USB)
    Internet Speed
    NetGear DG834Gv3 ADSL Modem/Router (Ethernet) ~4.0 Mb/s (O2)
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    Optical Drive: HL-DT-ST BD-RE BH10LS30 SATA Bluray
    Lexmark S305 Printer/Scanner/Copier (USB)
    WEI Score: 8.1/8.1/8.5/8.5/8.25
    Asus Eee PC 1011PX Netbook (Windows 7 x86 Starter)
Re: How to Import & Export Favorites in IE7

Hi ilyabyk83,

Can you follow the instructions in Step 22 of my Tutorial and post a snip showing the file header. Do not modify this yet.
Hi. Funny thing. I somehow have it imported already. Thanks for your help.


(Have no clue how or what I did!)
 

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Re: How to Import & Export Favorites in IE7

Hi ilyabyk83,

Can you follow the instructions in Step 22 of my Tutorial and post a snip showing the file header. Do not modify this yet.
Hi. I just had to reinstall my OS. Long story........
Anyways, I get the same thing now again. You told me to follow the steps in "Step 22", but I can't. I don't understand it clearly. Please help again?? Thank You
 

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Re: How to Import & Export Favorites in IE7

Hi ilyabyk83,

Assuming that it is the same file. Browse to G:\Progz\Bookmarks.htm and right-click on it. From the menu that appears, select Edit. Can you please paste an image showing the file heading, as shown in Step 22 from my Tutorial.
 

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System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dwarf Dwf/11/2012 r09/2013
    CPU
    Intel Core-i5-3570K 4-core @ 3.4GHz (Ivy Bridge) (OC 4.2GHz)
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z77 Extreme4-M
    Memory
    4 x 4GB DDR3-1600 Corsair Vengeance CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B (16GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI GeForce GTX770 Gaming OC 2GB
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition on board solution (ALC 898)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic VA1912w Widescreen
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    OCZ Agility 3 120GB SATA III x2 (RAID 0)
    Samsung HD501LJ 500GB SATA II x2
    Hitachi HDS721010CLA332 1TB SATA II
    Iomega 1.5TB Ext USB 2.0
    WD 2.0TB Ext USB 3.0
    PSU
    XFX Pro Series 850W Semi-Modular
    Case
    Gigabyte IF233
    Cooling
    1 x 120mm Front Inlet 1 x 120mm Rear Exhaust
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Comfort Curve Keyboard 3000 (USB)
    Mouse
    Microsoft Comfort Mouse 3000 for Business (USB)
    Internet Speed
    NetGear DG834Gv3 ADSL Modem/Router (Ethernet) ~4.0 Mb/s (O2)
    Other Info
    Optical Drive: HL-DT-ST BD-RE BH10LS30 SATA Bluray
    Lexmark S305 Printer/Scanner/Copier (USB)
    WEI Score: 8.1/8.1/8.5/8.5/8.25
    Asus Eee PC 1011PX Netbook (Windows 7 x86 Starter)
Re: How to Import & Export Favorites in IE7

Hi ilyabyk83,

Assuming that it is the same file. Browse to G:\Progz\Bookmarks.htm and right-click on it. From the menu that appears, select Edit. Can you please paste an image showing the file heading, as shown in Step 22 from my Tutorial.
Hey!! Thank You for trying. I just said "Screw It!", and since the file at least opened but didn't import, I manually re-added every bookmark I had. It just took some time. Thank You. Don't worry abou it anymore.
 

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Same Problem

I am being given the "Not a valid bookmark file" error. I looked at the text of the file and it starts with the line "<!DOCTYPE...". Also, I was able to open the file in internet explorer and follow each of the links. Any Ideas?
 

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