Organizing Bookmarks in Netscape

Using Bookmarks

As you explore the World Wide Web with the Netscape navigator, you will find bookmarks to be an indispensable aid. Bookmarks let you easily return to any web document or "page" you're interested in without having to go back through a maze of links or re-type the document's lengthy location (also called a URL). However, after even a short period of exploration on the World Wide Web, you might find yourself overwhelmed by all the bookmarks you've collected.

Organizing Bookmarks

If you've used Netscape to organize bookmarks in the past, you'll be glad to know that Netscape 2.0 has a significantly improved bookmark handler. With the Bookmarks command in the Window menu, you can:

• Move bookmarks around within the menu
• Add separator lines between groups of bookmarks
• Create folders and group bookmarks into categories
• Rename or remove bookmarks.

So instead of looking like this:



Your bookmark menu can be reorganized to look like this:

The Bookmarks Window

To get started in neatening up your bookmarks, select Bookmarks in the Window menu. You will see the following window.

Moving Bookmarks

The first step in getting some order into a cluttered bookmark menu is to change the position of bookmarks on the menu. You may want to group similar items together, place the most frequently used pages toward the top, or sort the bookmarks alphabetically.

To move an item, highlight the item in the list of bookmarks. Click on the item you want to move and drag it to its new location. It's that simple!

Sorting Bookmarks

Another option is to sort your bookmarks. Just highlight the bookmarks you want sorted and choose Sort Bookmarks from the Item menu. The selected bookmarks will be sorted alphabetically.

Adding Separators

You can add separator lines between items on your bookmark menu. Select the item and choose Insert Separator from the Item menu to add a line underneath the selected item.



Like bookmarks, separators can be moved in the list by clicking and dragging them to the desired location.

The separator line will show up on the item list and in your Bookmarks menu. For example:

Grouping Bookmarks into Folders

You can group bookmarks together under a common header. You do this by putting the bookmarks into folders on the Bookmarks window. Under the Bookmarks menu, the folder will show up as a header and the grouped bookmarks will be displayed in a sub-menu.

1. The first step is to create a new header; choose Insert Folder . . . from the Item menu. A dialogue box will prompt you to name the folder and describe it. Click on the OK button when you are finished. A folder, designated by a folder icon, will be placed on the bookmark list. Click and drag the new folder to wherever you'd like it. If you highlight an item before creating a new folder, it will appear just below the item highlighted.

   
   
   

2. Next, move the bookmarks for that category into that folder by clicking and dragging them into the folder.
   

   

3. After the bookmarks are placed in a folder, they will be displayed in a sub-menu in the Bookmarks menu.

   

4. You can display or hide the items within a folder by clicking on the arrow next to the folder icon in the Bookmarks window. This doesn't change the display of the items in the Bookmarks menu, but it does make it easier to manage your bookmarks in the Bookmarks window.

Storing New Items

By default, Netscape adds new bookmarks at the bottom of your Bookmarks list. To create a temporary storage folder for new items, select a folder, then from the Item menu choose Set to New Bookmarks Folder. New bookmarks will now automatically go into this folder. You will then want to go through this folder periodically sorting your bookmarks into the correct folders.

Renaming Items

Bookmarks and folders can be renamed. You may want to change a bookmark's name to something more meaningful. To rename an item, click on the item within the bookmark list and choose Edit Bookmark from the Item menu. A dialog box will prompt you to rename the item and provide a description, if appropriate.

Removing Items

You can delete bookmarks, dividers, and folders; to do so, click on the item you want removed and choose Delete Bookmark from the Edit menu. Note: If you want to delete a folder but not its associated items, you will first need to drag the items out of the folder before deleting it.

For More Help

For more information about Netscape options, including the Bookmarks menu, refer to the Frequently Asked Questions About Using Bookmarks at the following location (URL):
http://help.netscape.com/faqs/bookmarks.html

But you'll only need the location shown above once-because you'll be sure to make it a bookmark!

Last Updated: 11/17/00 12:45 AM © 1998-2000, Stanford University. All rights reserved. Comments about this document? crc-publications@lists.stanford.edu Need computing help? Visit HelpSU