Backup Bookmarks of Mozilla Firefox: Preserving Your Precious URLs

Promenading on the net makes me come across new and useful websites. If I spot one, I prefer to press Ctrl+D to save the website’s URL on my Mozilla bookmark. Though, online bookmarking is ever increasing, I still rely on the bookmark that comes with my free browser: Mozilla Firefox. Using this kind of bookmark, though convenient and free, has also a disadvantage.

In an unfortunate event, I never wanted to go through again, my computer OS crashed—coercing me to format the system. Formatting doesn’t bother me at all, since it is one of my routines every year; but the moment I recalled all the bookmarks I haven’t able to back up, I detest my laziness and reprimanded myself.

After regretting my wrongdoing, I regularly make backup bookmarks with the succeeding simple steps:

1. Open Windows explorer by any of the following tricks:

   •    Right click START menu and click Explorer
   •    Click the Windows (between Ctrl and Alt) + E
   •    Click START -> All Programs -> Accessories -> Windows Explorer

2. Click Tools menu -> Folder Options -> View tab -> Show hidden files and folders

 

3. Follow this path:

C:\Documents and Settings\Carol\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\q8vvs2gs.default\ bookmarkbackups

Some of the words in the aforementioned path will vary such as Carol, the user account (unless we're namesake) and q8vvs2gs.default; in spite of discrepancy I’m sure you’ll get to bookmarkbackups (the last folder).

4. Open bookmarkbackups folder.

5. Choose the date you wanted to back up through a flash drive, CD, DVD or whatever storage device you prefer. I regularly use CD-RW or flash drive (just feel like mentioning). When saving the JSON file choose the date when you’ve made changes in your bookmark, so as when you install your bookmark it will contain the ones you decided to keep during the alteration.


Installing backup bookmarks, after formatting your computer or you just feel like changing your current bookmarks, is as simple but lesser clicks than making backup bookmarks.

   1.    Transfer JSON file you’ve saved to the hard drive.
   2.    Open Mozilla Firefox
   3.    Click Bookmarks menu -> Organize Bookmarks -> Import and Backup menu -> Restore -> Choose file (locate your JSON file)

That’s it. This additional task may appear to be cumbersome; but you’ll only have to do this once or twice a month, that is, if you don’t want to lose your precious URLs.