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Where's That Darn Bookmark?

© Brian Hughes

Got my own profile, the signature's mine
Preferences my way, that's also fine.
Now where is that bookmark I set yesterday
Its one for Mad Trivia & I wanna PLAY!

There's a new item to be added to the list of things being laid end to end and reaching wherever. Bookmarks, if you're using Netscape, or Favorites in the case of Internet Explorer.

I'm a declared fan of Netscape Communicator so this is my browser of choice. This is despite most reviews agreeing it doesn't handle bookmarks as well as Explorer. What made things worse for me was using two Communicator profiles with different bookmark files in each. Lots of advantages to this like separate personal toolbars and E-mail preferences. The downside is that you cannot switch on the fly and must close and reopen. This used to drive me nuts because I always wanted a bookmark that is in the other profile. I had more than enough of them already without starting to duplicate.

You notice I use the past tense with this problem. What made it go away for me was installing a separate bookmark handler... URLMenu.

The first thing to tell you is that although I talk about Netscape bookmarks, this program works just as well with Explorer Favorites. In fact, you can convert one to the other. Those people who use both browsers are accommodated as well.

URLMenu scans all bookmark / favorites folders in all browsers it finds and creates its own combined directory. Being independent of which browser or profile is running, it means the whole list is available. Not just indexed but selectable, the same as using the browser. A superb feature is being able to check for duplicates and merge them. This separate list never gets out of date because it is refreshed, on demand or automatically, every time it opens. Various options are offered as to the display layout which is opened from the tray icon.

To save the chore of searching masses of folders for a particular link there is a cute Find feature. All you have to do is enter a keyword and you are given all the links where it appears.

Dead links cease to be a nuisance - just run a check to find broken ones. Very nice.

Then there is quick access to the popular Search Engines just by entering the keyword(s).

A well-laid-out home page lists and explains the other features this program has to offer. From here you can download the latest version, and join the mailing list for updates.