Bookmarks

"Short Stuff" presentation by Al Nichol
on March 22, 2005

The following information applies primarily to Safari; however, many of the same principles apply to using "Favorites" in the Internet Explorer web browser.

Why use bookmarks?

If you are "surfing" the internet and come across a webpage that you know you would like to come back to in the future, an easy way to locate it again is to bookmark it. If you add that webpage address to your list of bookmarks, you can access it with one click. Specifically: when you want to return to that particular webpage, just click on the Bookmarks Menu, and the list of bookmarked addresses appears. Click on the name of the one that you want, and you will immediately be taken to that webpage.

Adding a bookmark

To add a bookmark to the Bookmarks Menu, first go to the webpage you want to mark, and click the "Add a bookmark" button in the address bar; this button looks like a

sign. (Alternately, you can hold down the command key (⌘) and press the letter D on the keyboard).

A small window opens, which says: Type a name for the bookmark and choose where to keep it. The name that the computer suggests for the bookmark is already entered, but you can change it to something simpler.

For example, if you go to the weather site for Nanaimo, and click to create a bookmark, the suggested bookmark name is Nanaimo, British Columbia - 5 Day Weather Forecast - Environment Canada. This is a pretty long name! The suggested bookmark name is already highlighted, so if you want a different one, just start typing, and the new one will replace the suggested one. If you type in just Nanaimo Weather, that's what the bookmark will be called.

The usual place to keep your bookmarks is in the Bookmarks Menu, so that's what you should probably do. Choose Bookmarks Menu from the pop-up menu. You have now successfully added a bookmark.

Adding bookmarks to the Bookmarks Bar

Actually the most convenient place to keep bookmarks is in the Bookmarks Bar. This is the toolbar that appears just below the address bar. (If you don't have a bookmarks bar, click on Safari's View menu, and click where it says Bookmarks Bar.)

The Bookmarks Bar is probably the best place to keep bookmarks for pages you visit often (i.e. daily or weekly).

Here's how you add a bookmark to the Bookmarks Bar: open a page you want to revisit regularly. Notice that at the very left-hand of the address box, there is an icon that looks like a small blue globe. Drag this icon from the address box down to the Bookmarks Bar. A dialog box appears, asking you to Type a name for the bookmark. Do so.

(Alternatively, you can click the Add bookmark button (mentioned above), and then choose Bookmarks Bar from the pop-up menu.)

Organizing your bookmarks

Why organize your bookmarks?

If you keep adding bookmarks to the Bookmarks Menu, eventually you will have a list that is dozens (or even hundreds!) of items long. Searching through one long list like that can be very tedious.

Using Folders

One of the most helpful things to do, is to create folders for different categories of bookmarks. For example, you could create one folder for each of the following topics: Computer Stuff, Entertainment, Gardening Info, Medical Info, News Items, Shopping, Travel, and so forth. Then, each website you bookmark can be added to the appropriate folder.

How to add Folders - Part I

Before you can add any folders, you need to access the Show All Bookmarks set-up. This is how you do it:

Go to the Bookmarks menu, and choose Show All Bookmarks (Alternately you can hold down the option and command (⌘) keys and press the letter B).

A window opens up which is divided into two panes. The narrower, left-hand pane (entitled Collections) shows the toolbars, menus, and folders which contain bookmarks. Click on any one of these Collections, and, in the wider, right-hand window you will see the list of bookmarks associated with it. Double-click on any of the bookmarks, and you will be taken to that webpage.

How to add Folders - Part II

To create a folder, click the Add (+) button at the bottom of the Collections column. A new folder icon will appear with the suggested name "untitled folder", which is highlighted. Type your preferred name (it will replace the highlighted words "untitled folder"). (Alternately, when you are in the Collections pane, hold down the shift and command (⌘) keys, and press the letter N).

How to Organize Bookmarks

If you aren't already there, go to the Show All Bookmarks page (i.e. hold down the option and command (⌘) keys and press the letter B ). Once you see this page you can re-organize any items (i.e. bookmarks, folders or toolbars) as follows:

change name: click on an item, wait one second, click on its name; now type in new name

re-arrange order of items: drag items up or down

move to different folder: drag one or more items to new location

delete: click on an item and press the delete key

change name:	click on an item, wait one second, click on its name; now type in new name
re-arrange order of items:	drag items up or down
move to different folder:	drag one or more items to new location
delete:	click on an item and press the delete key