What's New

What’s new in Bookmark Importer Version 1.1

Bookmark Importer Version 1.1 offers significant enhancements over prior versions.  Much of the enhanced functionality added has been due to feedback from users of this application.  Some of the new key features:

•	Can import Microsoft IE Favorites

•	Export bookmarks to more browser formats

•	Sort bookmarks before exporting

•	Toolbar has been added

Version 1.03 Release Notes

Bookmark Importer Version 1.03 is a minor update to Version 1.02 in which there were a few bugs were fixed.

New for Version 1.02

A tab dialog box now appears when the properties of a node is selected.  If the node is a bookmark and not a folder the user will be able to edit the description of the bookmark.  The full path of a node cannot be edited.

After editing a bookmark/folder description Bookmark Importer will inform the user if the description has illegal characters.  Check the Restrictions section for more details.


Release Notes

Exporting to bookmarks to Microsoft Internet Explorer Favorites.  Bookmark Importer will give a runtime error when it tries to export a folder or bookmark that starts with a period (example .MyBookmark).  Also long bookmark descriptions greater than 255 characters will be truncated due to restrictions of how Favorites are stored.

The Bookmark Importer will still correctly run.  If Netscape Navigator is not installed when opening a bookmark file the program will set the default directory to where Bookmark Importer has been installed rather than where the Netscape bookmark file is located.  If Microsoft Internet Explorer is not installed converted bookmarks will be placed in the directory where the Bookmark Importer was installed.


Overview

The popularity of several World Wide Web (WWW) browsers has risen within the last year.  The more notable being Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer.  Both browsers support the current HTML standards including proprietary HTML tags.  Consequently a user may have to view a specific homepage with a particular viewer to take advantage of the features offered by that WWW site.

The Bookmark Importer is aimed at audience who use both Netscape Navigator and the Microsoft Internet Explorer and wish to share bookmarks between the two applications.  This application is especially useful if the user has a large number of Netscape Navigator bookmarks that need to be imported into the Internet Explorer rather than manually adding bookmarks.

Some of the features offered by this version of the Bookmark Importer have been summarized below.

Exports Netscape bookmarks to Internet Explorer favorites directory or a user-defined directory.

Import Microsoft Internet Explorer Version 2.0 (Windows95) and 3.0 (Windows95 and Windows NT 4.0) Favorites.

Import Microsoft Internet Explorer 1.5 (Windows NT 3.51) Hotlist.

Export to a pre-formatted HTML file (URL and title on one line) which can be imported into most Windows based web browsers.

Export to a HTML Netscape bookmark type file which can then be imported into Netscape Navigator.

Export to Microsoft Internet Explorer 1.5 (Windows NT 3.51) Hotlist.

User option of maintaining the bookmark structure, that is keeping nested folders.

Export all bookmarks or just individual bookmarks.


Conversion Restrictions

Export Restrictions to Microsoft Favorites

During the conversion of Netscape Navigator bookmarks to Microsoft Internet Explorer bookmarks any folders that are encountered are converted to sub-directories in the Favorites directory (for the Internet Explorer).  Actual URLs are converted to a file with an extension url in the appropriate sub-folder, if maintaining bookmark structure has been selected.  As files and directories are created there are restrictions to their names due to the operating system.  Characters that are not allowed in file and directory names are /\:*?"<>|.  If the Bookmark Importer encounters any of these characters when creating Internet shortcuts or sub-folders they are replaced by the character -.  This is the same character replacement utilized by the Internet Explorer.

For example

c|net online - front door becomes c-net online -front door

Not necessarily a restriction is method the Bookmark Importer uses to store a URL as a description.  These usually occur when the Web page author fails to place a title for the web page.  Instead of creating a long description containing the document URL the Bookmark Importer assigns the filename at the website location for the description.  This feature is best illustrated with an example.

Bookmark Description: http://www.company.com/parentdir/subdir1/subdir2/filename

becomes

Bookmark Description: filename at www.company.com

Bookmark descriptions must be less than or equal to 255 characters which is a limitation of the operating system.  In the event that Bookmark Importer encounters any such bookmark description while export to Microsoft Favorites it will be truncated.


Application Main Screen

On starting the Bookmark Importer application a screen similar to the one shown below.  The main parts of this window is the menu bar at the top of the window, a tree panel in the middle of the window and a status bar at the bottom.  Initially the Export item of the menu bar and toolbar are disabled as no bookmarks have been imported and for the same reason the tree panel is empty.  The status bar indicates the current date and time (in the format specified in the Control Panel).


Menu

Bookmark Importer Menu

This section provides detailed information on the menu options available to the user upon starting the Bookmark Importer application.  The options available have been categorized according to the menu items.

File

Export

Help


File

Menu:File

Import

Brings up a dialog box similar to the Export dialog box allowing the user to select a browser type and the file/directory to import bookmarks from.  If the file entered by the user is not a valid file or the directory does not exists (Microsoft Internet Explorer 2.0 and above) then the user is prompted to select a file again or cancel the operation.

Exit

Exits the Bookmark Importer application.


Exporting bookmarks

Menu:Export

This command will display an Export dialog box similar to the one shown below.

This dialog box allows the user to select the browser type to and the file/directory to export bookmarks to.

Selecting a Browser

The list of browsers or file types to select from depend on your operating system and which browsers are installed on your computer.  The Browse button allows you to select a bookmark file or directory on your computer to export bookmarks to.  In certain instances depending on the browser the bookmarks must be exported to a specified file.  In such cases the Browse button will be disabled and to location to export to cannot be edited.  Since for certain browsers bookmarks must be exported to a specified file the user has the option of backing up the original file before modifying it.  The backup of the bookmark file will be located in the Bookmark Importer directory with an extension .bak (example bookmark.htm.bak).

IMPORTANT

Exporting to Netscape Navigator or HTML file: If you choose to export to your Netscape Navigator bookmark or an existing HTML file it will be OVERWRITTEN.  Please ensure that you backup your bookmark file before doing the export or select another file.

Export Options

There are two options for this menu item - to maintain the tree structure during the export or keep all the bookmarks in one location.

Tree

Selecting this option allows the tree structure, that is any nested folders with bookmarks, to be maintained while exporting.

Flat

This selection ignores any nested folders.  In the case of Internet Explorer all bookmarks are placed in the Favorites directory.


Help

Menu:Help

Contents

Displays the contents of the Bookmark Help file.

Search Help

Allows the user to search the index of the Bookmark Help file.

Using Help

Provides the user on information on how the use the Windows 95 Help system.

Ordering Information

Displays vital information on how to order your licensed version of the Bookmark Importer.

About Bookmark Importer

Additional information about the application.

System Information

Displays a dialog box which has information on your operating system, hardware and memory and also which of the more common browsers are located on your computer.


Removing a bookmark

If you wish to not convert specific folders or bookmarks you can remove them from the bookmark tree.  To delete an item from the tree simply right click on it and select Remove from the pop-up menu.  Before deleting the item the application will confirm that you wish to delete the selected folder or bookmark.  A message box similar to the one shown below will appear.  To delete select Yes or select No to cancel the operation.

Confirm deletion for a folder

Confirm deletion for a bookmark


Bookmark Properties

Properties of a folder or bookmark can be obtained by right clicking on the item and selecting Properties… from the pop-up menu.  For a folder the number of bookmarks (children) contained within the folder is displayed under the Node Details section.  Also the number of sub-folders (including nested folders), if any, is displayed.  An example is shown below where properties dialog box for a folder Bookmarks is shown.

In the case of a bookmark the Node details section will display the URL of the bookmark selected.

In both cases the Node Full Path section shows the relative location of the selected bookmark to the root node of the bookmark tree.


Editing a bookmark description.

Editing a bookmark description

To edit the description of a bookmark click on a node until an edit box appears with the description of the bookmark is selected.  Enter the new description for the bookmark.  If the description has an invalid character (See Restrictions) Bookmark Importer will present a dialog box stating this and will not update the description.

These restrictions apply even though you may not be exporting to Internet Explorer Favorites.


Where to find Netscape Bookmarks

Where to find Netscape Bookmarks ?

Netscape Navigator bookmarks are stored in the file Bookmark.htm and its location varies on the platform Netscape Navigator is running.  By default the Bookmark Importer will set the working directory to where the bookmark file (32-bit version only) is installed.  The default locations of the bookmark file for the 32-bit and 16-bit versions of Netscape are listed below.

32-bit Version: \Program Files\Netscape\Navigator\Bookmark.htm

16-bit Version: \netscape\bookmark.htm

Alternatively bookmarks exported from Netscape Navigator to a user defined directory and filename can also be converted and may not necessarily be located in the directories indicated above.


Where to find Microsoft Favorites

Where to find Microsoft Internet Explorer Bookmarks ?

Internet Explorer 2.0, 3.0 for Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0

Internet Explorer Favorites can be located in the Favorites directory which is located in the directory where your 32-bit operating system was installed.

Internet Explorer 1.5, 2.0 for Windows NT 3.51 and Windows 3.x

The hotlist file which stores the bookmarks for these versions of Internet Explorer  is located in the Windows directory in a file called HOTLIST.HTM.


Encountering Existing Internet Explorer Favorites

During the export of the bookmarks one or more may already exist in Internet Explorer format.  In such a situation a dialog box such as the one shown below is presented to the user providing the date/time of when this bookmark was created and the URL it points to.

If the existing bookmark points to an older URL which does not exist the user should press the Overwrite button, otherwise choose to skip over this bookmark.  If many of the bookmarks being exported already exist the user may wish to disable presenting this dialog box in the future.  If this is the case check the Do not show this dialog box again check box.  The user may then choose to overwrite any existing bookmarks encountered or choose to skip over them.  However to proceed exporting the user must either select to overwrite or skip the current bookmark being processed.

IMPORTANT

Checking for existing bookmarks for other browsers is not supported in this version of Bookmark Importer.


Technical Support and Bug Reporting

Technical Support and Reporting Bugs

Technical support for the Bookmark Importer is provided through e-mail and webOBJ Technology Incorporated’s World Wide Web site.  Comments and bug reports can also be sent by e-mail to the address shown below.  If you are submitting a bug report please include your Netscape Navigator bookmark file and details of the particular bug, this will facilitate a prompt remedy to the problem.

e-mail

bookmark@webobj.com

WWW Site

http://www.webobj.com/bookmark

The WWW site contains the following items:

•	Most current version of the Bookmark Importer.

•	A summary of frequently asked questions about the Bookmark Importer.

•	List of Bugs

•	Future enhancements planned for the Bookmark Importer.


Ordering

About the Shareware Version and Ordering Information

The Bookmark Importer is a shareware program.  This method of distributing software allows the user to evaluate the application before purchasing.  If the application is useful and the user continues using it a licensed version must be purchased.  To ensure this the shareware version of the Bookmark Importer will an expire on the date specified on the startup screen, after which the program will not start and the user is required to purchase the product.

A licensed copy of the Bookmark Importer is limited to use on only a single personal computer or workstation which is not used as a server.  Only one copy of this software is allowed for backup or archival purposes.  Furthermore only one copy can be installed on a single hard drive.

Any use of this software in violation of the above is not licensed.

The shareware version of the Bookmark Importer is available from

http://www.webobj.com/bookmark

A licensed version at a cost of $30 (Cdn) may be requested by e-mailing a completed Order Form to

bookmark@webobj.com

Cheques should be sent to

webOBJ Technology Incorporated

Suite #211, 9030 Leslie Street,

Richmond Hill, Ontario,

Canada

L4B 1G2


Order Form

Bookmark Importer Order Form

Bookmark Importer is distributed by webOBJ Technology Incorporated and is currently only available in English.  To receive a personalized copy of the Bookmark Importer you must cut and paste the order form below and e-mail the completed form to bookmark@webobj.com.

Cost

The cost of the Bookmark Importer is $30 Cdn.  Payments can be made by cheque to the address shown below the order form.  This price entitles the registered user to receive product patches to the version purchased.  If there is a major release of the Bookmark Importer within 3 months of purchasing the application the user is entitled to a free upgrade.

Distribution Media

In filling out the Registration form you must select how you wish to receive the registered version of Bookmark Importer.  The choices are by postage or electronically.  If you wish to receive the application by post a set of 3.5" diskettes will be sent to the address indicated on the registration form.

cut below the line

Registration Form

First Name:

Last Name:

Company Name:

Address:

City:

Province/State:

Postal Code:

Country:

Phone:

Fax:

e-mail address:

How would you like to receive the Bookmark Importer:

[ ] By Postage (the disks will be posted to the address shown above)

cut above the line

Please make all cheques payable to:

                        webOBJ Technology Incorporated

                        Suite 211, 9030 Leslie Street,

                        Richmond Hill, Ontario,

                        Canada

                        L4B 1G2

If you require more information please e-mail us at bookmark@webobj.com or

visit http://www.webobj.com/bookmark.


Trademarks

Copyrights

Microsoft Internet Explorer for Windows 95 is a Copyright © 1995 Microsoft Corporation.

Netscape Navigator is a Copyright © 1994-1995 Netscape Communications Corporation

Bookmark Importer is a Copyright © 1996 webOBJ Technology Incorporated.


URL: Uniform Resource Locator.  A URL is an address of a file on a machine located on the Internet.  URLs have a generic syntax as protocol://host.domain[:port#][/path/filename] where the items in brackets are optional.  A protocol represents one of the following:

file: a file on your local system, or a file on an anonymous FTP server

http: a file on a World Wide Web server

gopher: a file on a Gopher server

WAIS: a file on a WAIS server

news: an Usenet newsgroup

telnet: a connection to a Telnet-based service

Source: A Beginner’s Guide to HTML, Netscape, http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/demoweb/html-primer.html


The term flat in this context means that all the bookmarks are exported to the same location regardless of their original location in the bookmark tree.  This means that nested folders will be ignored and their bookmarks will be at the same location of those in the parent folder.


A node is any element of the bookmark tree structure.  This includes folder, sub-folders and bookmarks.


Selecting this will display a dialog box which will allow you to specify the bookmark file or favorites directory to import bookmarks from.  You also specify the format of the bookmarks you wish to import in this dialog box.


Select this to export all the bookmarks belonging to this folder.  This option is only available if a bookmark folder is currently selected.


Export the currently selected node.  Will bring up the export the export dialog box from which you specify your options.  This option is only available if there are bookmarks in the Tree pane.


Delete the currently selected node.


Sorts the bookmarks belonging to the selected bookmark folder.  This option is only available if a bookmark folder is currently selected.  NOTE: This does not sort the entire tree (i.e. only the children of the currently selected folder).


There are two options for this menu item - to maintain the tree structure during the export or keep all the bookmarks in one location.

Tree

Selecting this option allows the tree structure, that is any nested folders with bookmarks, to be maintained while exporting.

Flat

This selection ignores any nested folders.  In the case of Internet Explorer all bookmarks are placed in the Favorites directory.


The Export Notes provides key information on the browser type you are exporting to.


Select the appropriate browser you wish to export your bookmarks to.  Your choice of browsers varies depending on the operating system you are running Bookmark Importer on.