Table of Contents

CBM Help v3.3.0

Overview

What is Columbine Bookmark Merge?

License - How do I register CBM?

Requirements - What is needed to run CBM?

Installing CBM

Quick Start

Organize Your Bookmarks

Convert BookmarksM

Merge Bookmark Files

Publish Your Bookmarks

Use CBM as a Front-end to Your Browser

How Do I...?

UnInstalling CBM

Credits

Merging Bookmark Files

Definitions

The Merge Process

Merge Strategies

Controlling the Merge Process: Merge Options Window

Adding Items

Replacing Items

Comparison Rules

Replace Rules

Reference

The Main Window

Menu

Bookmark File Outlines

Buttons

Editing Buttons

Merge Buttons

Browser Select Button

Description Bar

Status Bar

Browser Launch Button

Hints Bar

Drag and Drop Operations

Item Properties Window

What Kind of Bookmark Item Window

Configure Browsers Window

Open File Window

Save File Window

Sorting Bookmarks

Print Bookmarks Window

Icons Legend Window

URL Ratings Window

Define Rating Categories Window

Flag Duplicate URLs Options Window

Miscelaneous Topics

CBM for LAN Administrators

Command-line Parameters

Starting with an Empty Bookmark File

Special Item Properties Considerations

Using CBM with your Browser

Using CBM to Publish Your Bookmarks

CBM Style Files

CBM Old Style Files

Using CBM with the Clipboard

About MSIE Favorites

About Mosaic hotlists

About Opera Hot Lists

About MSIE Favorites

About NetScape E-mail Addressbooks

About Ratings

About Automatic Backups

Limitations and Known Bugs

Contacting The Author

Obtaining the Latest Version of CBM

Version History

Release Notes


Overview - What is Columbine Bookmark Merge?

CBM is an accessory for the NetScape, Microsoft Internet Explorer (MSIE), NCSA Mosaic, and Opera world-wide web browsers.  It permits you to merge together the following files without producing duplicates or unwanted items.

NetScape bookmark files

Microsoft favorites files

Mosaic hotlist files

Opera v2 Hot List files

Opera v3 Hotlist files

NetScape E-mail addressbook files

Suppose you use a web browser both at work and at home.  You need to keep your bookmarks syncronized in both locations.  CBM allows you to do that.

Or suppose your friend mails you his bookmark file.  You could print out his file and manually enter the bookmarks that interest you from his file into your bookmark file, but using CBM, you can quickly and easily merge just those bookmarks you want.  If any of your friend's bookmarks are more up-to-date than yours, you can update your bookmarks from your your friend's bookmark file without destroying your carefully-organized bookmark headers and structure.

CBM offers the following features:

•	Works with the following web browsers:

NetScape Navigator version 2.0 or above.

Microsoft Internet Explorer version 3.0 or above.  (See About MSIE Favorites for important notes about the forthcoming version 4 of MSIE.)

NCSA Mosaic

Opera 2.12.

Opera 3

•	Greatly enhances your browser's built-in bookmark editor.  You can edit bookmarks, create or delete bookmarks, create or delete folders, drag bookmarks from one folder to another, sort bookmarks alphanumerically, etc.

•	Will read NetScape bookmark files, Microsoft Favorites files, 16-bit Microsoft Global History files, NCSA Mosaic hotlist files, Opera v2 Hot List files, Opera v3 Hotlist files, NetScape e-mail addressbook files, and any HTML document.  Will output in any of these formats as well.  See Open File Window and Save File Window for more details.

•	Use CBM to convert Microsoft Favorites to NetScape Bookmarks and vice versa.

•	Use CBM to convert MSIE 16-bit Favorites to MSIE 32-bit Favorites or vice versa.

•	Launch your web browser from CBM to check out your bookmarks, capture bookmarks from your browser, or capture all links from any document currently displayed by your browser.  See Browser Launch Button and Using CBM with Your Browser for more details.

•	CBM will capture bookmarks from the Windows clipboard.  Use this feature to enhance  all your Internet applications.  Any text that is placed in the clipboard that is a URL will be automatically captured.

•	Rate bookmarks using up to 5 categores you define.  For example, you can rate bookmarks on how up-to-date the site is.  CBM will keep track of these ratings and display them using "colored stoplights" - red, yellow, green.

•	Print your bookmarks.

•	Publish your bookmarks as web pages (HTML files).  Output in any of several supplied styles, including Outline,  2-column table, 3-column table, and Resumé.  Or develop your own styles.  See Using CBM to Publish Your Bookmarks for more details.

•	Runs under Windows 3.11, Windows NT, or Win95.

•	Even though CBM is a 16-bit Windows application, it supports long file and folder names when running under Windows 95 or Windows NT.

•	Small and lean.  No special drivers.  Win32s not required.  No modifications to your Windows INI files or registry.  Easy to install; easy to uninstall  You control how and when to use CBM.

•	LAN Administrators will find CBM very useful for updating the bookmark files on their client workstations.  CBM will run non-interactively using command-line parameters.  Use it to distribute bookmarks to all your user's workstations.

•	Best of all, its free!  (You are requested to make a donation to the Frank J. Cramblitt Memorial Fund at Towson State University.  This fund supports the education and advancement of elementary school teachers.  See How do I register CBM for details.)


License - How do I register my copy of CBM?
License - How do I register CBM?

License

Columbine Bookmark Merge is MemorialWare.  You are not required to make any payment on it in order to use it and you are not required to register it.  You are requested to make a donation to the Frank J. Cramblitt Memorial Fund at Towson State University.  This fund supports the education and advancement of elementary school teachers.

Columbine Bookmark Merge is not public domain.  It is copyrighted by Gary Cramblitt.  You may use CBM for your own use.  You may not sell it, include it in any other packages, or alter the code.  Shareware distributors may charge a nominal fee of no more than $5 for distributing copies of CBM.

To make a tax-deductible donation to the Frank J. Cramblitt Memorial Fund for the furtherance of elementary school teacher education, please make the check payable to

Frank J. Cramblitt Mem Fund

and mail it to:

TSU Foundation

Towson State University

8000 York Rd.

Towson, MD 21204-7097

Because of processing costs, a minimum donation of $10 is requested, but you may donate any amount you wish.  The author of Columbine Bookmark Merge does not derive any monetary profit from these funds and does not directly manage the fund.   Please do not send checks to the author of CBM, Gary Cramblitt.

...and Thank You for your donation!

And Now The Legal Stuff

In using Columbine Bookmark Merge, you are consenting to be bound by and are becoming a party to the following License Agreement.  If you do not agree to all of the terms of this agreement, you must not use the software and you must destroy all copies of the software.

License Agreement

1. Columbine Enterprises and Gary Cramblitt (the "Author") grants to you a non-exclusive, non-sublicensable, license (the "License") to use this version of Columbine Bookmark Merge (the "Software"), in binary executable form for individual use only.  Individuals in government or educational institutions, businesses, and corporations may also use this this software, provided that no monetary benefit is derived from the sale of this Software.   No fee is being charged for this license ("freeware").  A donation to the Frank J. Cramblitt Memorial Fund is requested but not required as a condition for granting of this License.  Payment of such a donation does not transfer ownership of the Software or otherwise alter this License Agreement.

2. License is hereby granted to distribute copies of this Software, provided that distributors charge a distribution and copying fee of no more than $5 US per copy of the Software, and that such distributions include the entire package, including this License Agreement.  Distributors shall clearly indicate to customers that any fee charged does not assign ownership of the Software or otherwise alter the License.  The Software may not be sold as part of any other product unless (a) all of the Columbine Bookmark Merge package is included, including this License Agreement,  and (b) the "freeware" nature of this Software is clearly conveyed to all customers.

3. THE AUTHOR MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS ABOUT THE SUITABILITY OF THIS SOFTWARE OR ABOUT ANY CONTENT OR INFORMATION MADE ACCESSIBLE BY THE SOFTWARE, FOR ANY PURPOSE.  THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED 'AS IS' WITHOUT EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NONINFRINGEMENT.  THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED GRATUITOUSLY AND, ACCORDINGLY, NEITHER COLUMBINE ENTERPRISES OR GARY CRAMBLITT SHALL  BE LIABLE UNDER ANY THEORY OR ANY DAMAGES SUFFERED BY YOU OR ANY USER OF THE SOFTWARE.  NEITHER COLUMBINE ENTERPRISES OR GARY CRAMBLITT ARE OBLIGATED TO SUPPORT THIS SOFTWARE OR ISSUE UPDATES TO THIS SOFTWARE.

4. All content accessed through the Software is the property of the applicable content owner and may be protected by applicable copyright law.  This License gives you no rights to such content.

5. While the Author does not currently intend to distribute a commercial release of the Software, Columbine Enterprises and Gary Cramblitt reserve the right at any time to release a commercial release of the Software or, if released, to alter prices, features, specifications, capabilities, functions, licensing terms, release dates, general availability or other characteristics of the commercial release.

6. Title, ownership rights, and intellectual property rights in and to the Software shall remain in Columbine Enterprises and Gary Cramblitt.  You agree to abide by the copyright law and all other applicable laws of the United States including, but not limited to, export control laws.  You acknowledge that the Software in source code form remains a confidential trade secret of Columbine Enterprises and Gary Cramblitt and therefore you agree not to modify the Software or attempt to decipher, decompile, disassemble or reverse engineer the Software, except to the extent applicable laws specifically prohibit such restriction.

7. Columbine Enterprises or Gary Cramblitt may terminate this License at any time by delivering notice to you and you may terminate this License at any time by destroying or erasing your copy of the Software.  Upon termination of this License, you agree to destroy or erase the Software.  In the event of termination, the following sections of this License will survive: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9.  This License is personal to you and you agree not to assign your rights herein.  This License shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Maryland and, as to matters affecting copyrights, trademarks and patents, by U.S.  federal law.  This License sets forth the entire agreement between you and Columbine Enterprises and Gary Cramblitt.

8. Use, duplication or disclosure by the Government is subject to restrictions set forth in subparagraphs (a) through (d) of the Commercial Computer-Restricted Rights clause at FAR 52.227-19 when applicable, or in subparagraph (c) (1) (ii) of the Rights in Technical Data and Computer Software clause at DFARS 252.227-7013, and in similar clauses in the NASA AR Supplement.

9. COLUMBINE ENTERPRISES AND GARY CRAMBLITT SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR (a) INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL OR INDIRECT DAMAGES OF ANY SORT, WHETHER ARISING IN TORT, CONTRACT OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF COLUMBINE ENTERPRISES OR GARY CRAMBLITT HAS BEEN INFORMED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, OR (b) FOR ANY CLAIM BY ANY OTHER PARTY. THIS LIMITATION OF LIABILITY SHALL NOT APPLY TO LIABILITY FOR DEATH OR PERSONAL INJURY TO THE EXTENT APPLICABLE LAW PROHIBITS SUCH LIMITATION. FURTHERMORE, SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THIS LIMITATION AND EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO

YOU.

Copyright (c) 1995-1998 by Gary Cramblitt.  All rights reserved.

Registering CBM

There is no registration process for Columbine Bookmark Merge.  The author maintains an informal mailing list.  See Contacting the Author.


Requirements - What is needed to run CBM?

•	Microsoft Windows or Windows for Workgroups 3.11 or greater OR Windows 95 OR Windows NT.

•	4MB RAM (8MB recommended).

•	1MB available disk space.

•	Any or all of the following web browsers:

NetScape 2.0 or greater

Microsoft Internet Explorer (MSIE) 3.0 or greater. (See About MSIE Favorites for important notes about the forthcoming version 4 of MSIE.)

NCSA Mosaic

Opera 2.12.

Opera 3

•	A Windows video driver that supports 256 colors is suggested, but not required.

At least one user has reported that CBM works fine under Windows 3.1.  Why not give it a try and let us know YOUR results!

Columbine Bookmark Merge has been tested and found to work OK under Windows 95 and Windows NT 3.5, 3.51, and 4.0.

The following chart shows compability between Columbine Bookmark Merge and tested versions of NetScape, Microsoft Internet Explorer, NCSA Mosaic, and Opera.  The functions listed across the top are available on the Actions menu (maximum your Help window to read this chart):

	Start Browser	Launch URL	Capture URL	Capture Doc
16-bit Versions:
Ns 0.92	Err Msg	N	N	Could not open link
Ns 1.2N	Y	Y	Y	See Note 1
Ns 2.0	Y	Y	Y	Y
Ns 3.0	Y	Y	Y	Y
Ns 4.0 PR2	Y	Y	Y	Y
Msie 2.10.524	Y	Y	Y	GPF (See Note 2)
Msie 3.0.1068(Beta)	Y	Y	Y	Y
Msie 3.0a (128-bit)	Y	Y	Y	N
Opera 2.12	Y	Y	N	N (See Note 5)
Opera 3	Y	Y	Y	N (See Note 5)
Mosaic 2.1.1	Y (Note 4)	Y	N	N (See Note 3)
32-bit Versions:
Ns 3.01, 128-bit	Y	Y	Y	Y
Msie 3.0(4.70.1215)	Y	Y	Y	N
Msie 3.02	Y	Y	Y	N
Opera 2.12	?	Y	Y	N (See Note 5)
Opera 3	Y	Y	Y	N (See Note 5)
Mosaic 3.0	Y (Note 4)	Y	N	N (See Note 3)

A "Y" means the function works.  A "N" means the function does not work but does no harm.

Note1: CBM has been tested with NetScape (16-bit) 1.2N.  It works with that version with one exception -- the Capture Browser Doc function will cause NetScape to display the File Save As dialog box.  No matter what you enter in this dialog box, NetScape then saves the document to the file that CBM told it (in the Windows temporary directory).  This appears to be a bug in NS 1.2N.

Note 2: CBM has also been tested with MSIE (16-bit) version 2.1.  It works with that version with one exception -- the Capture Browser Doc function will crash MSIE and take CBM with it.  This appears to be a bug in MSIE.

Note 3: The CaptureBrowserUrl and CaptureBrowserDoc DDE functions are not supported by Mosaic.  This is documented at the Mosaic web site.

Note 4: Mosaic will start but will be minimized, rather than in the restored state and in front.

Note 5: The Opera folks confirmed this and promised to fix it in a future release.  Unfortunately, the fix did not make it into Opera v3 (final).

Columbine Bookmark Merge can be run directly from a high-density floppy diskette if you wish.


Installing CBM

See Also:

   Requirements

   Uninstalling CBM

   License

CBM comes with an intelligent Install Wizard that can automatically unpack all the files needed and install them in the designated target directory.  Before installation, you will have an opportunity to view the online help file.

If installing CBM over an older version, simply install it to the same target directory as the previous version.

Note: CBM v3.2 comes with updated style files (*.sty).  Existing style files will be overwritten.  If you made modifications to any of the existing style files, you should copy them elsewhere before installing CBM.

Before installing CBM, close any other applications you may have running.  (The Setup Wizard may require you to restart Windows.)

The Install Wizard requires write access to the Windows temporary directory.  If you have a network workstation and the Install Wizard does not run, check with your LAN Administrator to make sure that you have a Windows temporary directory defined and that you have write access to that directory.

To install CBM, simply run the file you downloaded.  CBM is distributed as an EXE file named with the version number.  For example CBM version 3.3 is distributed as file CBM33.EXE.  Simply run this file from Windows as follows:

Windows 3.1x or Windows NT 3.5 Users

Click on File in the Program Manager.  Click on Run.  Use the Browse button to find the downloaded CBM file.  Then click OK.

Windows 95 or Windows NT 4.x Users

Click on Start.  Click Run.  Use the Browse button to find the downloaded CBM file.  Then click OK.

Follow the on-screen instructions of the Setup Wizard.  Before clicking the Install button, please be sure to read the License agreement by clicking on the License button, which will open the CBM help file and display the License topic.  Close Help by clicking on File then Exit.  When you are ready to install CBM, click on the Install button.

The Setup program will create the target directory, copy the necessary files to that directory, and create an icon group called Columbine Bookmark Merge. When finished installing CBM, the following files should exist in the target directory:

BKMMERGE.EXE	The executable program.

BKMMERGE.HLP	The help file.

*.STY	HTML style files.

CBMLOGO.GIF	CBM logo file.

SETUP.LOG	Installation log file.

To start CBM, double-click the Columbine Bookmark Merge icon in the icon group of the same name.  When CBM starts click on Options in the Main Menu and then click on Configure Browsers....  Using the dialog box that appears, provide the location of your NETSCAPE.EXE file and/or IEXPLORE.EXE, MOSAIC.EXE, and OPERA.EXE then click OK.

After you run CBM for the first time and specify the path to your web browser(s), it will create a BKMMERGE.INI file in the same directory as BKMMERGE.EXE.

You may delete the original file you downloaded.

Running CBM from Floppy Diskette

CBM can be run from floppy diskette instead of from the hard drive if you wish.  The following files must exist on the floppy:

bkmmerge.exe	The executable program

bkmmerge.hlp	The help file.

*.sty	HTML Style files.

cbmlogo.gif	CBM logo file.

bkmmerge.ini	Created the first time you run CBM.

The files will not fit on a low-density (360K or 720K) diskette; they will only fit on high-density (1.2MB or 1.44MB) diskettes.


Quick Start

See Also:

   How Do I...?

After installing CBM, the first thing you must do is configure CBM for your web browser(s).

Now, what do you want to do?

Organize your bookmarks?

Convert bookmarks from one format to another?

Merge bookmark files?

Publish your bookmarks?

Use CBM as a front-end bookmark manager with your browser?


Organize Your Bookmarks

CBM enhances the built-in bookmark manager of your web browser.    Instead of a flat list of web sites you have visited, you can categorize and organize your bookmarks the way you work for easy reference.  To get started organizing your bookmarks

1.	Begin by clicking the Primary Bookmark File panel on the left-hand side of the main window.  This will display the Open File dialog for you to load your existing bookmark file or files into CBM.  We suggest you load a single bookmark file into the Primary Bookmark File Outline on the left-hand side of the main window, reserving the Secondary Bookmark File Outline on the right-hand side as a workspace.

2.	Once you have your bookmarks loaded, you will be viewing them in an outline-like structure.  You work with two such outlines, side by side, primary and secondary.  You can size the main CBM window to suit your needs and you can drag the divider between the two outlines right or left as needed.

3.	You can create new folders to organize your bookmarks into categories.  You can also edit existing bookmark names and/or URLs.  Use the editing buttons at the top of the main window to do this.

4.	You can copy or cut individual bookmarks or entire folders into the CBM clipboard, and then paste them back where desired, either in the same outline or in the other outline.  The Secondary Bookmark File Outline on the right-hand side is particularly handy for this.

5.	You can drag individual bookmarks or entire folders from one place in the outline to another or into the other outline.

6.	You can sort the bookmarks in individual folders or in the entire outline.

7.	You can flag and eliminate duplicates from individual folders or the entire bookmark file outline.

8.	When you have your bookmarks organized the way you want, save them back to disk.


Convert Bookmarks

CBM can convert bookmark files to or from the following formats:

NetScape

NetScape E-mail Addressbooks

Microsoft Internet Explorer 16-bit (Windows, Windows for Workgroups, and Windows NT 3.1 and below)

Microsoft Internet Explorer 32-bit (Windows 95 and Windows NT 3.51 and above)

NCSA Mosaic

Opera 2.12

Opera 3

Hypertext Markup Languate (HTML)

Put simply, you convert bookmarks by opening the files in one format, and then saving them in a different format.  CBM handles most of the conversion issues for you.  However, there are details you should be aware of when converting files.  For example, when converting NetScape bookmarks to Opera 2.12 format, the descriptions of your bookmarks are lost because Opera v2 Hot List files do not support descriptions (Opera v3 Hotlist files do support descriptions).  See the tables in the Open File and Save File help topics for more information.  Also see the topics listed below appropriate for your formats:

Special Item Properties Considerations.

About MSIE Favorites.

About Mosaic hotlists.

About Opera Hot Lists.

About NetScape E-mail Addressbooks.


Merge Bookmark Files

The topic Merging Bookmark Files explains in detail how to go about merging your bookmark files together.  However, to get started quickly merging, do the following.

1.	Begin by opening the target file into into the Primary Bookmark File Outline.  Open the file you want to merge from into the Secondary Bookmark File Outline.

2.	Click the Merge All button, click the OK button on the Merge Options window and watch the product

3.	When you have your bookmarks merged the way you want, save them back to disk.


Publish Your Bookmarks

CBM can save bookmarks as HTML files.  Therefore, CBM can be used as a tool for publishing your bookmarks on the web.  You can save your bookmarks in various styles, including tabular, outline, and resume.  You can even develop your own styles.  The topic Using CBM to Publish Your Bookmarks explains in more detail, but as a quick start, do the following.

1.	Begin by opening your bookmark file into into the Primary Bookmark File Outline.

2.	Choose File, then Save... from the Main Menu.

3.	Click the HTML File radio button on the Save File window.  Select a style from the list box below the radio button.

4.	Click the Browse button and enter a filename for your HTML output.  Important: Do not save to the same file as your bookmarks!  Click OK on the Browse window to return to the Save File window.

5.	Click OK on the Save File window to save your bookmarks to the HTML file.

6.	Start your web browser and open the saved HTML file to view the results.


Use CBM as a Front-end to Your Browser

CBM is designed to augment your web browser in several ways.  CBM provides a superset of all the bookmark (favorites/hotlist) capabilities of all the web browsers that CBM supports.  Therefore, it can act as a replacement for the built-in bookmark manager of your browser.  For example, MSIE does not have a capability for attaching descriptions to favorites.  But using CBM, you can enter descriptions for you favorites.  Just save the favorites from CBM in NetScape format.

Be sure to configure CBM for your browser(s).

If you choose to use CBM as a front-end to your browser, please keep in mind that you cannot use the built-in bookmark, favorites, or hotlist capability of your browser while simultaneously using CBM on the same file(s).  Your browser and CBM will battle over the file(s) with you as the loser.

NetScape bookmark files provide the most complete set of storage attributes of any of the browsers CBM supports, therefore, we recommend that you store all your bookmarks, favorites, or hotlists in NetScape format.  Of course, you cannot use a NetScape-formatted file directly in MSIE, Opera, or Mosaic, but that won't matter if you always use CBM as a front-end to your browser.  Note that you can save bookmarks, favorites, or hotlists in NetScape format even if you do use or have a copy of NetScape.

If you are a MSIE user, here is the way we recommend you use CBM as a front-end.

1.	Start CBM.

2.	Load your favorites into CBM.  See the Open File topic for details on how to do this.

3.	Save the favorites in NetScape format.  See the Save File topic for details.  When you save the file, give it any name you like, such as "MyFavs.htm".

4.	From now on, when you begin a web browsing session, first start CBM.  Open the NetScape-formatted file you created in Step 3.  Make sure MSIE is your default browser by clicking the MSIE button in Browser Select Buttons.  Select a bookmark in CBM and click the Browser Launch button to start MSIE and display the bookmark.

5.	To create a new favorite, press Alt-Tab on your keyboard to switch back to CBM.  Under Action on the Main Menu, select Add URL from Browser, or riight-click anywhere in the outline to bring up a context-sensitive menu and select Add URL from Browser.  Select another favorite in CBM and click the Browser Launch button, or press Alt-Tab to switch back to MSIE.

6.	When you are finished your browsing session, exit MSIE, then save your favorites from CBM back to the NetScape file you created in Step 3.

7.	Before exiting CBM, also save the favorites in 16-bit or 32-bit favorites format as appropriate to your browser.  In this way, your favorites will be available from MSIE on those occasions when it is not convenient to use CBM as a front-end.  Important: Make sure you have exited MSIE before saving your favorites in this way.  If you do not, MSIE may overwrite them with its own outdated copy.

If you follow this procedure, you will gain the following advantages:

1.	You will be able to attach descriptions to your favorites.

2.	If you are a MSIE 16-bit user, you will be able to organize your favorites into folders and subfolders.

3.	You will be able to rate your favorites.

4	If you are a MSIE 32-bit user,  you will save a huge amount of disk space.  This is because MSIE saves each favorite in a separate file and each file requires at least one cluster, no matter how small the favorite.  On large disk drives, this can save 8, 16, 32, or more kilobytes per favorite.

5.	You will be able to record Last Visited date information for each of your favorites.

6.	You will be able to create favorites from any valid URL that you can copy to the clipboard.  See Using CBM with the Clipboard for details.

Opera users and Mosaic users follow the same procedure and gain many of the same advantages.  Just remember to save your hotlists in NetScape format to get the richest set of capabilities.


How Do I...?

Load an existing bookmark file into CBM?	On the Main Menu, choose File, then Open.  On the Open File window, choose whether you want the file loaded into the Primary or Secondary Bookmark Outline.  If you are loading favorites from a 32-bit version of MSIE, make sure the MSIE 32-bit Favorites format checkbox is checked.  Click the Browse button to open the Browse window.  Locate the file (or folder) you want loaded and click OK.  Click OK on the Open File window.
Understand what's on the Main Window of CBM?	See Main Window.
Find out what the little icons mean in the outline displays?	See Icons Legend.
Find out what a URL Item is?  A Bookmark File Outline?  A Folder Item?  Any other term used in CBM?	See Definitions.
Save a bookmark file to disk?	On the Main Menu, choose File, then Save.  On the Save File window, choose whether you want the Primary or Secondary Bookmark Outline saved to disk. Click the Browse button to open the Browse window.  Enter or locate the file (or folder) you want saved and click OK.  Click OK on the Save File window.
Convert bookmarks from one format to another?	Open the file you want converted (see above). On the Main Menu, choose File, then Save.  On the Save File window, choose whether you want the Primary or Secondary Bookmark Outline saved to disk.  Select the format you want saved. Click the Browse button to open the Browse window.  Enter or locate the file (or folder) you want saved and click OK.  Click OK on the Save File window.
Merge two bookmark files together?	Open the target file in the Primary Bookmark File Outline (see above).  Open the file you want to merge from in the Secondary Bookmark File Outline.  Either select a folder in the Secondary Bookmark File Outline and click the Merge Selected button, or click the Merge All button.  Save the Primary Bookmark File Outline to disk (see above).
Expand a folder so I can see the items inside it?	Double-click the folder.   or Click the folder once to select it and click the Expand button.
Hide the items inside a folder?	Double-click the folder.   or Click the folder once to select it and click the Expand button.
Copy a folder from one outline to the other outline?	Two methods: Drag the folder from one outline to the other   or Click the source folder once to select it.  On the Main Menu, select Edit, then Copy (or press <Ctrl-C>).  The selected folder is copied to the CBM clipboard.  In the other outline, click once on the destination to select it.  On the Main Menu, select Edit, then Paste (or press <Ctrl-V>).
Copy a folder from one place in an outline to a new place in the same outline?	Two methods: Hold down the <Ctrl> key and Drag the folder from one place to the other.  To scroll the outline while dragging, hold the mouse just above or just below the outline.   or Click the source folder once to select it.  On the Main Menu, select Edit, then Copy (or press <Ctrl-C>).  The selected folder is copied to the CBM clipboard.  lick once on the destination to select it.  On the Main Menu, select Edit, then Paste (or press <Ctrl-V>).
Move a folder from one outline to the other outline.	Two methods: Hold down the <Ctrl> key and Drag the folder from one outline to the other.  To scroll the outline while dragging, hold the mouse just above or just below the outline.   or Click the source folder once to select it.  On the Main Menu, select Edit, then Cut (or press <Ctrl-X>).  The selected folder is copied to the CBM clipboard and deleted from the outline.  Click once on the destination to select it.  On the Main Menu, select Edit, then Paste (or press <Ctrl-V>)
Move a folder from one place in an outline to another place in the same outline?	Two methods: Drag the folder from one place in the outline to the other place   or Click the source folder once to select it.  On the Main Menu, select Edit, then Cut (or press <Ctrl-X>).  The selected folder is copied to the CBM clipboard and deleted from the outline.  Click once on the destination to select it.  On the Main Menu, select Edit, then Paste (or press <Ctrl-V>).
Copy or move a URL in the outlines?	Copying and moving URL Items is similar to copying or moving folders.  See the four items above.
Display a bookmark in my web browser?	First make sure that you have configured  CBM for your web browser(s).  Click on your preferred browser in the Browser Select Buttons on the Main Window.  Click on a URL Item once to select it, then click the Browser Launch button near the bottom of the Main Window.
Capture the URL of the page I'm currently displaying in my web browser?	Select the place you'd like to insert the new URL Item at by clicking once somewhere in the Bookmark File Outline.  From the Main Menu, choose Action, then Add URL from Browser.
Capture all the hypertext links (URLs) of the document I'm currently displaying in my web browser?	Select the place you'd like to insert the new URLs by clicking once somewhere in the Bookmark File Outlines.  From the Main Menu, choose Action, then Capture Browser Doc.  The Open File dialog will appear.  If you are not currently using the Secondary Bookmark Outline, check the radio button next to Secondary, otherwise check the Load at Selected Branch checkbox.  Click OK.
Capture a URL from the Windows clipboard.	Select the place you'd like to insert the new URL by clicking once somewhere in the Bookmark File Outlines.  From the Main Menu, choose Action, then check Watch Clipboard.  If a URL is already in the clipboard, it will be captured.  If not, anytime you place a URL in the clipboard, it will be captured.  The Watch Clipboard feature is a toggle.
One of my web sites has moved.  How do I update the URL Item in CBM to the new URL?	Make sure the URL Item in question has been selected in CBM by clicking it once.  From the Main Menu, select Action, then select Replace URL from Browser.   or Hold down the right mouse button on the URL Item and select Replace URL from Browser.
Modify the description of an item?	Two methods: Select the item in question by clicking it once, then click the Edit button to bring up the Item Properties Window.  Modify the description and click OK.   or Select the item in question by clicking it once.  Click on the Description Bar near the bottom of the Main Window.  Edit the description there.   or Hold down the right mouse button on the item and select Edit Properties.
Modify any of the properties of a bookmark item?	Select the item in question by clicking it once, then click the Edit button to bring up the Item Properties Window.  If you want the Item Properties Window to stay on screen, check the Stay on Top checkbox.  Modify the properties and click OK.   or Hold down the right mouse button on the item and select Edit Properties.
Mark a URL Item as visited recently?	Hold down the right mouse button on the URL Item and select Mark Last Visit as Now.
Rate my bookmarks (URLs)?	First define your Default Rating Categories by selecting Options from the Main Menu, then select Preferences.  Click the Define button on the CBM Preferences Window that appears.  Next, from the Main Menu, select Options, then check Show Ratings.  5 radio buttons will appear next to each URL Item.  When you pass the mouse over a radio button, the category for that button appears below in the Hints Bar.  Hold down the right mouse button on a radio button to change the rating for that category.   or First define your Default Rating Categories as described above.  From the Main Menu, select Options, then select Show Ratings Window.  As you select URL Items in the Bookmark File Outlines, the URL Ratings Window changes to that item.  Modify the ratings as desired.
Delete all duplicate URL Items from my file?	Click the root folder of  an outline.  From the Main Menu, select Action, then Flag Dup. URLs from Selected....  When the Flag Duplicate URLs Options window appears, click OK.  After a while, all the URL Items in the outline that are duplicates will be flagged with a cloned sheep icon ( [image] ).  Any folders that contain duplicate URL Items will have a single sheep icon ( [image] ).  You can either delete individual duplicate URL Items one at a time, or you can select a folder, then select Action from the Main Menu, and select Delete Dup.-flagged URLs from Selected.
Delete duplicate URL Items from a single folder only?	Click once on the folder in question to select it, then proceed as above.
Sort my bookmarks?	Click once on a folder to select it.  If you want to sort the entire bookmark file, select the root folder.  From the Main Menu, select Action, then Sort Selected....  Fill in the sort options you desire on the Sort Options Window, and click OK.
Print my bookmarks?	Click once on a folder to select it.  If you want to print the entire bookmark file, select the root folder.  From the Main Menu, select File, then Print....  Fill in the print options you desire on the Print Bookmarks Window.  To print only the folder you've selected, be sure to check the Selected Branch Only checkbox.  Click OK to begin printing.  Note: Once printing begins, you cannot stop it.
Automatically load my bookmarks each time I start CBM?	See Command Line Parameters.
Obtain support for CBM or contact the author?	See Contacting the Author.


Uninstalling CBM

We're sorry you don't like Columbine Bookmark Merge!  Please take a moment to send us e-mail to tell us why.  Perhaps we can improve CBM so that it will be useful to you.  See Contacting the Author.

The Columbine Setup Wizard created a SETUP.LOG file in the C:\CBM directory that details exactly what it did when it installed CBM.

Removing CBM from your system is simple:

1.	Delete the directory and all the files in the directory in which you installed CBM.  Usually, this is C:\CBM.

Note to Windows 95 Users: Win95 creates a hidden file called BKMMERGE.GID in the C:\CBM directory.  In order to delete the C:\CBM directory, you must first right-click on the GID file, then select Properties.  Uncheck the Hidden checkbox; then delete the file.

2.	Delete the icon group called "Columbine Bookmark Merge".   Windows 3.1x users do that in the Windows Program Manager.  Click the icon group once to select it, then click File | Delete.  Windows 95 users must right-click on the Start menu and select Open.  Locate the "Columbine Bookmark Merge" program folder and delete it.

Since CBM does not change the Windows registry, SYSTEM.INI, or WIN.INI, you don't need to worry about these.


Credits

Columbine Bookmark Merge was developed using Borland(tm) Delphi 16-bit version 1.02.  Thanks to Borland for pushing the technological envelope with a fine product.  Special thanks to the following individuals for their help in developing Columbine Bookmark Merge:

•	Nora Farrell for her patience and understanding as your author worked on CBM.

•	Kenneth Clubb and James Waletzky for help with launching web browsers from CBM.

•	John Anfuso for help with OwnerDraw of TOutline components.

•	Murto for the freeware VersionInfo component.

•	Columbus Circle Investors for the freeware Version component.

•	Brad Choate of Choate Consulting for the public domain Watch Clipboard feature.

•	Christian Ghisler, CIS: 100332,1175, for the public domain Call32NT package.

•	Enrico Lodolo for the extended file list component, originally published in the Unofficial Delphi Newsletter.

•	Edy Hinzen for the freeware BIGINI unit.

•	Katie Walsh at Towson State University for help setting up an endowment fund in Frank Cramblitt's name.

•	Josef W. Segur and Howard Verne for testing and debugging.

Next Topic: Merging Bookmark File


Merging Bookmark Files

To understand how to merge bookmark files, you first need to learn a few definitions.

Then we'll cover the basic algorithm that Columbine Bookmark Merge uses to merge bookmarks.

Next we'll cover various strategies for using CBM to merge your bookmark files.

Finally, you'll learn how to control the merge processMerge_Process.


Definitions

Columbine Bookmark Merge (CBM) works with bookmark files of various types.

A bookmark file is an ASCII text file created by the NetScape world-wide web browser program.  It is specially formatted by NetScape and cannot normally be edited by programs other than NetScape.  Columbine Bookmark Merge permits you to edit and merge bookmark files.

A favorites file is like a bookmark file, except that it is created by Microsoft Internet Explorer (MSIE).  A MSIE global history file is very similar to a favorites file.  The 16-bit versions of MSIE favorites and global history files do not have folders or separators as described below; they are a flat list of URLs.  32-bit versions of MSIE do have folders, but no separators. See About MSIE Favorites for more information.

A hotlist file is like a bookmark file, except that it is created by NCSA Mosaic.  Hotlist files support folders, but not separators.

A Hot List file is like a bookmark file, except that it is created by Opera.  Hot List files support a single level of folders, called "Sub-lists" in Opera.  They do not have separators.  See About Opera Hot Lists for more information.

A NetScape e-mail addressbook is similar to a NetScape bookmark file, except that it contains e-mail addresses instead of web page addresses.

Note: Throughout this help, the term bookmark file will be used to mean either a NetScape bookmark file, a MSIE favorites file, a MSIE 16-bit global history file, a Mosaic hotlist file, or an Opera Hot List file.

A bookmark file contains bookmark items of three types.  Items have data associated with them called properties.  The properties an item can have depend upon the type of the item.  The three types of items and their properties are (Note: MSIE 16-bit favorites files have only URL items):

Folder Items are simple strings that allow you to categorize and organize your bookmarks.  They are also called Header Items.  The string describing the Folder Item is called the name.  They also have a Date Added, which is the date that you created the Folder Item.  Starting with NetScape version 2.0b3, exactly one Folder Item in a bookmark file may be designated as the New Item Folder.  While surfing the web, you can add bookmarks for the currently displayed page.  By default, the bookmark is added to the New Item Folder.  Also starting with NetScape version 2.0b3, exactly one Folder Item may be designated as the Menu Folder.  The bookmarks in the Menu Folder appear in the Bookmarks menu in NetScape.  Except for the top-level, 16-bit MSIE favorites files do not have folders.  Opera v2.12 Hot Lists have only a single level of folders (called sub-lists in Opera).  An "Element" in Opera can contain up to 6 URLs.  When there is more than one URL in an Element, CBM creates a pseudo-folder to contain them.  Opera v3 Hotlist have nested folders, just like NetScape.

URL Items contain hypertext links to pages on the world-wide web.  Each URL Item has a name, which is usually the title of the hypertext page on the web, a Uniform Resource Locator -- or URL -- which is the address of the page on the web, an Add Date, which is the date the URL Item was put into the bookmark file, and a Last Visited Date which is the date that you last viewed the page using NetScape.  NetScape also calls URL Items simply bookmarks.  This can be a little confusing though.  By NetScapes's terminology,  a "bookmark" is one of three possible types of "bookmark items".  To avoid this confusion, Columbine Bookmark Merge refers to bookmarks as "URL Items".  Starting with NetScape version 2.0b3, URL Items also have a Last Modified Date,  which is the latest date that the page on the web was altered.  Also, starting with NetScape version 2.0b3, you can also create Alias Items.  An Alias Item is a copy of a URL Item that is linked back to the original.  They are useful for referencing the same page on the web more than once in your bookmark file.  In NetScape, if you delete the original item, the Alias Item is also deleted.  When you view Alias Items in CBM, you will see an Alias ID in the original URL Item, and an Alias Of reference in any aliases of the original.  In CBM, if you delete the original item, Alias Items are not deleted (but the Alias Of link is removed).  NetScape e-mail addressbooks contain folders and e-mail addresses.  The e-mail addresses are treated as URLs by CBM.  Each such URL will have a "MailTo:" protocol field.  NetScape e-mail addressbooks also permit a NickName to be associated with each address.  CBM will permit you to edit the NickNames and it will save them to an addressbook, but otherwise does nothing special with NickNames.  MSIE 16-bit favorites do not have Add Date, Last Visited Date, Last Modified Date, Alias ID, or Alias Of.  MSIE 32-bit favorites do not have a Last Modified Date, Alias ID, or Alias Of.  Mosaic hotlist files have a single date which may be interpreted as either the Add Date (if the URL is unvisited, or the Last Visited Date.  Opera v2.12 Hot Lists do not have any date information.  Opera v3 Hotlist have Add Date and Last Visited, but no Modified Date.  NetScape e-mail addressbooks do not have any date information.

Columbine Bookmark Merge permits you to rate your URL items with up to 5 categories of your choosing.  You may rate a URL Item high (green), medium (yellow), or low (red) for each category you define.  The ratings help you keep track of the usefulness of your bookmarks.  Ratings are only supported in NetScape bookmark files and in MSIE 32-bit favorites; MSIE 16-bit favorites, Mosaic hotlists, and Opera Hotlists do not support ratings.

Separator Items are simply horizontal lines that you put into a bookmark file for asthetics.  MSIE favorites files, Mosaic hotlist files, and Opera Hot Lists files do not have separator items.

When running Columbine Bookmark Merge, you work with bookmark items of the types listed above.  You modify bookmarks and their properties.  CBM does not provide any facility for directly altering Alias ID, Alias Of reference, New Item Folder flag, or Menu Folder flag.

When running Columbine Bookmark Merge, you work with two bookmark files.  The Primary Bookmark File is the main file into which you intend to merge new or updated bookmark items.  The Secondary Bookmark File is the file from which you merge items.  In the main window of CBM, the Primary Bookmark File is displayed on the left; the Secondary Bookmark File on the right.

The bookmark items in a bookmark file can be organized into an outline-like hierarchy, much like a directory tree.  While viewing this bookmark tree,  you can expand any or all tree branch(s) by doubling-clicking on them.  When you do this, you can see the child bookmark items of that branch.  The child items are displayed underneath and indented from the parent bookmark item that you expanded.  When you double-click the parent item again, the tree branch collapses and the child items are no longer visible (although they are still there).  Tree branches may have children that are themselves branches.  Columbine Bookmark Merge supports up to 30 levels of such branching.  The top-level item is the root item.  There may be only one root item, which must be a Folder Item and usually has your name, for example, "Gary Cramblitt's Bookmarks".  Only Folder Items may have children.  URL Items and Separator Items may not have children and so they are always the leaves of the tree.  Folder Items may also be leaves (but not usually).  Notice that the "tree" described here is displayed upside down, with the root at the top and the leaves toward the bottom.  Since 16-bit MSIE favorites files do not have folders (except for the root), the tree structure discussed above does not apply to them.  If you create a tree structure and save the outline to a 16-bit MSIE favorites file, the folders and tree structure are eliminated, resulting in a flat list of URLs.  See About MSIE Favorites for more information.  Opera v2.12 Hot Lists have only a single level of folders, called "Sub-lists" in Opera.  If an Opera Element contains more than one URL, CBM will also create a second-level folder to contain the URLs.  When saving Opera Hot Lists, CBM will "flatten" a deeper tree structure to adhere to this format.  Opera v3 Hotlist have nested folders, just like NetScape.  See About Opera Hot Lists for more information.

CBM can read and write any of the file types mentioned so far -- NetScape bookmark files, MSIE favorites files, MSIE 16-bit global history files, Mosaic hotlist files,  Opera Hot List files, and NetScape e-mail addressbook files.  In addition, CBM can read and write HTML files.  HTML stands for Hypertext Markup Language.  It is the format used on the world-wide-web for authoring the web pages you view with your browser.  CBM has the capability of generating HTML files using pre-defined HTML styles.  In this way, you can publish your bookmark files on the web.

CBM can convert to and from any of the seven types of files.  (See About NetScape E-mail Addressbooks for restrictions on saving addressbooks.


The Merge Process

See Also:

  Definitions	Merge Strategies

  Comparison Rules	Special Item Properties Considerations

  Replace Rules

Please be sure that you have read and understood the definitions used by Columbine Bookmark Merge before reading this topic.

The material in this topic is a bit technical.  It's the sort of thing that is easier to understand by doing than it is to explain.  The easiest way to understand how CBM merges bookmarks is to experiment.

When you start CBM, the Main Window display appears.  You work with two bookmark files in CBM -- the Primary Bookmark File on the left, and the Secondary Bookmark File on the right.  Merging is always done from the Secondary to the Primary, or from right to left in the display.

Using the merge buttons, you have a choice of merging any selected bookmark branch and its child items or merging all the items from the Secondary Bookmark File into the Primary Bookmark File.

In the merging process, you may replace items that are more up-to-date or you may add new items, or you may do both (the default).

As CBM merges, it compares bookmark items between the Secondary and Primary Bookmark Files.   You can control what makes a sucessful match by setting options for the comparison rules.

If CBM finds matching items, it may replace the item in the Primary Bookmark File with the item in the Secondary Bookmark File.  There are replacement rules you can control to decide which item is more up-to-date.

Separator items are never merged.

The algorithm that CBM uses to merge a selected item in the Secondary Bookmark File into the Primary Bookmark File is as follows:

1.   Search the Primary Bookmark File for a matching item.  Search using the comparison rules.

2.   If a match is found, and replacing items has been turned on, use the replacement rules to determine whether to replace the matched item.

3.   If a match is not found and adding of items has been turned on, the item will be added to the Primary Bookmark File.  To determine where to add it, walk upwards through the Secondary Bookmark File tree searching for a matching item in the Primary Bookmark File.  If a match is found, add all the items that were traversed but did not match to the Primary File.  Add them as a new branch under the matched item in the Primary Bookmark File.

4.   Recursively repeat the algorithm for each of the children of the selected item (and their children, etc.).

To see how this algorithm works, consider the following Primary and Secondary Bookmark Files:

Primary Root	Secondary Root

  Vendors	    Software

     Microsoft                          ShareWare

     Novell	          PKZIP

  Software	        Freeware

     NetScape	           Free Agent

     Winsock Watch	           CBM

     Winsock Archie

     UseNet Readers

          Free Agent

          WinVN

Suppose you selected "Freeware" in the Secondary Bookmark File and instructed Columbine Bookmark Merge to merge the selected items.  CBM would start by searching through the Primary Bookmark File for "Freeware".  Not finding a match, it would walk upwards to "Software".  Finding a match in the Primary Bookmark File, CBM would add "Freeware" as a new child item in the Primary Bookmark File underneath "Software".   CBM would now consider "Free Agent", which is a child of the selected item in the Secondary Bookmark File.  Searching through the Primary Bookmark File, it would find a match.  If the properties of "Free Agent" in the Secondary Bookmark File are more up-to-date than the Primary Bookmark File, it would replace "Free Agent" in the Primary with the Secondary.  Next, CBM would consider "CBM".  Not finding a match in the Primary, CBM would walk upwards from CBM and find a match on "Freeware" (which it just added to the Primary Bookmark File a moment ago).  So it would be added under "Freeware".

The results of the merge would be:

Primary Root

  Vendors

     Microsoft

     Novell

  Software

     NetScape

     Winsock Watch

     Winsock Archie

     UseNet Readers

          Free Agent (updated)

          WinVN

     Freeware

          CBM

Notice that while "Free Agent" is a child of "Freeware" in the Secondary Bookmark File, it is not a child of "Freeware" in the resulting Primary Bookmark File.  The merging process is characterized by the following behaviour:

1.   CBM avoids adding new items if it can.  It always attempts to update matching items first.  CBM will not create duplicate items.

2.   Number 1 is even true when CBM adds items.  It only adds those parts of the parent structure as are absolutely necessary.

3.   Children of added items do not necessarily end up under the same folder as they had in the Secondary Bookmark File.  If they already exist somewhere else in the Primary Bookmark File, then they are replaced there rather than added.

4.   CBM attempts to preserve the original tree structure of the Primary File as much as possible.

The root item is handled as a special case.  The root item of the Secondary Bookmark File is never added to the Primary Bookmark File.

When you instruct CBM to Merge All of the Secondary Bookmark File into the Primary Bookmark File, it applies the algorithm described above to each of the first-level children in the Secondary Bookmark File.  The root item is not merged.  Notice that merging all is the same as selecting the root item of the Secondary Bookmark File and merging selected.

When items are merged into the Primary Bookmark File, all properties of the items are copied as well, with the following exceptions:

Alias ID

Alias Of

New Item Folder

Menu Folder

Alias information is stripped because the merging process will tend to eliminate aliases anyway.  Remember that CBM seeks to eliminate duplicates.  New Item Folder and Menu Folder properties are stripped since a bookmark file may contain only one each item with these properties.  See Special Item Properties Considerations for details.


Merge Strategies

Your friend has sent you his bookmark file.  You start Columbine Bookmark Merge.  You load your bookmark file as the Primary Bookmark File, and load your friend's bookmark file as the Secondary Bookmark File.  Now what?  There are items in your friend's file that you want, but there are also items that you don't want.  There are three possible strategies you can use:

1.   Delete the items you don't want from the Secondary Bookmark file and then click on the << (Merge All) button, or

2.   Select the branches containing the items you want and click on the < (Merge Selected) button.  Do this for all the items you want, or

3.   Click the << (Merge All) button, and then delete the unwanted items from the Primary Bookmark File.

Your decision is based on the number of wanted versus unwanted items in your friend's file and your own personal preference.

You can also use drag-and-drop to drag wanted items from your friend's file to your file, or use the Copy/Paste options.  These techniques can lead to duplicate items in your bookmark file however, so you must exercise some care.


Merge Options Window
Controlling the Merge Process: Merge Options Window

See Also:

   Merge Process

The Merge Options Window appears whenever you perform a merge operation or you click on Options on the Main Menu and then click Merge Options....  This screen is used to control the merge process.  The screen is divided into three sections that allow you to control:

•	The actions to perform when merging, i.e., whether items are replaced and/or added.

•	How items are compared.

•	When replacing URls, how CBM decides which is more up-to-date.

You may restore all the Merge Options to their recommended settings at any time by clicking the Factory Defaults button.

Merge Options are remembered from one session of CBM to next in the BKMMERGE.INI file (section [MergeOptions], parameter MrgActions, CmpWhat, CmpOptions, and RplOptions).


Controlling the Merge Process: Replacing Items

See Also:

   Definitions

   Merge Process

   Add Items

   Comparison_Rules

   Replace Rules

In the Merge Options Window, there are two checkboxes for controlling which items are replaced in the Primary Bookmark File from the Secondary Bookmark File.  They work as follows:

If more up-to-date, replace Folders

When merging bookmark items, if this checkbox is checked, CBM will replace folder items in the Primary Bookmark File which are more up-to-date in the Secondary Bookmark File.  If this checkbox is unchecked, CBM will not replace folders items in the Primary Bookmark File.

If more up-to-date, replace URLs

When merging bookmark items, if this checkbox is checked, CBM will replace URL (bookmark) items in the Primary Bookmark File which are more up-to-date in the Secondary Bookmark File.  If this checkbox is unchecked, CBM will not replace URLs in the Primary Bookmark File.

When searching for matching items, CBM uses the Comparison Rules.  When deciding which is more up-to-date, CBM uses the Replace Rules.


Controlling the Merge Process: Adding Items

See Also:

   Definitions

   Merge Process

   Replacing Items

    Comparison_Rules

   Replace Rules

In the Merge Options Window, there are two checkboxes for controlling which items are added from the Secondary Bookmark File into the Primary Bookmark File.  They work as follows:

Add new Folders

When merging bookmark items, if the Add new Folders checkbox is checked, CBM will add new Folder items from the Secondary Bookmark File for which it does not find a match in the Primary Bookmark File.  If this checkbox is unchecked, CBM will not create any new folders in the Primary Bookmark File.

Add new URLs

When merging bookmark items, if the Add new URLS checkbox Is checked, CBM will add new URLs (bookmarks) from the Secondary Bookmark File for which it does not find a matching URL in the Primary Bookmark File.  If this checkbox is unchecked, CBM will not create any new URLs in the Primary Bookmark File.

When searching for matching items, CBM uses the Comparison Rules.


Controlling the Merge Process: Comparison Rules

See Also:

   Definitions

   Merge Process

   Replacing Items

   Add Items

   Replace Rules

As CBM merges items, it searches for matches between items in the Secondary and Primary Bookmark Files.  In the Merge Options Window, there are several options for controlling the comparison process.  Firstly, items must be of the same type in order to match, i.e., only Folder Items can match Folder Items, and only URL Items can match URL items.  (Separator Items are never merged.)  When comparing Folder Items, CBM always uses the name of the item.  When comparing URL items, CBM can use either the name of the item or the URL (the address on the Web), or it can use both.  The checkboxes control this pocess as follows:

Compare URLS using Name

The URL items must have the same name.  (The name is usually the title of the page on the web).

Compare URLS using URL

The URL items must have the same URL (web address).

If both checkboxes are checked, then the items must match on both name and URL.  If neither checkbox is checked, then URL items will never match (which does not make sense, so you must always check one or both of these checkboxes).

When comparing item names or URLs, you can control whether CBM requires an exact match on the upper- and lowercase letters (case sensitive), or not.  Checking the Comparison is case sensitive checkbox requires an exact match.  Unchecking Comparison is case sensitive checkbox will match regardless of the upper- or lowercase letters.


Controlling the Merge Process: Replace Rules

See Also:

   Definitions

   Merge Process

   Replacing Items

   Add Items

   Comparison_Rules

During the merge process, if CBM finds a match on URL items in the Primary and Secondary Bookmark Files, it will consider whether to replace the URLs in the Primary Bookmark File with the URLs in the Secondary Bookmark File.  You can control the rules governing the decision as to which is more up-to-date using the following checkboxes in the Merge Options Window as follows:

Replace if newer Add Date

When checked, replaces the URL if the Add Date of the URL in the Secondary Bookmark File is later (newer) than the URL in the Primary Bookmark File.

Replace if newer Last Visited

When checked, replaces the URL if the Last Visited Date of the URL Item in the Secondary Bookmark File is later (newer) than the URL Item in the Primary Bookmark File.

If both checkboxes are checked, then the URL is replaced if either the Add Date or the Last Visited Date are later (newer).  If neither checkbox is checked, then URLS are never replaced (which does not make sense, so make sure that one or both of these options is checked).

Last Modified dates are not considered in the replacement rules, since the Last Visited date will have the later date anyway.

When deciding whether to replace Folder Items, CBM always uses the Add Date, since Folders do not have Last Visited Dates.

Next Topic: Reference: The Main Window


Main Window

Below is the main window of Columbine Bookmark Merge.

Click on the region of the screen you would like to learn more about.

Menu

Bookmark File Outline Displays

Buttons

Description_Bar

Status Bar

Browser Launch Button

Hints_Bar


Main Window: Menu

The Main Menu appears at the top of the Main Window.  Most of the operations you can perform with the menu can also be performed using the various buttons and checkboxes on the Main Window.  Here are all the Menu choices:

File Menu

New

Pops up a submenu to choose whether to open a new Primary Bookmark File or a new Secondary Bookmark File.  If any changes have already been made to the indicated bookmark file, asks if you first want to save the changes.  Clears the indicated bookmark file outline display.

Open

Pops up the Open File dialog box for you to select which bookmark file to open.  If any changes have already been made to the indicated bookmark file, asks if you first want to save the changes before loading the new file.  Clears the indicated bookmark file outline display and loads the selected bookmark file into the display.

Save

Pops up the Save File dialog box for you to choose whether to save the Primary Bookmark File or the Secondary Bookmark File.  Saves the indicated file to disk.

Print...

Pops up the Print Bookmarks Window from which you may print all or some of your bookmarks.

Exit

If any changes have been made to the Primary or Secondary Bookmark Files, asks you if you want to save them.  Exits from Columbine Bookmark Merge.

Most Recently Used Files

As you work with bookmark files, CBM remembers their names and lists up to 10 of the most recently used file names at the bottom of the File menu.  When you click on one of these files, it behaves as if you had clicked on the Open menu item except that the filename is preselected for you.  The file is loaded into whichever bookmark outline is the currently selected outline.

Edit Menu

Undo

Reverses the indicated last action you performed.

Cut

Works on the currently selected bookmark file outline.  Copies the currently selected item from the indicated bookmark file along with all its children (and their children, etc.) into a temporary clipboard space, then deletes the copied items.  (Note, the Windows clipboard is not used).

Copy

Works like Cut except that items are not deleted after being copied to the temporary clipboard.

Paste

Works on the currently selected bookmark file outline. Copies all items from the temporary clipboard space into the indicated bookmark file.  Items are inserted as siblings of the currently selected item.  You cannot paste in such a way that it would create a non-Folder Item as the top-level item of a bookmark file.  For instance, you cannot paste a URL item from the temporary clipboard into an empty bookmark file.  If you attempt to do this, nothing will happen.  To handle such a case, first create two new Folder Items, then paste.

New Item...

Acts like the New Item button.  See Editing Buttons.

Delete

Acts like the Delete button.  See Editing Buttons.

Edit Item Properties

Acts like the Edit button. See Editing Buttons.

Find...

Works on the currently selected bookmark file outline.  Displays a Find Dialog window.  You enter the text you wish to search for and click on Find Next.  CBM then searches downward from the currently selected item to find an item with the text you specify.  The found item becomes the currently selected item in the display.  Click Find Next again to repeat the search.  When searching, CBM considers the Name, Description, and (for URL Items) the URL.  If no match is found, nothing happens.  Click Cancel to close the Find dialog box.

Action Menu

Merge Selected

Merge All

The Merge Selected and Merge All menu options act just like the Merge Selected and the Merge All buttons.  See Merge Buttons.

Expand Branch

The Expand Branch menu options works just like the Expand button. See  Editing Buttons.

Sort Selected...

Causes the Sort Options dialog box to display.  After choosing your desired sort options and clicking OK, the currently selected folder is sorted alphanumerically in ascending order.  If you chose the option to do so, also sorts any subfolders under the currently selected folder.  To sort an entire bookmark file, click the root folder to select it, then click "Action | Sort Selected...".  Warning: Separator Items will float to the top of the folder(s).  See Sorting Bookmarks for more details.

Flag Dup. URLs from Selected...

Causes the Flag Duplicate URLs Options dialog box to appear.  The actions performed by this menu item are described under that topic.

Delete Dup.-flagged URLs from Selected

Scans the currently-selected folder, deleting any URL Items that are flagged as duplicate ( [image] ).  Does not delete both URLs if the duplicates are under the same folder.

Clear Duplicate Flag

Clears the duplicate flag ( [image] ) from the currently-selected URL Item.

Clear Flags

Clears flag icons from the outline displays on the Main Window.  The flag icons are:

Item added during last merge.

Item replaced during last merge.

Duplicate item (cloned sheep of course!)

Folder containing URL Items flagged as duplicates.

Mark Last Visit As Now

Flags the currently-selected URL as having been last visited right now.

Start Browser

Starts your preferred web browser, either NetScape, Microsoft Internet Explorer (MSIE), NCSA Mosaic, or Opera.  Focus remains on the web browser, so you must use Alt-Tab or mouse to return focus back to CBM.  See Using CBM with your Browser for details.

Launch Url

The Launch Url menu option acts just like clicking on the Browser Launch Button.

Add URL from Browser

Works on the currently selected bookmark file outline.  If your preferred browser is currently running and is currently displaying a page on the World-wide Web, a URL Item is automatically created for that page.  The item is inserted at the currently selected item in the currently selected bookmark file outline.  If your preferred browser is currently not running, the browser is not started and no URL Items is created.  If your browser is currently running but is not currently displaying any web page, no URL Item is created.  This function is not available with Mosaic.

Replace URL from Browser

Works on the currently selected URL Item.  If no URL Item is currently selected, this option is not available.  If your preferred browser is currently running and is currently displaying a page on the World-wide Web, its URL replaces the URL of the currently selected URL Item.  You normally use this option to update an existing URL Item when the web document has been moved to a new location.  If your preferred browser is currently not running, the browser is not started and the URL Item is not changed.  If your browser is currently running but is not currently displaying any web page, the  URL Item is not changed.  This function is not available with Mosaic.

Capture Browser Doc

Works on the currently selected bookmark file outline.  If your preferred browser is currently running and is currently displaying a page on the World-wide Web, the contents of that document are loaded into CBM as an HTML file.  CBM does this by instructing the browser to save the currently-displayed document to a temporary file.  CBM then displays the Open File dialog box for you to specify any desired HTML loading options.  This function is not available with Mosaic or Opera.

Watch Clipboard

When checked, CBM will watch the Windows clipboard.  Anytime that a URL is placed in the clipboard, CBM will automatically capture it and add it as a bookmark item in the currently selected bookmark file outline at the currently selected item.  See Using CBM with the Clipboard for more details.

Options Menu

Preferences...

Displays the CBM Preferences Window for you to specify global options affecting how CBM operates.

Merge Options...

Displays the Merge_Options Window for you to specify the options controlling merging of bookmarks.

Configure Browsers...

Displays the Configure Browsers dialog box for you to specify the location of your NETSCAPE.EXE and/or IEXPLORE.EXE, MOSAIC.EXE, and OPERA.EXE files.  This is necessary for the Browser Launch button to properly function.

Show Ratings

This option is a toggle.  When checked, 5 rating "stoplights" appear in the outline displays next to each URL Item.  They show the ratings you have assigned for your rating categories.  See About Ratings for more details.  When unchecked, ratings are hidden.

Show Ratings Window

Displays the URL Ratings Window. See About Ratings for more details.

Outline Font...

Displays a dialog box for you to specify the font used in the Bookmark Outline panels.

Help Menu

Contents

Displays the Table of  Contents of the Columbine Bookmark Merge online help.

Search for Help On...

Displays the standard Windows Help Search dialog so that you may search the Columbine Bookmark Merge online help.

Icons Legend...

Displays the Icons Legend Window, a quick reference to the meanings of the various icons that appear in the bookmark outline displays.

How to Use Help

Displays the standard Windows How to Use Help.

About...

Displays the About box for Columbine Bookmark Merge.  From this box, you may click on the Biography button to learn about the author's father.  You may also click on the Register button.

Registration/License

Displays licensing and registration information from the Columbine Bookmark Merge online help.


Main Window: Bookmark File Outlines

There are two bookmark file outline displays on the Main Window.  The one on the left displays the Primary Bookmark File; the one on the right displays the Secondary Bookmark File.  Each display has scroll bars so that you can view the bookmarks.  Each display also has its corresponding disk file name displayed above it.  At any given time, one of the bookmark file outlines is the currently selected bookmark file outline.  The panel above the currently selected bookmark file outline will be shown in the Windows highlight color (same as the window title bar).  Clicking on the panels or anywhere in a bookmark file outline will change the currently selected bookmark file outline to the one clicked on.

The items displayed in the bookmark outline are of three types:

/ [image] / [image] /	Folder (header) items.
/ [image] /	URL (bookmark) items.
	Separator items.

For more explanation of what these items are, please be sure you understand the definitions of bookmark files and bookmark items that CBM uses.  Also see the Icons Legend.

For each display, one item is highlighted and is the currently selected item.  Clicking once on an item makes that item the currently selected item.  If the item is a URL Item, its World-wide Web Address is displayed in the Browser Launch Button at the bottom of the Main Window.

Double-clicking on a Folder Item will expand [image] that item if it is currently collapsed; or collapse [image] it if it is currently expanded.

If you have enabled the option in the CBM Preferences Window, double-clicking on a URL Item will launch that URL in your web browser, the same as clicking the Browser Launch Button.

The buttons above the outline displays permit you to expand the display, edit the properties of the currently selected item, delete items, create new items, merge a selected branch of the Secondary Bookmark File into the Primary Bookmark File, merge all of the Secondary Bookmark File into the Primary Bookmark File, or select the preferred web browser.

Drag and Drop

You may use Drag and Drop Operations to move bookmarks from one outline to the other, or to rearrange the order of bookmarks in either outline.

Resizable Panels

The divider between the two outlines may be used to size the outline panels.  Drag it left or right with the mouse to do this.

Ratings

Important: Ratings are only preserved when you save your bookmarks in NetScape format, Opera v3 format,  or MSIE 32-bit favorites format.  It is a waste of your time to use ratings for MSIE 16-bit favorites, Opera v2 Hot Lists, NCSA Mosaic hotlists., or HTML files.

If the Show Ratings option is checked under the Options menu, the outlines will display five small radio buttons next to each URL Item in the outline.  These radio buttons display your ratings of each URL in up to five rating categories; one rating for each category.  To learn more about ratings; how and why you use them, see About Ratings.  It is especially important that you first define your Default Rating Categories before you begin using ratings in CBM.  As you pass the mouse pointer over each radio button, the rating category appears in the Status Bar at the bottom of the Main Window.  To change the rating for that category, press and hold the left mouse button down on the radio button.  A Rating context menu appears.  Select your rating of the URL for that category and release the mouse button.  The color of the radio button will change to reflect your rating, as follows:

White	No rating.

Red	Poor/low/slow rating.

Yellow	Fair/medium rating.

Green	Good/high/fast rating.

Pop-up Context Menus

When you press and hold down the right mouse button on the text of an item in either outline, a context-sensitive menu pops up.  Most of the options that appear in these context menus are also available on the main Menu and various buttons, so they will not be described here.  They provide a shortcut way of invoking those functions.


Main Window: Buttons

Above the two bookmark file outlines (Primary and Secondary) is a row of buttons in three groups:

Four Editing Buttons for manipulating the items in the currently selected bookmark file outline.

Two Merge_Buttons for merging the secondary bookmark file into the primary bookmark file.

Four Browser Select Buttons for choosing your preferred web browser (NetScape, Mosaic, Opera, or MSIE).


Main Window: Editing Buttons

See Also:

   Buttons

Above the two bookmark file outlines (Primary and Secondary),  there are four editing buttons.   When you click on these buttons, they operate on the currently selected bookmark outline (the one with the highlighted panel above it).  These buttons perform the following functions:

Expand

Expands or collapses the outline display at the currently selected item.  If the item is currently unexpanded,  all of the children of the currently selected item are displayed (if any).  Also, each of these children are expanded, and their children, etc.  In other words, the entire branch of the outline is expanded.  If the currently selected item is already expanded, then it is collapsed, which is the reverse of expanding, i.e., all of the children are hidden in the display.  Clicking the Expand button with the top-level item selected expands or collapses the entire bookmark file.  Another way to expand outline items is to double-click them, which works a little differently than the Expand button.  When double-clicking, the immediate children are displayed, but the children themselves are not expanded.  Expanding or collapsing items does not delete or add items to the bookmark file; it only affects whether they are displayed in the outline display (and in NetScape).

Edit

Displays the Item Properties Window on which you can modify the properties of the currently selected item in the bookmark file.  If the currently selected item is a Separator Item, nothing happens (since Separator Items do not have any properties).

Delete

Deletes the currently selected item from the bookmark file, along with all the item's children (and their children, etc.).

New Item

Displays the What Kind of Bookmark Item Window with radio buttons for you to choose what kind of bookmark item you want to create--Folder Item, URL Item, or Separator Item.  The newly-created item will be inserted at the currently selected item in the bookmark file.  The new item will be inserted either as a child of the currently selected item or as a sibling, depending upon the type of the currently selected item, as follows:

Folder Item:  New item is inserted as a child of the currently selected item.

URL Item: New item is inserted as a sibling of the currently selected item; just above it.

Separator Item:  New item is inserted as a sibling of the currently selected item; just above it.

This logic is designed to keep you from creating an illegal bookmark file, i.e., one that violates one of the following rules;

1.  Only Folder Items may have child items.

2.  The top-level item must be a Folder Item.

Note: The dialog box to ask what type of item to create does not appear when creating a new item in an empty bookmark file; CBM automatically assumes that a Folder Item will be created, since the top-level item in a bookmark file must be a Folder Item.

After inserting the item in the bookmark file, the Item Properties Window will appear for you to specify the name, URL, and description of the item.


Main Window: Merge Buttons

See Also:

   Buttons

The middle group of two buttons are for merging the bookmark files.  Both merge bookmark items from the Secondary bookmark file (the outline panel on the right) into the Primary bookmark file (the outline panel on the left).

<< (Merge All)

Merges all items in the Secondary Bookmark File into the Primary Bookmark File.

< (Merge Selected)

Merges only the item currently selected in the Secondary Bookmark File into the Primary Bookmark File.  The entire branch of the selected item is merged, i.e., the item, all its children, their children etc.

For more information about merging, see The Merge Process.


Main Window: Browser Select Buttons

See Also:

   Buttons

At the right end of the row of buttons are four buttons you can use to choose your preferred web browser.  They are only useful if you have more than one kind of web browser --  NetScape, Microsoft Internet Explorer (MSIE), NCSA Mosaic, or Opera -- installed on your computer.  Clicking the button with the NetScape icon will choose NetScape as your preferred browser.  Clicking the button with the Mosaic icon will choose NCSA Mosaic as your preferred browser.  Clicking the button with the Opera icon will choose Opera as your preferred browser.  Clicking the button with the MSIE icon will choose MSIE as your preferred browser.  Whichever button appears down is the currently selected browser.  Note that you must have properly configured the browsers by clicking on Options in the Main Menu and then Configure Browsers.... This will display the Configure Browsers window.


Main Window: Description Bar

The description bar near the bottom of the Main Window displays the description of the currently selected item in the Bookmark File Outline.  To change the description, click on the description bar and edit the text.  The scroll arrows at the right allow you to scroll through long descriptions.  You can also edit a description by clicking on the Edit button to bring up the Item Properties Window..

Note that descriptions are only preserved in NetScape files,  32-bit MSIE favorites files, and Opera v3 Hotlists, so it is a waste of your time to enter descriptions if you save your bookmarks as 16-bit MSIE favorites, Opera v2 Hot Lists, or NCSA Mosaic hotlists.


Main Window: Status Bar

The status bar at the lower left of the Main Window shows the amount of available Windows memory in bytes.  It is updated each time the left mouse button is clicked.


Main Window: NetScape Launch Button
Main Window: Browser Launch Button

At the bottom right of the Main Window is the Browser Launch button.  When you click on the Browser Launch button, it will automatically start your preferred web browser and load the web page pointed to by the URL displayed on the Browser Launch button.  This is useful for checking whether URLs are still valid.  If the Browser Launch Button does not currently have a URL displayed (the icon on the button is grayed), then nothing will happen when you click on the button.  To display a URL in the Browser Launch button, click on a URL Item in either Bookmark File Outline display.

Browsers Must be Configured

In order for the Browser Launch button to work properly, Columbine Bookmark Merge must know the correct path to the browser executable file.  Click on Options in the Main Menu, then click on Configure Browsers....  Using the Configure Browsers Window that appears, locate your browser's EXE file(s) and click OK.

Your Browser and CBM May Fight Over the File

WARNING: If both your browser and CBM are active and have the same bookmark file open, there may be a conflict.  If you are using CBM and working on the main browser bookmark file, do not attempt to add new bookmarks in the browser.  If you save the file in CBM, then close the browser, the browser will rewrite its copy of the file and you may loose changes you've made in CBM.  In some cases,  the browser may even be unable to save the bookmark file, resulting in a zero-length file.  Always close your browser before saving the file from CBM.

Capturing Browser URLs

If you have NetScape, MSIE, or Opera running, and it is currently displaying a page somewhere on the World-wide Web, you can create a URL bookmark item for that page by clicking on Action | Capture Browser URL menu option.  The item will be inserted at the currently selected item in the currently selected Bookmark Outline.

Marking URLs as Visited

After your browser has retrieved theURL and you return focus back to CBM, CBM will update the Last Visited Date of the URL Item to now.  The icon will have a green checkmark ( [image] ).  This feature only works if you did not tell your browser to go elsewhere before you returned focus to CBM.  If that is the case, you can still update the Last Visited Date to now by pressing <Ctrl-N> or by holding down the right mouse button on the text of the URL Item in the outline and selecting Mark Last Visit as Now in the context menu that pops up.  (CBM uses DDE to ask the browser for the currently-displayed URL.  If that URL is not the same as the one in CBM, CBM assumes you did not succeed at visiting the site.)


Main Window Hints Bar
Main Window: Hints Bar

The hints bar displays a short help message for whatever object the mouse cursor is currently positioned on.


Drag and Drop Operations

You can copy items from one bookmark file to the other using Drag and Drop.  You can also rearrange the order of items in either bookmark file using Drag and Drop.

To drag items, place the mouse cursor on the item to be dragged, hold the left mouse button down, and drag the mouse cursor to the position at which you want the dragged item(s) to go.  Release the left mouse button to drop the item(s).

When you drag and drop bookmark items from the Primary Bookmark File to the Secondary Bookmark File, or vice versa, the items dragged are copied, i.e., they are not deleted from the source point.  When dragging items from within a bookmark file to another place in the same bookmark file, CBM moves the items, i.e., CBM will copy the item(s) to the new location and delete them from their old location.

You can reverse the behaviour of a copy operation to a move operation or vice versa by holding down the Ctrl key on the keyboard while you begin the drag operation (This is the same way that the Windows File Manager works).  Be aware, however, that copying items within a bookmark outline will produce duplicate bookmark items in the file.

When you begin a drag operation, CBM will copy or move the item on which you clicked along with all of its child items (and their child items, etc).   Once you have started a drag operation, CBM will change the mouse cursor to either a small document icon if dropping is permitted at that point, or a circle with a slash through it if dropping is not permitted at that point.  Releasing the mouse button while the cursor icon is a circle with a slash will abort the drag and drop operation.  CBM will not allow you to drop items that would violate the following two rules of bookmark files:

  	1.  Only Folder Items may have children.

2.  The top-level item must be a Folder Item.

In addition, it is impossible to drag an item to one of its children (or their children).

When you end a drag operation by releasing the mouse button, CBM will insert all the dragged items at the current cursor position.  Items are inserted as siblings of the item dropped onto; just above the item.  There are two exceptions to this:

1.	When you drag to an empty bookmark file outline, a root folder named "Unnamed Root Folder" is automatically created.  When you drag the root item of a bookmark file outline to an empty bookmark file outline, this does not occur.

2.	When you drop on an empty folder, CBM will ask you whether you want to add the drop items to the folder you dropped on, i.e., make them children, or add them as siblings of the item you dropped on.

The dropped items maintain the same hierarchical structure as they had when the drag operation was begun.

As you drag items, you can cause either outline to scroll by moving the dragged item above or below the outline.  Keep the mouse button down the entire time.  If you hold the dragged item just above or below, the outline scrolls one item at a time.  If you hold it farther above or below the outline, the outline scrolls a page at a time.  To scroll the other outline, pass the dragged item over the outline you want to scroll, then move the dragged item above or below the outline.

Whenever items are copied from one bookmark file to the other, the following properties are stripped from them:

Alias ID

Alias Of references

New Item Folder flag

Menu Folder flag

See Special Item Properties Considerations for more information.


Item Properties Window

See Also:

   Editing Buttons

The Item Properties Window appears whenever the Edit Button or the New Item button on the Main Window is clicked.  The window displays the current properties of the currently selected bookmark item.  Change the items you want and press the OK button.  To abandon your changes, click the Cancel button.  If you want the Item Properties window to stay on top, check the Stay On Top checkbox before clicking the OK button.

The things you can enter on this screen depend upon the type of item that is being edited as follows:

Folder Item:	Name, Description, and Add Date.

URL Item: 	Name, URL (or web address), Description, Add Date, Last Visited Date, and Last Modified Date.  Also, for NetScape e-mail addressbooks and Opera v3 Hotlists, NickName.

Not all fields are supported by all file formats.  For details about which fields are supported by which file formats, see the charts in the Open File and Save File topics.  The fields contain the following information

Name

The name is what appears in the bookmark outline display (both in Columbine Bookmark Merge and in your browser)  It may contain any string you like.  Any characters are legal except < > / & and ;.

URL

URLs may only be entered for URL Items (they are grayed out for Folder Items).  URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator, an Internet term for the address or location of a page on the world-wide web, the address of a host computer on the web into which you may log in as a terminal, etc.  The general syntax of a URL is

protocol://host_name:port/directory/subdirectory.../filename.extension

For example, the URL

http://microsoft.com/bussys/afile.htm

specifies a page on the world-wide web.  The page is located on the host computer "microsoft.com" in directory "bussys".  The page is contained in the file named "afile" with extension "htm".  NetScape will use the Hypertext Transmission Protocol to communicate with Microsoft to retrieve the page.  Since the file has an extension of HTM, NetScape will know that the file is formatted in the Hypertext Markup Language and display it accordingly.

NickName

NickNames are used only in NetScape e-mail addressbooks, and Opera v3 Hotlists.  NickNames must be all lowercase and they may not contain any special characters.

Desc

The description field contains any text you like to further explain what the Folder Item or URL Item is about.  Any characters except < > / and ; are permitted.  Descriptions are not available in 16-bit MSIE favorites or history files, in Mosaic hotlist files, or in Opera v2 Hot Lists.  They are available for NetScape files, 32-bit MSIE favorites, and Opera v3 Hotlists.

Add Date

The date that either NetScape, CBM, Opera v3, or Mosaic added the item to the bookmark file.  Available only in NetScape bookmark files, MSIE global history files, Opera v3 Hotlist files, and Mosaic hotlist files.  Not available for folder items in Mosaic hotlist files.  For all other file formats, CBM will default the Add Date to today's date and time.  You may change the Add Date to the current date and time by clicking the Now button just to the right of the Add Date.

Last Visited Date

The date that you last viewed the item using NetScape, Opera v3,  or Mosaic.  If you have never visited the item, "Not Available" will be displayed.  Folder Items do not have a Last Visited Date.  Not available in all other file formats files.  You may change the Last Visited Date to the current date and time by pressing the Now button just to the right of the Last Visited Date.

Last Modified Date

The latest date on that the page was altered on the web.  If you have never visited the item, "Not Available" will be displayed.  Folder Items do not have a Last Modified Date.  Supported by NetScape bookmark files.  Not available in all other file formats.  You may change the Last Modified Date to the current date and time by pressing the Now button just to the right of the Last Modified Date.

After entering the fields above, you should click the OK button.  Click on the Cancel button to abandon all of the changes (if any) that you have specified.

The following fields also appear on the Item Properties Window.  You may not alter them; they are automatically generated by NetScape and CBM:

Alias ID

If the item is a URL Item that also has one or more Alias Items, then it has been assigned an Alias ID by NetScape.  Such an ID is displayed here.  Aliases Items are only available in NetScape 2.0b3 or later and only in URL Items. Not available in all other formats.

Alias Of

If this URl item is an alias of another, the Alias ID of the original is displayed here.  Alias Items are only available in NetScape 2.0b3 or later and only in URL Items. Not available in all other formats.

New Item Folder Checkbox

If this Folder Item is the one into which NetScape adds new bookmarks, this checkbox will be checked.  New Item Folders are only used in NetScape version 2.0b3 or later and only in Folder Items.  New Item Folder is also used in Opera, which calls it the "Active List".  Not available in all other formats.

Menu Folder Checkbox

If the items which this Folder Item appear in the Bookmarks menu of NetScape, then this checkbox will be checked.  Menu Folders are only used in NetScape version 2.0b3 or later and only in Folder Items. Not available in all other formats.


What Kind of Bookmark Item Window

See Also:

   Editing Buttons

This window appears whenever you click on the New Item button in the Main Window.  It contains three radio buttons.  You choose what kind of new bookmark item you want to create by clicking on the appropriate radio button:

Folder (header)

Folder Items are used to organize your bookmark file into various categories or subcategories.  Folders are not available in MSIE favorites (16-bit versions) or history files.  Folders are available in 32-bit versions of MSIE.

URL (bookmark)

URL Items are addresses or locations of pages on the world-wide web.  They are normally created in your web browser, but if you know the exact URL of such a page, you may create a URL Item using CBM.

Separator

Separators are used only to improve the appearance of the bookmark file.  Separators are not available in MSIE favorites or history files, or in Mosaic hotlist files, or in Opera Hot List files.

If you've changed your mind and do not wish to create a new bookmark item afterall, click on CANCEL, otherwise click on the appropriate radio button above and click on OK.


Configure Browsers Window

See Also:

   Browser Launch Button

The Configure Browsers Window is displayed by clicking Options on the Main Menu, and then clicking Configure Browsers....  It is used to tell CBM where the executable (EXE) files for your web browser(s) are.  If you have more than one browser installed on your computer, configure all the browsers,  otherwise configure just the browser you have.

Steps:

1.	If you have the NetScape web browser installed on your PC, click the NetScape radio button.  Then click the Browse button.  Locate the NETSCAPE.EXE file (it is usually in directory C:\NETSCAPE), and click OK.  If you do not have NetScape installed on your PC, you may skip this step.

2.	If you have the Microsoft Internet Explorer Web browser installed on your PC, click the Microsoft Internet Explorer (MSIE) radio button. Then click the Browse button.  Locate the IEXPLORE.EXE file (it is usually in directory C:\IEXPLORE), and click OK. If you do not have MSIE installed on your PC, you may skip this step.

3.	If you have the NCSA Mosaic browser installed on your PC, click the NCSA Mosaic radio button.  Then click the Browse button.  Locate the MOSAIC.EXE file (it is usually in directory C:\MOSAIC), and click OK.  If you do not have Mosaic installed on your PC, you may skip this step.

4.	If you have the Opera browser installed on your PC, click the Opera radio button.  Then click the Browse button.  Locate the OPERA.EXE file (it is usually in the directory C:\OPERA), and click OK.  If you do not have Opera installed on your PC, you may skip this step.

5.	Click the radio button of your preferred web browser, ie., the one you want to be used whenever you click the Browser Launch button on the Main Window.  Then click OK to close the Configure Browsers Window.

The settings of the Configure Browsers Window are remembered from one CBM session to the next in the BKMMERGE.INI file (section [CBM], parameters PathToNetScape, PathToMSIE, PathToMosaic, PathToOpera, and PreferredBrowser).


Open File Window

See Also:

   Save File Window

The Open File Window is used to specify the name of a bookmark, favorites, global history, hotlist, addressbook, or HTML file you want loaded into CBM.  In the case of 32-bit platforms (Windows 95 or Windows NT), it is used to specify a directory or folder containing MSIE favorites files.

The Open File Window is displayed whenever one of the following events occurs:

•	You click File on the Main Menu and then click Open....  In this case, you may specify a file to be loaded into either the Primary Bookmark File or the Secondary Bookmark File Outlines by clicking the corresponding radio button in the Open What? panel.

•	You click a panel above one of the Bookmark File Outlines in the Main Window and no file has yet been loaded into that Bookmark File Outline.  In this case, the radio buttons in the Open What? panel are disabled since you have already implicitly selected which outline (Primary or Secondary) you want loaded.

•	You click Action on the Main Menu and then click Capture Browser Doc.  In this case, the Open File Window is used only to specify the HTML options; not for specifying a file name.  CBM has already instructed your browser to save the current document into a temporary HTML file.  Therefore, the radio buttons and the Browse button in the Open What? panel are disabled.

If you are running CBM on a 32-bit Windows platform (Windows 95 and Windows NT) and you've configured Microsoft Internet Explorer as your default web browser, the MSIE 32-bit Favorites format checkbox will be automatically checked.  If it is checked, and you are running a 16-bit version of MSIE, make sure you uncheck this box before clicking the Browse button.  When this checkbox is checked, the browse dialog box operates in Directory/Folder selection mode, i.e., you are asked to select a directory or folder that contains the MSIE favorites files (*.url), rather than a single file.  For more information about MSIE Favorites and the differences between the 16-bit and 32-bit versions of MSIE, see About MSIE Favorites.

Use the Browse button in the Open What? panel to specify the file (or directory/folder) you want opened.  You do not need to do this if capturing a document from your browser, since CBM has already picked a file name.

Check the Load at selected branch checkbox if you want CBM to add the specified bookmarks into an existing file already displayed in the Bookmark File Outline.  If checked, all items will be added as children of the currently selected item in that outline display (if a URL item is the currently selected item, the new items will be added as siblings of it, since only folder items may contain other items).  If unchecked (the default), the outline display will be cleared before loading the specified file (you will be given an opportunity to first save your work).

CBM automatically determines what type of file you have chosen -- NetScape bookmarks, MSIE 16-bit favorites, MSIE 16-bit global history, Mosaic hotlist, Opera v2 Hot List, Opera v3 Hotlist, NetScape e-mail addressbook, or HTML.  If you checked the MSIE 32-bit Favorites format checkbox, CBM assumes you want to load 32-bit MSIE favorites.  If the file is an HTML file, the Options when loading HTML file panel will be enabled.  The options on this panel are as follows:

URLs Only (no folders)

If checked, CBM will extract only URLs (web addresses) from the HTML file.  No folders will be created.  If this option is unchecked (the default), folders will also be created and two sub-options are enabled as follows:

Ignore Header tags (/Hx)

If unchecked (the default), CBM will treat HTML <Hx> tags as folders.  If checked, CBM will ignore <Hx> tags.

No Empty Folders

If checked (the default), CBM will not create any folders that do not contain any other items.  If unchecked, CBM will create empty folders.

No relative URLs (absolutes only)

You should always leave this checkbox checked.  If unchecked, CBM will include relative URLs.  Relative URLs are incomplete addresses.  They are "relative" to some other URL and therefore are useless as bookmarks.

When you have specified the desired file name (or directory/folder) and (possibly) HTML options, click OK.  CBM will load the specified file(s) into the specified Bookmark File Outline.  Clicking Cancel will do nothing.

If you have specified a non-zero Automatic Backup number in the CBM Preferences Window (the default is 3), CBM will first make a backup copy of the file, placing it in the same directory or folder as the original file.  Backup are not made when opening MSIE 32-bit favorites however.  See About Automatic Backups for details.

When loading HTML files, CBM recognizes the following HTML tags (the following is rather technical and can be safely ignored by most users):

<TITLE> and </TITLE> (Title)

Creates a folder item named with the document title and begins creating child items of it, i.e., "indents" under the title.  Normally, the document title becomes the root item in the outline.

<UL> and </UL>  (Unordered list tags)

Begins creating child items of the previous folder item, i.e., "indents" one level in the outline.

<OL> and </OL> (Ordered list tags)

Begins creating child items of the previous folder item, i.e., "indents" one level in the outline.

<MENU> and </MENU>  (Menu tags)

Begins creating child items of the previous folder item, i.e., "indents" one level in the outline.

<LI> and </LI>  (List item tags)

Creates a folder item from the string between the tags.

<DT> and </DT> (Definition tags)

Creates a folder item from the string between the tags.

<Hx> and </Hx> (Header tags)

If the Ignore Header tags (/Hx) checkbox is unchecked, creates a folder item from the string between the tags.  The level of indentation is determined from the number in the header tag.  For example, <H1> creates a level 1 folder, i.e., a child of the root folder.  <H2> creates a level 2 tag, i.e., a folder indented twice from the root folder.  Indenting is always collapsed down, i.e., <H8> will not create a folder eight levels deep unless there is a level  7 folder.

<A HREF> and </A> (Anchor tags)

Creates a URL item with Name from the anchor and web address from the HREF.   For example, the string '<A HREF="http://www.yahoo.com">Yahoo Search Engine</A>' will produce a URL item with Name "Yahoo Search Engine" and address "http://www.yahoo.com".  Depending upon the No relative URLs (absolutes only) checkbox, HREFs with relative URLs are ignored.  Internal anchors (any address beginning with #) are always ignored.

All other HTML tags are ignored.  (Note that this currently includes all of the table tags.  A future version of CBM may support tables, if enough users ask for this feature.)

Not all data fields are supported by all file formats.  When CBM opens or saves a file, it applies certain defaults to those data fields not supported by the format.  For example, for 16-bit MSIE favorites, Date Last Visited, Date Last Modified, Alias ID, and Alias Of are left blank.  The following chart shows the various data fields and how they are loaded from various file formats (maximize your help window to view this table):

	NetScape bookmark	NS e-mail address book	MSIE  16-bit favorite	MSIE  32-bit favorite	MSIE  16-bit global history	Mosaic hotlist	Opera v2 Hot List	Opera v3 Hotlist	HTML
Item Name	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
URL	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
Desc	Y	Y	N	Y	N	N	N	Y	N
Separator	Y	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	Y
NickName	N	Y	N	N	N	N	N	Y	N
Add Date	Y	Today	Today	Y	Y	Y	Today	Y	Today
LastVisit	Y	N	N	Y	N	Y	N	Y	N
Last Mod	Y	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N
Alias ID	Y	Y	N	N	N	N	N	N	N
Alias Of	Y	Y	N	N	N	N	N	N	N
New Item Folder	Y	N	N	N	N	N	Y	Y	N
Ratings	Y	N	N	Y	N	N	N	Y	N
Menu Folder	Y	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N

A "Y" means the field is fully supported when loading.

A "N" means the field is not supported and usually is left blank.

"Today" means the date defaults to the current date and time.


Save File Window

See Also:

   Open File Window

  About MSIE Favorites

The Save File Window is used to specify the name of a bookmark, favorites, global history, hotlist, or HTML file you want saved to disk.  When running on 32-bit platforms (Windows 95 or Windows NT), it is used to specify the directory or folder under which MSIE favorites will be saved.

The Save File Window is displayed whenever one of the following events occurs:

•	You click File on the Main Menu and then click Save....  In this case, you may specify a save file from either the Primary Bookmark File or the Secondary Bookmark File Outlines by clicking the corresponding radio button in the Save What? panel.

•	You load another file into the Primary Bookmark File or Secondary Bookmark File Outlines when you have modified them but not yet saved them. In this case, the radio buttons in the Open What? panel are disabled since you have already implicitly selected which outline (Primary or Secondary) you want saved.

Use the Browse button in the Save What? panel to specify the name of the file you want saved.  If you do not do this, CBM will overwrite the original file from which the outline was loaded.  If the outline was not originally loaded from disk, the default file name will be "Untitled" (no file extension).

If the bookmarks were originally loaded from MSIE 32-bit favorites, the MSIE 32-bit Favorites radio button will be checked.  When this button is checked, the Browse dialog operates in Directory/Folder selection mode, i.e., you are asked to specify a directory or folder under which CBM will save the favorites.  Each bookmark is stored in a .URL file (one per bookmark), named with the name of the bookmark.  Any folders are stored as subdirectories (subfolders).  For more information about MSIE favorites and the differences between 16-bit and 32-bit versions of MSIE, see About MSIE Favorites.  The default directory/folder name for 32-bit versions of MSIE is C:\WINDOWS\Favorites.

Check the Save Selected Branch Only checkbox if you want CBM to save only the branch of the outline that begins with the currently selected item in the outline display (if overwriting an existing file, other data will be discarded from the file).  The currently selected item, its children, its grandchildren, etc. will be saved.

The File Type panel permits you to specify the type of file to be saved.  The default type is the same as the type that was originally loaded into the outline display (or NetScape if no file was originally loaded).  Click the radio button next to the type of file you desire, as follows:

NetScape Bookmark File

Outputs a NetScape bookmark file.  These files can contain all types of bookmark items, including folders, URLs, and separators.  All item fields, including Description, Date Added, Date Last Visited, Date Modified, Alias Id, and Alias Of are recorded in the file.  The default file name used by NetScape is BOOKMARK.HTM and it is stored in the same directory as the NETSCAPE.EXE file, usually C:\NETSCAPE. Warning: Any existing data in this file will be overwritten!

MSIE 16-bit Favorites

Outputs a single Microsoft Internet Explorer favorites file.  This file contains only URL items.  All folders and separators in the outline (if any) are discarded, producing a flat list of URLs.  All data fields except for URL Name and URL Address are discarded as well.  The default file name used by MSIE version 3.0 for favorites is HOTLIST.HTM and it is stored in the same directory as the IEXPLORE.EXE file, usually C:\IEXPLORE.  (The default for MSIE 16-bit version 2.1 is FAVORITE.HTM.) Warning: Any existing data in these files will be overwritten!

MSIE 32-bit Favorites

Outputs Microsoft Internet Explorer favorite files.  Each bookmark is stored in a .URL file, one bookmark per file.  The name of each .URL file is the name of the bookmark.  When this radio button is checked, the Browse button operates in Directory/Folder selection mode, i.e., you must select a directory or folder under which each of the .URL files will be created.  Folder items in the outline become subdirectories (subfolders) under that folder.  Separator items are not saved.  Warning: If you are running in a 16-bit environment (Windows or Windows for Workgroups), it is not a good idea to save your bookmarks as MSIE 32-bit Favorites.  File names are limited to 8 characters, so the names of your bookmarks will be truncated to 8 characters.  If this results in duplicate names, some bookmarks will be lost.   See About MSIE Favorites for more details.

MSIE 16-bit Global History

Outputs a Microsoft Internet Explorer (16-bit versions only) global history file.  (CBM does not currently support global history in 32-bit versions.)  These files contain only URL items.  All folders and separators in the outline (if any) are discarded, producing a flat list of URLs.  All data fields except for URL Address and Date Last Visited are discarded as well. The default file name used by MSIE for the global history is GLOBHIST.HTM and it is stored in the same directory as the IEXPLORE.EXE file, usually C:\IEXPLORE.  Warning: Any existing data in this file will be overwritten!

NCSA Mosaic Hotlist

Outputs a NCSA Mosaic hotlist file.  These files contain folder and URL items.  Any separator items will be discarded.  Add Date and Last Visited Date are stored with each URL item (folders do not have any date information).  Last Modified Date is not stored.  The default file name for hotlists used by Mosaic is DEFAULT1.HOT and it is usually stored in the same directory as the MOSAIC.EXE file, usually C:\MOSAIC. There are some special considerations for Mosaic hotlists.  See About Mosaic hotlists for details.

Opera v2 Hot List

Outputs an Opera version 2 (2.12) Hot List file.  These files contain folders and URL items.  Any separator items will be discarded.  No date information is stored.  The default file name for Hot Lists used by Opera v2 is OPERA.ADR and it is usually stored in the same directory as the OPERA.EXE file, usually C:\OPERA.  There are some special considerations for Opera Hot Lists.  See About Opera Hot Lists for details.

Opera v3 Hotlist

Outputs an Opera version 3 Hotlist file.  These files contain folders and URL items.  Any separator items will be discarded.  Add Dates and Last Visit dates are saved.  Last Modified Date is not saved.  The default file name for Hot Lists used by Opera v3 is OPERA3.ADR and it is usually stored in the same directory as the OPERA.EXE file, usually C:\OPERA.  There are some special considerations for Opera Hot Lists.  See About Opera Hot Lists for details.

HTML File

Outputs an HTML file, i.e., a file suitable for display on the world-wide web.  You should also select the style of HTML file you want using the Style list box.  (The list of styles is actually a list of STY files in the CBM program directory.  Experts can create their own styles using a text editor.  See CBM Style Files for how to do this.)

When you have specified the file (or directory/folder) name you want and the type of file, click OK.  CBM will save the specified Bookmark File Outline to the specified disk file(s).  If the file already exists, a warning message will be displayed asking you to confirm that you wish to replace the existing file.  Clicking Cancel will save nothing.

When saving MSIE 32-bit Favorites, you will first be asked if you want to purge the specified directory or folder of all existing .URL files.  If you click Yes, all existing favorites files will be deleted from the directory or folder.  The same will be true for any subdirectories (subfolders) encountered.  If this results in any empty directories or folders, they will be deleted.  If you respond by clicking No, CBM will not first delete .URL files.  If any existing .URL files have the same name as bookmarks you are saving, those files will be modified with the new data from the Bookmark File Outline.  .URL files with names that don't match the Bookmark File Outline will remain unchanged.  In effect, this will do a kind of merge operation.

When you save a bookmark file to an HTML file, CBM also copies file CBMLOGO.GIF from the CBM program directory to the same directory as your HTML file.  This is a small (less than 2K) logo and link to the CBM home page which is automatically inserted into every HTML file that it creates.  If you don't want CBM to do this (we would prefer you let it do it), then simply rename or delete the CBMLOGO.GIF file.

HTML files are particularly useful if you want formatted, attractive printouts of your bookmarks.  Save your bookmarks to and HTML file, load the HTML file into your web browser, and print it.

Note: If you save a bookmark file to an HTML file, then load the HTML file back into CBM, the outline display will not be exactly the same as the original bookmark file.  HTML is not intended to be used as bookmark/favorite storage medium.  It is intended for publishing or printing bookmakrs.

When saving items into a file, not all data fields used in CBM are supported by all formats.  For example, when saving to an MSIE 16-bit favorite file, the Add Date, Last Visit Date, and Last Modified Date are not saved because MSIE 16-bit favorites don't store this information.  The following chart shows the fields saved or not saved for the various formats (maximize your help window to view this table):

	NetScape bookmark	NS email address book	MSIE  16-bit favorite	MSIE  32-bit favorite	MSIE  16-bit global history	Mosaic hotlist	Opera v2  Hot List	Opera v3 Hotlist	HTML
Item Name	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
URL	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
Desc	Y	Y	N	C	N	N	N	Y	Y
Separator	Y	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	Y
NickName	N	Y	N	N	N	N	N	Y	N
Add Date	Y	N	N	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	N
LastVisit	Y	N	N	C	N	Y	N	Y	N
Last Mod	Y	N	N	C	N	N	N	N	N
Alias ID	Y	Y	N	N	N	N	N	N	N
Alias Of	Y	Y	N	N	N	N	N	N	N
New Item Folder	Y	N	N	N	N	N	Y	Y	N
Ratings	C	N	N	C	N	N	N	Y	N
Menu Folder	Y	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N

A "Y" means the field is fully supported when saving.

A "N" means the field is not supported and is left out of the saved file.

A "C" means the field is supported if present in the file, i.e, the file was created or updated with CBM.


Sorting Bookmarks

When you click on Sort Selected... under Action on the Menu, you are given the opportunity to sort your bookmarks.  All the items in the currently-selected folder will be sorted in ascending alphanumeric order.  The Sort Options dialog box appears first.  The Sort Options dialog permits you specify what you want to sort on and has two option checkboxes:

Sort by Name

If this radio button is checked (the default), CBM will sort bookmarks by the Name of the items in ascending alphanumeric order

Sort by URL

If this radio button is checked, CBM will sort bookmark items by the URL.  Since folders and separators do not have URLs, their names will be used instead.

Sort by Add Date

If this radio button is checked, CBM will sort bookmarks by the Add Date, oldest to newest.  Separator Items will be treated as the oldest items.

Sort by Last Visit Date

If this radio button is checked, CBM will sort bookmarks by the Last Visit Date, oldest to most recently visited.  Separator and Folder Items will be treated as the oldest items.

Ignore upper/lowercase

If checked (the default), CBM will not distinquish upper- and lowercase characters when sorting.  For example,  "beta testing" will follow "Alpha testing" and "Columbine" will follow "beta testing".  If unchecked, items that begin with lowercase characters will tend to fall near the bottom of the sorted list after items that begin with uppercase characters.  The factory default is checked.

Sort subfolders also

If checked, in addition to sorting the currently-selected folder, CBM will also sort the contents of any subfolders under the currently-selected folder, and any subfolders they may have, etc., all the way down the selected branch of the outline.  If unchecked (the default), CBM will sort only the immediate child items of the selected folder.  If you want to sort an entire bookmark file, select the root folder, click Action | Sort Selected..., and check this checkbox.  The factory default is unchecked.

URLs always follow folders

If checked, URL Items will follow Folder Items in the sort sequence.  Hence, within any given folder, all the Folder Items will be listed first, followed by the URL Items.  Note that the hierarchy of items will not be changed, i.e., items remain in their original folders.  If unchecked, CBM does not distinguish between folders and URL items.  If the folder you are soritng contains both, they will tend to be interspersed with each other as dictated by the alphanumeric sequence.  For example, if you have a typical bookmark file, you probably have a number of folders along with several URL items at the bottom which you added the last time you used NetScape.  If you sort the entire bookmark file, the URL items at the bottom will float up between your folders.  The factory default is checked.

After choosing the options you want, click OK to perform the sort.  If you don't want to sort, click Cancel.  To load the factory defaults for the sort options, click the Factory Defaults button.

Warning: Any Separator Items you may have in the sorted folder will tend to float to the top of the folder.  You will probably want to delete them after you sort such a folder.

CBM does not maintain a continuous sort.  If you add more items to the outline after sorting, you must sort again.

CBM remembers your sort option settings from one session to the next.  The sort options are stored in the BKMMERGE.INI file, section "[Sort Options]", parameters "SortByWhat" and "SortingOptions".


Print Bookmarks Window

See Also:

   Save File Window

   Publish Your Bookmarks

The Print Bookmarks Window is used to print all or a portion of bookmarks loaded into a Bookmark File Outline.  The Print Bookmarks Window appears when you click on File in the Main Menu and then click Print....

Select the outline containing the bookmarks you want to print.  Select the additional options you desire and click OK to begin printing.  The following options are available on this window:

Selected Branch Only

If checked, CBM will print the currently selected item.  If the currently selected item is a folder and Include Child Items is also checked, CBM will print the child items within the folder.  If they are folders, their children will also be printed, etc.  If this check box is unchecked (the default), the entire bookmark file is printed.

Include Child Items

If checked (the default), the child items in each folder will be printed, and if they are folders, their child items, etc.  If unchecked, only the currently-selected item is printed and any child items are not printed.

Show Folders

If checked (the default), any folder items encountered in the processing will be printed.  If unchecked, folder items will not be printed, but depending upon the Include Child Items checkbox, the child items of the folder may be printed.  In effect, only URL items and separators will be printed.  Furthermore, if unchecked, no indentation of URL items will be applied; all items will be lined up at the left side of the paper.

Show Item Names

If checked (the default), the name of each item will be printed (if the item is printed at all).  If unchecked, the names of items are not printed.

Descriptions

If checked, the description of Folder and URL items will be printed (if the item is printed at all).  If unchecked, descriptions will not be printed.

Dates

If checked, the Add Date, Last Modified date, and Last Visited date of URL items will be printed (if the item is printed at all).  Since Folder items have only an Add Date, only it will be printed for folders.  If unchecked (the default), dates are not printed.

The Setup button may be used to change the paper orientation, font, etc. for the printer.  Do this before clicking the Print button.  Once the Print button is clicked, printing will begin.

Note:  You cannot abort printing once it is started, so check your options carefully before printing.

The Print Bookmarks capability is not intended to be a full-fledged printing capability.  It is intended for quick printing of your bookmarks.  If you need enhanced printing capability, save your bookmarks as an HTML file, load the HTML file into your web browser, and print from there.  See the Save File Window for more details.


Icons Legend

The following icons and flags can appear in the main window outlines of CBM.

Unempty folder, unexpanded.

Unempty folder, expanded.

Empty folder, unexpanded.

Empty folder, expanded.

New item folder, unexpanded.

New item folder, expanded.

Menu folder, unexpanded.

Menu folder, expanded.

Recently-visited URL Item.

URL Item, not visited recently.

Unvisited URL Item.

Separator Item.

Flags

Item added during merge.

Item replaced during merge.

Duplicate URL Item (cloned sheep of course!)

Folder contains URLs flagged as duplicates.


CBM Preferences Window

The CBM Preferences Window permits you to set overall options for Columbine Bookmark Merge.  Set the options you desire and click the OK button.  To abandon your changes, click the Cancel button.  To load the factory defaults, click the Factory Defaults button and then click the OK button.

The options you can control from this window are:

Double-click on URL launches browser

When this checkbox is checked and you double-click a URL Item in either of the bookmark outlines, CBM automatically launches your preferred browser as if you had clicked the item once to select it and  then clicked the Browser Launch Button.  Some people prefer to enable this option because it saves mouse clicks.  The factory default is unchecked.

Minimize CBM when launching URL

When this checkbox is checked, whenever you display a URL in your browser from CBM, CBM minimizes itself.  While minimized, the clipboard watch feature of CBM continues to work.  The factory default is unchecked.

Warn when Windows resources become low

When this checkbox is checked, CBM continually monitors Windows resources.  If resources become low, CBM will warn you.  The resources that it monitors include User and Kernel resources, and total virtual memory.  If you get this warning message, you are advised to save your work and shut down some applications.  In some cases, resources become low because of memory and resource leaks in applications.  In this case, you need to restart Windows to recover the leaked memory or resources.  When CBM is running under 32-bit operating systems (Win95 and WinNT), the monitor function is disabled, therefore, this option only applies to Windows 3.1, Windows 3.11, or Windows for Workgroups 3.11.  The factory default is checked.

Always ask "sibling or child" on drag & drop

When this checkbox is checked, and you drag an item and drop it on a folder, CBM will ask you whether to make the dropped item a child of the folder or a sibling.  If unchecked, generally CBM will make the dropped item a sibling, but there are a few exceptions to this as explained in Drag and Drop Operations.  The factory default is unchecked.

Confirm deletion of items

When this checkbox is checked, CBM will ask you to confirm whenever you delete an item from either outline.  The factory default is unchecked.

Show Ratings on startup

When this checkbox is checked, CBM will automatically turn on the display of ratings in the  outline displays on the Main Window whenever you start CBM.  The factory default is unchecked.

Automatically backup up to N copies when opening file

This edit box permits you to specify how many backup copies CBM makes of each file you load into CBM.  Enter a 0 for no backups, or enter a number from 1 to 9.  CBM's backup logic is explained more fully at About Automatic Backups.  The factory default is 3 backups.

Undo Stack Size:

Sets the number of Undos you can perform.

Flag (green checkmark) URLs visited within the last N days

This edit box permits you to control how CBM flags URL Items as recently visited or not.  Any URL Item having a Last Visited Date fewer than N days from today receives a green checkmark icon [image].  Any URL Item visited more than N days ago will receive a grayed icon [image].  (URL Items that do not have a Last Visited Date receive a question mark icon [image]).  The factory default for N is 14 days.

Working Directory:

This edit box permits you to specify a default directory for File Open and File Save operations.  If left blank (the default), CBM defaults to the program directory of your preferred browser, as explained more fully under topic Open File Window.  If you fill in a directory here, the file browse dialog box will start at this directory.  This can be useful when you merge a lot of files or publish your bookmarks as web pages.  It is also useful under Windows NT, which saves MSIE favorites in separate folders for each user.  It is also useful if you have NetScape Communicator v4, since it also saves bookmarks in individual user subdirectories.  The Browse button can help you to specify the Working Directory.

Local TimeZone:

This dropdown combobox permits you to specify your local timezone information.  CBM uses this information to convert local times to Universal Coordinated Time (UTC), which is how date and time information is stored in most browser files.  If you are a Windows 95 or Windows NT user, simply choose "System" (the default), which indicates that CBM will obtain the timezone information from the operating system.  If you are a Windows 3.1x or Windows for Workgroups 3.11 user and you have not specified a TZ environment variable in your CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT, select the timezone appropriate for your computer's location.  If you have specified a TZ environment variable, CBM will use that, so leave this setting at "System".  Here is a table of the timezones and world cities.

Timezone Designator	Timezone Bias	Cities and Regions
12	12
BST11	11	US Samoa
HST10HDT	10	Honalulu, Alaska
YST9YDT	9	Yukon
PST8PDT	8	LA, San Francisco, Vancouver
MST7MDT	7	Denver, Calgary, Edmonton, Mexico City
CST6CDT	6	Chicago, Houston, Winnipeg
EST5EDT	5	NY, DC, Toronto, Montreal
AST4ADT	4	Halifax, Caracas
3	3	Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo
2	2
1	1
GMT0GDT	0	UK, Portugal
CET-1XXX	-1	Western Europe, Sweden, Paris, Berlin
EET-2	-2	Finland, Eastern Europe,Cairo, Instanbul
-3	-3	Moscow, St Petersburg
-4	-4
-5	-5
-6	-6
-7	-7
-8	-8	China, Mongolia
-9	-9	Japan
-10	-10	Sidney
-11	-11
-12	-12

The timezone abbreviations in the designators are not used by CBM.  In the designator, if anything follows the number, a Daylight Saving Time bias of 60 minutes is assumed to be observed with starting and ending dates based on the timezone as follows:

For timezones +4 or greater (US), and GMT (UK), beginning the first Sunday of April and ending the last Sunday of October.

For timezones <0 (Europe and East), beginning last Sunday of March and ending the last Sunday of September.

UTC = LocalTime + TimezoneBias - DaylightSavingBias

LocalTime = UTC - TimezoneBias + DaylightSavingBias

If you need to specify a designator other than those listed in the table above, add a TZ environment variable to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file.

Default Rating Categories

Auto Fill-in

Auto Enforce

These options are the same as those that appear in the URL Ratings Window.  Please see that topic for an explanation.  In addition, the Define button permits you to define your default categories for URL ratings.  Please see Define Rating Categories Window for more information.

The settings of the CBM Preferences Window are remembered from one CBM session to the next in the BKMMERGE.INI file (section [CBM], parameters AutoBackupNCopies, UndoStackSize, Preferences, RecentAge, RatingCategoriesAutoFillIn, and RatingCategoriesAutoEnforce).


URL Ratings Window

See Also:

   Define Rating Categories

   File Save

   About Ratings

The URL Ratings Window is one of two ways for you to view and rate your bookmarks.  (The other way is directly on the Main Window: Bookmark File Outlines.)  It appears when you select Options from the Main Menu and then select Show Ratings Window.  The window displays the ratings for the currently selected URL Item in the Main Window.  If a URL Item is not currently selected in the Main Window, the URL Ratings Window stays on your screen but is disabled.  The URL Ratings Window stays on your screen until you click the Close button.

Important: Ratings are only preserved when you save your bookmarks in NetScape format, Opera v3 Hotlist format,  or MSIE 32-bit Favorites format.  It is a waste of your time to use ratings for MSIE 16-bit favorites, Opera v2 Hot Lists, or NCSA Mosaic hotlists..

To learn more about URL Ratings in general; how and why you need them, see About Ratings.  It is especially important for you to set up your Default Rating Categories before you begin using ratings in CBM.  At the top of this window appears up to 5 rating categories that you have defined for this item.  Next to each category are 4 radio buttons that you use to rate the current URL Item.  Click on one of these radio buttons to rate the URL Item in that category.  The buttons from left to right are:

Gray or White	No rating for this category.

Red	Poor/low/slow rating for this category.

Yellow	Fair/medium rating for this category.

Green	Good/high/fast rating for this category.

Default Categories Panel

Below the five rating categories is the Default Categories panel.  The options on this panel control how your Default Rating Categories are applied to the current URL.  You define the Default Rating Categories by pressing the Define button.  The options in this panel are:

Fill-In button

When you click this button, CBM fills in any blank categories for this URL Item from your Default Rating Categories.  If the Auto checkbox is checked. CBM performs the fill-in automatically as you visit each URL item, so that you do not have to constantly click the Fill-in button.  The factory default is Auto Fill-in.

Enforce button

When you click this button, CBM removes any existing ratings from the URL Item and replaces them with categories from your Default Ratings Categories.  If the Auto checkbox is checked, CBM performs this enforcement automatically as you visit each URL Item, so that you do not have to constantly click the button.  The Enforce option maintains consistent rating categories for all your URL Items in your bookmark file, but it also will discard any ratings you have made that don't match your defaults, so use with caution.  When an existing rating category is removed and replaced from the defaults, the rating goes to None (gray).  The factory default is Auto Enforce.

The Auto Fill-in and Auto Enforce checkbox options may also be controlled on the CBM Preferences Window.

Clear Button

The Clear button erases all categories and ratings from the current URL Item.  CBM then applies the Auto Fill-in and/or Auto Enforce logic described above if those checkboxes are checked.

Entering Categories for a Single URL

You can enter new rating categories directly in the rating panel at the top of the URL Ratings Window by typing them in on the left-hand side of the two-column ratings panel.  Such categories will exist only for the current URL Item and not for other URL Items in your bookmark file.  If you want to create a new category for use in all your URL Items, click the Define button to bring up the Define Rating Categories Window.  Note that if the Auto Enforce checkbox is checked, any new categories you attempt to type in will be automatically deleted, so you must first uncheck this box before entering any new categories.


Define Rating Categories Window

See Also:

   About Ratings

   URL Ratings Window

   File Save

The Define Rating Categories Window is used to define the default categories for your ratings.  The default categories are automatically filled into URL Items if you have the Auto Fill-in or Auto Enforce options enabled on the URL Ratings Window.  The Define Rating Categories Window can be reached either by clicking the Define button on the URL Ratings Window or by clicking the Define button on the CBM Preferences Window.  Type in your categories and click the OK button, or click the Cancel button to abandon your changes.

To learn more about URL Ratings in general; how and why you need them, see About Ratings.

Type in up to 5 categories.  Because the categories are stored in the description field of NetScape  bookmark files, Opera v3 Hotlist files, and MSIE 32-bit favorites, you should keep your categories as short as possible.  Also, since you will be rating each of your bookmarks for each category using low (red), medium (yellow), and high (green) radio buttons, you should frame the categories in a positive manner.  For example, if you created a category called "Slowness" instead of "Speed", would a high(green) rating mean that the web site is not slow or would it mean that it is very slow?  By framing the category in a positive manner, this confusion will be avoided.

The factory default categories are shown above.  The intended meaning of these categories and some  other suggested categories you may want to define are:

Content	Does the site have information not readily obtainable elsewhere?  Is the information well organized?  Is the information accurate?  (Actually, one could break this rating up into many others if you wanted.)
Speed	Does the site take forever to download (perhaps because of too many adds or huge graphics) or has the author optimized the site for speed?
Up-to-date	Does the site contain old, stale information, or is it regularly maintained and updated?
Compatible	Does the site only work with specific browsers or only with the latest versions of browsers, or does it support a wide variety of browsers?
Fun	Is the site fun to surf, or is it drab and boring?
Useful	Does the site offer a service or information that is useful to you?
Timely	Do you find yourself needing to visit this site often or only once in a while?  Even though a site may be kept up-to-date, you may not need to visit it very often.
Kids	Is the site intended for kids, or only for adults?
Relevant	Sometimes you come across sites that have good content, but the information is not relevant to your needs, although someone else might find it very useful for their needs..  How does this site measure up?

I'm sure you'll come up with many categories of your own.

The settings of the Define Rating Categories Window are remembered from one CBM session to the next in the BKMMERGE.INI file (section [DefaultRatingCategories])


Flag Duplicate URLs Options Window

The Flag Duplicate URLs Options Window appears when you select Flag Dup. URLs from Selected... from the  Main Menu.  Choose the options you want and click OK to begin searching for duplicate URLs, or press Cancel to abandon.  The Factory Defaults button loads the factory defaults for the options you see on this screen.

The options you can set on this screen are:

Comparison is case-sensitive

When unchecked (the factory default), URLs may be considered duplicates without regard to the uppercase or lowercase characters.  When checked, case matters so that "YAHOO" and "Yahoo" are considered not to be duplicates.

Compare URLs using Name

When checked, CBM compares URL Items using their names (the name that appears in the bookmark file outline of the main window.).  If unchecked (the factory default), the names of URL Items are not compared.

Compare URLs using URL

When checked (the factory default), CBM compares URL Items using their URLs. If unchecked, the URLs of URL Items are not compared.

You must check at least one of Compare URLs using Name or Compare URLs using URL.  You may also check both, in which case, two URL Items must match on both Name and URL in order to be considered duplicates.

When you click OK, CBM scans each of the URL Items in the selected folder.  For each URL Item in the folder, CBM scans the entire bookmark outline for a duplicate.  If a duplicate is found, both the original and the duplicate are flagged with a cloned sheep icon ( [image] ).  If there are any subfolders in the selected folder, their contents are also scanned for duplicates.  At the completion of the scan, if any folders contain duplicate flagged URL Items, then a single sheep icon ( [image] ) is displayed next to those folders.  In this way, you can see if a folder contains duplicate URLs even if it is unexpanded.

If you want to scan the entire bookmark file outline for duplicates, click on the root folder of the outline to select it and then select Flag Dup. URLs from Selected... on the Main Menu.

Once you have flagged duplicates, the duplicate flag icons remain on screen until you remove them.  If you delete a URL Item with a duplicate flag, the flag is is not removed from its duplicate.  You can remove the duplicate flags either by choosing Clear All Flags from the Main Menu, or by choosing Clear Duplicate Flag from the Main Menu while a URL Item is currently selected.  You can also hold down the right mouse button on a URL Item and choose Clear Duplicate Flag from the context menu that pops up.

Once you have flagged the duplicates in your outline,  you can delete duplicates in several ways.  You can delete individual duplicates by clicking them once to select them and then hit the <Del> key, or click the Delete button..  Note that, in this case, the duplicate flag is not removed from the undeleted duplicate.  You can also delete all duplicates in any folder by clicking the folder once to select it and then choosing Delete Dup.-flagged URLs from Selected on the Main Menu.  In this case, CBM scans the selected folder (and any subfolders as well) for URL Items that are flagged and deletes them.  However, CBM takes pains not to delete both duplicates if they are both somewhere in the folder (or subfolders).  Instead, the duplicate flag is removed from one of the duplicates and the other is deleted (in general, the one that is "farther down" in the outline is the one deleted).

Next Topic: Miscelaneous: CBM for LAN Administrators


CBM for LAN Administrators

See Also:

   Command Line Parameters

Columbine Bookmark Merge has several features that will be especially useful for LAN Administrators.  As an Admin, you may need to distribute bookmarks to user workstations on your LAN.  CBM can do that for you if you have a mechanism for automatically running a Windows program whenever users startup Windows or log onto the network.

Note: CBM is not a Dos program; it's a Windows program.  You must have a capability for starting a Windows program when users log onto the network.  In general, BAT files will not allow you to do this.  One way to do this is to set up Windows to automatically log onto the network when Windows starts, then put a "script-executor" program in the Windows Startup group.

Suppose that you prepare a standard set of bookmarks, placing them in a file on a network share.  Let's say your standard bookmark file is named N:\NETSCAPE\STD.HTM.  Suppose further that all your client workstations have NetScape installed in directory C:\NETSCAPE.  Using command line parameters, you can start Columbine Bookmark Merge and automatically merge the standard bookmarks with the workstation bookmark files using the following command:

  c:\cbm\bkmmerge c:\netscape\bookmark.htm n:\netscape\std.htm /nointeractive

The "/nointeractive" switch is the key.  It tells CBM to merge the second file into the first file automatically, without requiring interaction from the user.  CBM will automatically save the updated bookmark file and exit when the merge operation is completed.  If any workstation does not have the specified files available to it (perhaps NetScape is not installed on the workstation), then CBM will simply exit.

You can also install CBM non-interactively by running the Columbine Setup Wizard with the "/nointeractive" switch, for example

n:\cbm\cbm22.exe /nointeractive

Note: Again, the Setup Wizard is not a Dos program; it's a Windows program and so it cannot be run from a BAT file.

You can set up CBM to run from a network read-only share.  Use the /PathToIni switch on the command line to specify a writeable directory where CBM can write its BKMMERGE.INI file.  For example, if you have CBM installed on share drive E in a readonly directory CBM, you could create an icon for your network users to run CBM as follows:

e:\cbm\bkmmerge.exe   /PathToIni=c:\Windows

If you do this, and you want to set up a default INI file for your users, you must copy the BKMMERGE.INI file to each workstation, i.e.,

copy e:\cbm\bkmmerge.ini    c:\Windows


Command Line Parameters

See Also:

   CBM for LAN Administrators

Command line parameters may be used when starting Columbine Bookmark Merge.  The syntax of the command line is

  bkmmerge [ PRIMARY [SECONDARY ]] [/SWITCH [/SWITCH...]]

where:

PRIMARY	The name of a bookmark file to load as the Primary Bookmark File.

SECONDARY	The name of a bookmark file to load as the Secondary Bookmark File.

SWITCH	One or more of the following switches:

Note: CBM does support loading of MSIE 32-bit favorites from the command line, but the folder names you enter must be long names, not short names, and they may not contain any spaces..

Switch	Default State	Action
/PathToIni	blank	Specifies the path to the BKMMERGE.INI file.  Do not include file name in the path.  If not specified, defaults to the program directory where BKMMERGE.EXE is.
/Interactive	true	Do merging with user interaction
/ReplaceItems	true	Update newer items.
/AddItems	true	Add new items.
/CaseSensitive	true	Compare case sensitive
/URLCompare	false	Compare URLs when merging
/NameCompare	true	Compare Names when merging
/LastVisitNewer	true	Update if Last Visit is newer
/DateAddedNewer	true	Update if Add Date is newer
/WatchClipboard	false	Capture any URLs placed in Windows clipboard
/Help	false	Display command line help
/?	false	Display command line help

Under Windows 95 and Windows NT, file names on the command line must be long file names; short file names are not allowed.

Switches may be upper- or lowercase.  Only the first letter of each switch matters, so you may abbreviate as needed.  Any of the above switches can be negated by preceding with "No", which reverses its meaning.  Exampes of valid switches:

/NoInt	Run non-interactively.

/NoU	Do not compare URL items using the URL.

/H	Display this help topic.

Sample command lines:

bkmmerge c:\netscape\bookmark.htm

Loads file C:\NETSCAPE\BOOKMARK.HTM into the Primary Bookmark File.

bkmmerge c:\netscape\bookmark.htm n:\netscape\std.htm /NoCase

Loads file C:\NETSCAPE\BOOKMARK.HTM into the Primary Bookmark File.  Loads file N:\NETSCAPE\STD.HTM into the Secondary Bookmark File.  When merging, matches are not case sensitive.

bkmmerge c:\netscape\bookmark.htm n:\netscape\std.htm /NoInteractive

Merges file N:\NETSCAPE\STD.HTM into file C:\NETSCAPE\BOOKMARK.HTM.  The merged file is stored to C:\NETSCAPE\BOOKMARK.HTM, and then CBM exits.  This is an example of how a LAN Administrator might automatically update client workstations.


Starting with an Empty Bookmark File

There are several special actions if you start out with an empty bookmark file:

1.  Whenever you drag items to an empty bookmark file, CBM will automatically create a root folder item named "Unnamed Root Folder".  One exception to this is when you drag the root folder of a bookmark file to an empty bookmark file.  In this case, the "Unnamed Root Folder" is not automatically created, since you have already provided a root folder in the dragging operation.

2.	Whenever you paste items into an empty bookmark file, CBM will also automatically create a root folder named "Unnamed Root Folder".

3.	You can merge into an empty bookmark file, but CBM will create a top-level item as "Unnamed Root Folder".

The first thing you should do when starting with an empty bookmark file, is to create a new Folder Item.  Give the new Folder Item an appropriate name as the title of the file.  For example, "Gary's Bookmarks".


Special Item Properties Considerations

Starting with NetScape version 2.0 beta 3, NetScape Communications added some additional features to their bookmark files that require special handling by CBM.

The Last Modified Date in URL Items is used by NetScape to decide which bookmarks have been altered at the host sites.  CBM does nothing special with this data.  If present, it is copied in Drag and Drop operations, cut and paste operations, merge operations, etc.

In NetScape, you may also create aliases of URL Items.  This permits you to have more than one reference to the same web page in your bookmark file.  When you create an Alias in NetScape, an Alias ID is assigned to the original item, and an Alias Of reference is added to the copy.  Since one of CBM's objectives is to reduce duplicate bookmarks, and also to avoid duplicate Alias IDs, alias information is not copied in any of the following operations:

Drag and Drop from one bookmark file to the other.

Any Cut, Copy, or Paste operation.

Merge operations.

In addition, Alias IDs are stripped if copying an item within the same bookmark file (to prevent duplicate IDs).

Whenever you delete an item, CBM scans the entire bookmark file to clean up orphaned Alias Of references or originals that no longer have any Alias Of references.  This is why there is a slight pause whenever you click on the Delete button, or do any operation that involves deleting, such as a Drag and Drop move operation, or a Cut operation.

In NetScape, you may designate exactly one Folder Item as the New Item Folder.  When you are surfing the net, you may add a bookmark for the currently-viewed page by clicking on "Bookmarks | Add Bookmark".  The bookmark is added as a child of the New Item Folder.  CBM does not allow you to change the New Item Folder.  Since there may be only one New Item Folder, CBM strips this flag from Folder Items in any of the following operations:

Drag and Drop copy operations.

Drag and Drop operations from one bookmark file to the other.

Any Cut, Copy, and Paste operation.

Any Merge operation.

The original New Item Folder when you open a bookmark file is preserved as long as you do not delete that folder.

In NetScape, you may designate exactly one Folder Item as the Menu Folder.  The child items of this folder appear on the NetScape "Bookmark" drop-down menu.  CBM does not allow you to change the Menu Folder.  Since there may be only one Menu Folder, CBM stips this flag from Folder Items in any of the following operations:

Drag and Drop copy operations.

Drag and Drop operations from one bookmark file to the other.

Any Cut, Copy, and Paste operation.

Any Merge operation.

The original Menu Folder when you open a bookmark file is preserved as long as you do not delete that folder.

NetScape 2.0b3 (16-bit version) also had a bug with respect to Add Dates.  In this version, the date that items were added to the bookmark file were not recorded.  This messes up the replacement rules logic in CBM.  Since this beta version is (was) scheduled to expire in February 1996, this should not be a big concern to CBM users.


Using CBM with your Browser

See Also:

   Requirements

   Browser Launch Button

   Browser Select Buttons

   Configure Browsers Window

CBM is designed to work with any or all of NetScape, Microsoft Internet Explorer, NCSA Mosaic, or Opera.  CBM is a powerful addon to these programs that enhances and extends their capabilities.  Use CBM as your main bookmark or favorites editor.  CBM enhances 16-bit versions of MSIE by providing structure (folders) to your favorites.  Organize your favorites into logical categories for easy finding and reference.  The Action menu provides four functions for interacting with your web browser:

Start Browser

If you do not already have your web browser running, click this to start it.  If you forget to start your browser, the other functions may not work correctly the first time you use them.  Note: If this function does not work, be sure you have configured CBM for your browser(s).  Click on Configure Browsers... in the Options menu.  Also, when starting Mosaic, it will be minimized rather than restored and in front on the screen.  Click on the minimized Mosaic icon and click Restore.

Launch URL

Select a URL item in one of the bookmark files and click this.  CBM will instruct your browser to fetch that page from the web and display it.  To return back to CBM, use the Windows hot-switch feature (press Alt-TAB).  You can also invoke this function by clicking the Browser Launch Button on the main window.  If no URL item is currently selected (either you have not loaded any bookmark items or the currently selected item is a folder or separator item), then nothing will happen when you choose this function.

Capture Browser URL

With your browser running and currently displaying some page on the web, click this to capture the bookmark (link) to the page.  The URL item will be inserted into the currently selected bookmark file at the currently selected item.  The URL item will be added as a sibling of the currently selected item.  Note: If the bookmark file is currently empty, CBM will create a top-level folder called "Unnamed Root Folder" and add the captured URL as a child of that folder.  This function is not available with Mosaic.

Capture Browser Doc

Clicking this causes CBM to instruct your browser to save the currently-displayed web page to a temporary file, then the Open File window appears.  Use this window to select the HTML options you desire and click OK.  CBM will scan the document, extracting URL items (and folders if so-configured) and insert them into the currently selected bookmark file outline. This function is not available with Mosaic, Opera (versions 2.12 or 3), or MSIE.  The Capture Browser Doc function only works with NetScape, due to DDE implementation bugs in all the other browsers.  As a workaround, save the document manually in the browser, then load the resulting .htm file into CBM.

Note: The functions listed above have been tested and work with NetScape versions 2.0 (16-bit) and above and with MSIE 3.0 (16-bit) and above.  They may or may not work with other versions of these browsers.  There is a particularly nasty bug in MSIE 2.10 (16-bit) that will crash both MSIE and CBM if you click on Capture Browser Doc.  Sorry.  If you have this version of MSIE, we recommend you upgrade to 3.0 or above.

The Capture URL and Capture Browser Doc functions do not work in the version of Mosaic we tested, verstion 2.1.1 (16-bit and 32-bit).  This is documented on the Mosaic web site.

When launching a URL in Opera v2.12, or starting Opera v2.12, Opera will start without having focus.  This could be a small problem for mouseless users.  Use Alt-TAB to switch focus to Opera.

Strategies for Using CBM with your Browser

Use Capture Browser URL and Launch URL to enhance your browser's bookmarks or favorites capabilities.  Use CBM and these functions instead of the browser's launching capability.  This will enable you to have multiple bookmark files, merge and manipulate bookmark files, and easily keep your bookmarks organized.  You can always save the bookmarks from CBM into the files that NetScape or MSIE will use.  Note however, that using both CBM and your browser's bookmark or favorites capabilities simultaneously is a bad idea.  One will overwrite the other.  CBM will detect if a file has been changed by your browser after you've already opened it and warn you.

MSIE does not support descriptions for favorites.  But if you save your bookmarks in NetScape format, you can enter descriptions for your favorites.  (NetScape format provides the richest set of storage attributes, therefore, it is the recommended format for use with all the browsers CBM supports.)  Of course, you cannot use a NetScape-formatted file directly in MSIE, but by using CBM as the front-end to MSIE, that won't matter.

MSIE 32-bit favorites can gobble up a significant amount of your hard disk space.  This is because each favorite is stored in a separate file and each file requires at least one cluster of your hard drive, no matter how small the favorite is.  On large hard drives, this can waste 8, 16, 32, or even more kilobytes of space per favorite.  By saving your favorites in NetScape format, you will avoid this problem, since NetScape format stores all the bookmarks in a single file.  Note that you can save your favorites in NetScape format, even though you do not use or have a copy of NetScape.

If you save your bookmarks in NetScape format, you will be able to use the Ratings feature of CBM with any of the browsers CBM supports.

If you use several browsers, CBM will permit you to keep all your bookmarks, favorites, and hotlists in a single place.  Again, use NetScape format as the storage medium, since it provides the richest set of attributes.

Capture Browser Doc... is a powerful web research accessory.  When used with many of the web search engines available, it is particularly useful.  For example, suppose you want to begin a research project on the Civil War.  You intend to work on this project over several weeks and you anticipate it will require many web browsing sessions to complete your research.  You would begin by using your web browser to visit Yahoo or one of the other online web search engines.  Perform a query on "Civil War".  Use Capture Browser Doc... to capture the links that Yahoo returns to you.  Save the resulting bookmarks in file CivilWar.htm.  Now you can visit those web sites at your leisure.  Suppose you visit one of the sites and it contains a list of other web sites about the Civil War.  You want to capture those links as well, but you don't want to create duplicate bookmarks.  This is where the merge capability of CBM comes into play.  Use Capture Browser Doc... to capture the additional links into the Secondary Bookmark File.  With your CivilWar.htm bookmarks loaded into the Primary Bookmark File, simply click the << (Merge All) button to merge the additional links into your civil war bookmarks.  CBM will eliminate the duplicates for you.  Or you can use drag and drop to move just selected links into the civil war bookmarks.


Using CBM to Publish Your Bookmarks

See Also:

   CBM Style Files

Obviously, one way to share your bookmarks with others is to give them your bookmark (or favorites, or hotlist) files.  In addition, since CBM can save bookmarks in HTML format, you can use this feature to author your own web pages and publish your bookmarks to the world (assuming that you have your own web Home Page).

Steps:

1.	Save your bookmarks to an HTML file.  Choose one of the provided styles or write your own style.

2.	Copy the HTML file to your web server.

3.	Place a link on your Home Page to the HTML file.  Voila!  In the future, updating the list is as simple as repeating steps 1 and 2.

CBM comes supplied with the following style files:

Style File	Format/Purpose
outline.sty	Displays the bookmarks in an outline, similar to the way they are displayed in CBM.
flat.sty	Displays the bookmarks in a flat list.
table.sty	Displays the bookmarks in a nested table format.
multitbl.sty	Displays each level-2 folder as a separate table, with child folders as nested tables.  This format displays quicker than table.sty in most browsers.
2col.sty	Displays the bookmarks in a two-column table.  Level-2 folders in column 1.  Subfolders are handled as unordered lists in column 2 of the table.
resume.sty	Similar to 2col.sty but looks like a job resume might look with level-2 folders as hanging paragraph headers.
ratings.sty	Similar to resume.sty but includes bookmark ratings.
reviews.sty	Similar to multitble but includes date and ratings information.  Suitable for publishing reviews of web sites.

All of the supplied style files produce valid HTML 3.2 code as validated by "A Kinder Gentler HTML Validator" at http://ugweb.cs.ualberta.ca/~gerald/validate/.

By creating your own styles that includes images and other features, you can make the list both attractive and interesting without having to re-author the page each time you want to update it.


CBM Style Files

See Also:

   Save File Window

   Using CBM to Publish Your Bookmarks

   CBM Old Style Files

This topic is for experts only!

CBM comes with several predefined styles for output of HTML files.  You can create your own styles if you wish by following the directions in this topic.  Styles permit you to control how your bookmark file will look when displayed on the world-wide web.  Styles essentially control what HTML tags are inserted into the output file.  You must have a working knowledge of HTML to create your own styles.  This help will not attempt to teach HTML; there are many excellent books that will teach you about HTML.

To create your own styles, you will need a text editor.  Windows Notepad will work fine.  You create a text file; one per style.  Name your file with extension .STY and save it to the CBM program directory (usually C:\CBM).  Long file names are not supported, i.e., they must follow 8.3 format.  Note: If there is sufficient interest, we may write a separate CBM Style Editor utility and make it available on our web site.  Perhaps someone else would like to take on this task?

The style file may not contain any TAB characters or any other non-displayable characters.  Each line must end with a CRLF pair (this is normally done for you by Windows Notepad when you hit the ENTER key).  You may insert comments in a style file after a left curly brace ( { ).  The left curly brace and everything after the left curly brace is stripped before processing.  In the following discussion, the symbol CR represents a CRLF pair.

The style file is formatted as a Windows INI file.  The very first line of the file must look like this

[Columbine Bookmark Merge Style V2]

If this is not the exact first line of the STY file, CBM will not recognize the file as a valid version 2 style file and will attempt to convert it to version 2 format, resulting in a mangled style file.

The style file is divided up into sections.  Each section name is surrounded by square brackets, (so the very first section of the file must be "Columbine Bookmark Merge Style V2").  Each section has a number of parameters and values separated by an equals sign (=).  Each parameter specifies HTML tags which will be sent to the output HTML file.  Generally, there are parameters to begin something, which will have "Beg" in its name, and a corresponding parameter to end something, which will have "End" in its name.

As mentioned, the very first section must be "Columbine Bookmark Merge Style V2".  It may contain the following parameters:

Parameter	Value/Meaning
hsDocType	The very first thing output to the html file.  If hsDocType is not specified, the default is <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN">, which corresponds to an HTML 3.2 document.
hsHeading	Output in the <HEAD> portion of the html file, following CBM's standard heading (see below) and just before the </HEAD> tag.
hsBegBody	Defines the <BODY> tag of the html output.  If the hsBegBody parameter is not specified, the default is <BODY>.  This is a good place to set the background color of the document, etc.  For example   <BODY BGCOLOR="#ffffe6">
hsEndBody	Defines the </BODY> tag of the html output.  If the hsEndBody parameter is not specified, the default is </BODY>.

The "hs" prefixing each of the parameters stands for "HTML style".

Following section "Columbine Bookmark Merge Style V2" should be section "Level1".  The Level1 section may contain the following parameters:

Parameter	Value/Meaning
l1hsBegRoot	Output just before the root folder name of your bookmarks.  Typically, this is used to start a title for your html page.
l1hsEndRoot	Output just after the root folder name of your bookmakrs.

(Note that CBM always outputs a title for the document that is the name of the root folder of the bookmark file outline.  Hence, the root folder is output twice to the HTML file -- once for the title, and once as a folder.)

The "l1hs" prefix stands for "level 1 HTML style".

An example Level1 section is

[Level1]

l1hsBegRoot=<H1 ALIGN=CENTER>

l1hsEndRoot=</H1>

which will center the root folder name and display it in large bold type.

The next section of the style file is titled "Level2".  It controls the output of level 2 items of your bookmark outline, i.e., the children of the root folder.  Additional sections are titled "Level#", where "#" is the indentation level of the items in the bookmark outline.  For example, "Level3" controls output of level 3 items, i.e., the children of the children of the root folder.    The last "Level#" section in the style file controls that level of items and all deeper levels, i.e., it is the default for all other levels.  All of the "Level#" sections have the same possible parameters.  The parameters and their meanings are:

Parameter	Value/Meaning
UrlItemOrder	Controls which parts of a URL Item are output and in which order.  This parameter is a series of flags separated by commas.  If a flag is present, then that part of the URL Item is sent to the HTML file.  If the flag is not present, that part of the URL Item is ignored.  Many of the flags "activate" other parameters in the section.  If the flag is not present, those parameters will be ignored.  The possible flags are: uoiHyperlink Outputs the URL Item as a normal hyperlink, i.e., "<HREF=" followed by the URL of the URL Item, followed by ">", followed by the name of the URL Item, followed by "</A>", followed by a CR. uoiUrl Outputs the URL of a URL Item and activates parameters hsBegUrl and hsEndUrl.  Normally, you would not specify both uoiHyperlink and uoiUrl. uoiUrlName Outputs the name of aURL Item and activates parameters hsBegUrlText and hsEndUrlText.  Normally, you would not specify both uoiHyperlink and uoiUrlName. uoiRatings Outputs the ratings for a URL Item (if any) and activates parameters hsBegRatings, hsEndRatings, hsBegRatingCat, hsEndRatingCat, hsBegRatingNone, hsEndRatingNone, hsBegRatingMed, hsEndRatingMed, hsBegRatingHigh, and hsEndRatingHigh. uoiAddDate Outputs the Add Date of a URL Item and activates hsBegDate and hsEndDate parameters. uoiLastVisit Outputs the Last Visit date of a URL item and activates hsBegDate and hsEndDate. uoiDesc Outputs the description of a URL Item and activates parameters hsBegDesc and hsEndDesc.
FolderItemOrder	Controls which parts of a Folder Item are output and in which order.  This parameter is a series of flags separated by commas.  If a flag is present, then that part of the Folder Item is sent to the HTML file.  If the flag is not present, that part of the Folder Item is ignored.  Many of the flags "activate" other parameters in the section.  If the flag is not present, those parameters will be ignored.  The possible flags are: foiName Outputs the name of the Folder Item. foiAddDate Outputs the Add Date of the Folder Item and activates parameters hsBegDate and hsEndDate. foiDesc Outputs the description of the Folder Item and activates parameters hsBegDesc and hsEndDesc.
hsBegChildren	Output if the item is a folder item and it has children.  This is a good place to begin a Menu, Ordered List, Unordered List, Definition, or Table.
hsEndChildren	Output if the item is a folder item and has children, after all child items have been processed.  Followed by a CR.  This is a good place to close a Menu, Ordered List, Unordered List, Definition, or Table.
hsBegChild	Output at the beginning of each child item.  This is a good place to identify each item in a Menu, Ordered List, Unordered List, or Definition, or to begin a new table row.
hsEndChild	Output at the conclusion of each child item.  This is a good place to close each item in a Menu, Ordered List, Unordered List, or Definition, or to close a table row.
hsBegUrlCell	Output at the beginning of a URL item.  This is a good place to begin a new table cell.  Followed by a CR.
hsEndUrlCell	Output at the conclusion of a URL item.  This is a good place to close out a table cell.
hsBegFolderCell	Output at the beginning of a folder item.
hsEndFolderCell	Output at the conclusion of a folder item.  Followed by a CR.
hsBegSeparatorCell	Output at the beginning of a separator item.  <HR> is the normal choice here.
hsEndSeparatorCell	Output at the conclusion of a separator item.  Followed by a CR.
hsBegDesc	Ignored if flag uoiDesc is not present in the UrlItemOrder parameter or flag foiDesc is not present in parameter FolderItemOrder.  Output at the beginning of an item description, but only if the URL Item has a description.  Preceeded by a CR.
hsEndDesc	Ignored if flag uoiDesc is not present in UrlItemOrder paramter or flag foiDesc is not present in parameter FolderItemOrder.  Output at the conclusion of an item description (if there is a description).
hsBegUrl	Ignored if flag uoiUrl is not present in the UrlItemOrder parameter.  Output at the beggining of the URL of a URL item.
hsEndUrl	Ignored if flag uoiUrl is not present in the UrlItemOrder parameter.  Output at the conclusion of the URL of a URL item.  Followed by a CR.
hsBegUrlText	Ignored if flag uoiName is not present in the UrlItemOrder paramter.  Output at the beginning of the name of a URL item.
hsEndUrlText	Ignored if flag uoiName is not present in the UrlItemOrder paramter.  Output at the conclusion of the name of a URL item.  Followed by a CR.
hsBegDate	Used only if flags uoiAddDate or uoiLastVisit are present in the UrlItemOrder parameter, or if flag foiAddDate is present in the FolderItemOrder parameter.  Output at the beggining of a date.
hsEndDate	Used only if flags uoiAddDate or uoiLastVisit are present in the UrlItemOrder parameter, or if flag foiAddDate is present in the FolderItemOrder parameter.  Output at the conclusion of a date.  Followed by a CR.
hsBegRatings	Ignored if flag uoiRatings is not present in the UrlItemOrder parameter.  Output at the beggining of the ratings of a URL Item.  Followed by a CR.  This is a good place to begin a Menu, Ordered List, Unordered List, Definition, or Table containing the ratings for a single URL Item.
hsEndRatings	Ignored if flag uoiRatings is not present in the UrlItemOrder parameter.  Output at the conclusion of the ratings of a URL Item.  Followed by a CR.  This is a good place to end a Menu, Ordered List, Unordered List, Definition, or Table containing the ratings for a single URL Item.
hsBegRatingCat	Ignored if flag uoiRatings is not present in parameter UrlItemOrder or if the URL Item does not contain any ratings.  Output at the beginning of a rating category before the rating itself is output.  If this paramter is blank, the rating category is not output (but the rating itself may be).  It is followed by the rating category of the rating.  This is good place to begin a List Item, Definition Item, or Table Row and Cell.
hsEndRatingCat	Ignored if flag uoiRatings is not present in parameter UrlItemOrder or if the URL Item does not contain any ratings.  Output at the conclusion of a rating after the rating itself has been output..  This is the place to end a List Item, Definition Item, or Table Row and Cell.
hsBegRatingNone	Ignored if flag uoiRatings is not present in parameter UrlItemOrder or if the URL Item does not contain any ratings.  Output if the URL Item is rated None (White) for this category.  Typically you would code this as the string "None" or "No Rating", or you could code it as a white bullet image.
hsEndRatingNone	Ignored if flag uoiRatings is not present in parameter UrlItemOrder or if the URL Item does not contain any ratings.  Output if the URL Item is rated None (White) for this category.  Follows the hsBegRatingNone output.
hsBegRatingLow	Ignored if flag uoiRatings is not present in parameter UrlItemOrder or if the URL Item does not contain any ratings.  Output if the URL Item is rated Low (Red) for this category.  Typically you would code this as the string "Low" or "Poor", or you could code it as a red bullet image.
hsEndRatingLow	Ignored if flag uoiRatings is not present in parameter UrlItemOrder or if the URL Item does not contain any ratings.  Output if the URL Item is rated Low (Red) for this category.  Follows the hsBegRatingLow output.
hsBegRatingMed	Ignored if flag uoiRatings is not present in parameter UrlItemOrder or if the URL Item does not contain any ratings.  Output if the URL Item is rated Medium (Yellow) for this category.  Typically you would code this as the string "Medium" or "Fair", or you could code it as a yellow bullet image.
hsEndRatingMed	Ignored if flag uoiRatings is not present in parameter UrlItemOrder or if the URL Item does not contain any ratings.  Output if the URL Item is rated Medium (Yellow) for this category.  Follows the hsBegRatingMed output.
hsBegRatingHigh	Ignored if flag uoiRatings is not present in parameter UrlItemOrder or if the URL Item does not contain any ratings.  Output if the URL Item is rated High (Green) for this category.  Typically you would code this as the string "High" or "Good", or you could code it as a green bullet image.
hsEndRatingHigh	Ignored if flag uoiRatings is not present in parameter UrlItemOrder or if the URL Item does not contain any ratings.  Output if the URL Item is rated High (Green) for this category.  Follows the hsBegRatingHigh output.

An asterisk may be used to represent the level of indentation of an item.  This is useful when outputting header tags.  For example, if hsBegFolderCell is coded as "<H*>", CBM will substitute the level of indentation of the folder item for the asterisk.  In this way, the header tags will produce progressively smaller fonts the deeper one goes in the outline structure.  Notice that the lowest level is 2, so <H2> is the largest font you will get (H1 should be used for the root folder).  <H8> is the smallest font you will get, no matter how deep the level of indentation.

Spaces are not significant.  CBM will strip all leading and trailing spaces from the lines in the style file (as well as removing comments after left curly brace).  To insert a space in your HTML output, code as "&nbsp;".

As mentioned, CBM outputs the HTML title automatically.  In fact, the beginning of each HTML file looks like this:

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN">

<!-- Generated by Columbine Bookmark Merge v3.2.-->

<HTML>

<HEAD>

<TITLE>Name of root folder.</TITLE>

</HEADER>

<BODY>

The DOCTYPE and <BODY> tags can be controlled via the hsDocType and hsBegBody parameters as described above.

The end of each file looks like this

<P><CENTER>

<A HREF="http://www.clark.net/pub/garyc/">

<IMG SRC="cbmlogo.gif" ALT="Generated by Columbine Bookmark Merge"></A></CENTER><BR><BR>

</BODY>

</HTML>

The </BODY> tag can be controlled via the hsEndBody parameter as described above.

You may code image tags in your style files.  You must supply the image files yourself.  In fact, you may code whatever strings you like in your style files.  CBM simply follows the rules described above as it processes each item in the bookmark file.  CBM does not do any syntax checking of the HTML output.  You must debug your styles yourself.

Output line length is limited to 254 characters.  Notice that CBM ends lines at each place where a CR is output as described above.  You must exercise some care that your tags are not too long so that when concatenated to the data of bookmark items, the total length does not exceed 254.

Writing style files is a bit tricky.  Print out this help topic and use it to study the sample STY files supplied with CBM to see how it is done.  Experiment!  Have fun!


CBM Old Style Files

The format of CBM Style files was changed in version 3.0 of CBM.  For reference, this topic describes the old format.  For the new format see CBM Style Files.  Whenever you output an HTML file and choose an old style file, CBM will automatically convert the style file to the new format.

The old style file has the following format:

The first line specifies the HTML tags to be output just before the root folder of the bookmark file outline is output.  Normally, this should be "<H1><CENTER>".  (Note that CBM always outputs a title for the document that is the name of the root folder of the bookmark file outline.  Hence, the root folder is output twice to the HTML file -- once for the title, and once as a folder.)

The second line specifies the HTML tags to be output just after the root folder of the bookmark file outline.  Normally, this should be "</CENTER></H1>".

The rest of the style file is a series of records,  exactly 12 lines per record.  Record 1 controls output associated with the 2nd-level items in the bookmark file outline, i.e., the children of the root item.  Record 2 controls output associated with the 3rd-level items in the bookmark file, i.e., the grandchildren of the root.  The 3rd record controls output of the 4th-level items, etc.  The last record in the style file controls that level of items and all deeper levels, i.e., it is the default for all other levels.  The format of each record is:

Line 1.	Output if the item is a folder item and it has children.  This is a good place to begin a Menu, Ordered List, Unordered List, Definition, or Table Row.

Line 2.  Output if the item is a folder item and has children, after all child items have been processed.  Followed by a CR.  This is a good place to close a Menu, Ordered List, Unordered List, Definition, or Table Row.

Line 3.	Output at the beginning of each child item.  This is a good place to identify each item in a Menu, Ordered List, Unordered List, or Definition, or to begin a new table cell.

Line 4.	Output at the conclusion of each child item.  This is a good place to close each item in a Menu, Ordered List, Unordered List, or Definition, or to close a table cell.

Line 5.	Output at the beginning of a URL item.  It is not necessary to code anchor tags.  CBM will do that for you.

Line 6.	Output at the conclusion of a URL item.  Followed by a CR.

Line 7.	Output at the beginning of a folder item.

Line 8.	Output at the conclusion of a folder item.  Followed by a CR.

Line 9.	Output at the beginning of a separator item.  <HR> is the normal choice here.

Line 10. Output at the conclusion of a separator item.  Followed by a CR.

Line 11. Output at the beginning of an item description (if there is a description).  Preceeded by a CR.

Line 12. Output at the conclusion of an item description (if there is a description).

Since the number of lines per record is fixed at 12, you must carefully count the lines in your style file.  You may not insert extra lines or omit any lines of a record.  For example, if your style file contains 3 records, there must be exactly 38 lines (2 for the root folder plus 3 times 12 equals 38).  If you do not wish to code anything for a line of a record, leave the line blank.

An asterisk may be used to represent the level of indentation of an item.  This is useful when outputting header tags.  For example, if line 7 is coded as "<H*>", CBM will substitute the level of indentation of the folder item for the asterisk.  In this way, the header tags will produce progressively smaller fonts the deeper one goes in the outline structure.  Notice that the lowest level is 2, so <H2> is the largest font you will get (H1 should be used for the root folder).  <H8> is the smallest font you will get, no matter how deep the level of indentation.

Spaces are not significant.  CBM will strip all leading and trailing spaces from the lines in the style file (as well as removing comments after left curly brace).  To insert a space in your HTML output, code as "&nbsp;".

As mentioned, CBM outputs the HTML title automatically.  In fact, the beginning of each HTML file looks like this:

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN">

<!-- Generated by Columbine Bookmark Merge v2.9.-->

<HTML>

<HEAD>

<TITLE>Name of root folder.</TITLE>

</HEADER>

<BODY>

The end of each file looks like this

<P><CENTER>

<A HREF="http://www.clark.net/pub/garyc/">

<IMG SRC="cbmlogo.gif" ALT="Generated by Columbine Bookmark Merge"></A></CENTER><BR><BR>

</BODY>

</HTML>

You may code image tags in your style files.  You must supply the image files yourself.  In fact, you may code whatever strings you like in your style files.  CBM simply follows the rules described above as it processes each item in the bookmark file.  CBM does not do any syntax checking of the HTML output.  You must debug your styles yourself.

Output line length is limited to 254 characters.  Notice that CBM ends lines at each place where a CR is output as described above.  You must exercise some care that your tags are not too long so that when concatenated to the data of bookmark items, the total length does not exceed 254.


Using CBM with the Clipboard; clipboard watch; Watch Clipboard; enhancing Internet programs
Using CBM with the Clipboard

CBM will capture any URL that is placed in the Windows clipboard.  To turn this feature on, click Action on the Main Menu, then check Watch Clipboard.  When a URL is placed in the Windows clipboard, and this is checked, CBM will extract the URL from the clipboard and add it to the currently selected bookmark file outline.  It will be added at the currently selected item in that outline.  If the outline is empty, a top-level folder named "Unnamed Root Folder" will automatically be created.

This feature will be a great benefit to any of your programs you use on the Internet -- not just your web browser.  For example, while reading your mail, you may wish to capture a URL that someone put in a message.  Simply use the mouse or keyboard to select (highlight) the URL, then use the application's Edit | Copy command to copy the selected text into the clipboard.  You may also use Ctrl-Ins or Ctrl-C to copy to the clipboard if your application does not have a Copy command.

It is not necessary to select just the URL and no more.  As long as the selected text contains the URL, CBM will find it.  The maximum string that CBM can extract from the clipboard is limited to 254 bytes, however.  CBM will extract the first URL it encounters in the clipboard string.

When turning on the feature, CBM immediately checks the clipboard for a URL and adds it if found, so you can invoke this feature even after you put a URL in the clipboard.

The Watch Clipboard feature will work even if CBM is minimized.


About MSIE Favorites

Please be sure to see the important note about MSIE version 4 at the bottom of this topic.

The 16-bit versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer (those that run under the 16-bit operating systems, i.e., Windows and Windows for Workgroups) do not save favorites in the same format as do the 32-bit versions of MSIE (those that run under Windows 95 or Windows NT 3.5 or above).  Note, however, that one can run the 16-bit versions under the 32-bit operating systems.  In this case, favorites are stored in 16-bit format.

In the 16-bit format, all favorites are stored in a single file.  There is no support for folders to help you categorize your favorites.  The file is usually called FAVORITE.HTM or HOTLIST.HTM and it is usually stored in the same directory as Internet Explorer (C:\IEXPLORE).

In the 32-bit format, each favorite is stored in a .URL file.  There is a separate .URL file for each favorite.  The name of the file is the name of the favorite and ending with ".url".  (This is possible because the 32-bit operating systems support long file and directory/folder names.)  You may organize your favorites into folders and subfolders, which are simply subdirectories (subfolders) of the root favorites folder.  The default folder under which favorites are stored is C:\WINDOWS\Favorites.  Each .URL file is formatted just like an initialization (.INI) file.  For example, a favorite named "Alta Vista" and having URL "http://www.altavista.com/" would be stored in a file named "Alta Vista.url".  The contents of the file would look like this:

[Internet Shortcut]

URL=http://www.altavista.com/

CBM can handle both kinds of formats.  It can convert from one format to the other, as well as convert to or from NetScape, Mosaic, or Opera format and HTML files.

You need to be aware of which format your version of MSIE is using, i.e, you need to know if you are running a 16-bit version of MSIE or a 32-bit version.  If you are running under Windows, Windows for Workgroups, or Windows NT 3.1, you must run a 16-bit version of MSIE, since these operating systems do not support long file and directory names.  If you are running under Windows 95 or Windows NT 3.5 or above, you could be running either the 16-bit or the 32-bit version of  MSIE.  The simplest way to determine which you are running is to examine the file structure of the MSIE favorites.  For example, using Windows Explorer, if you find a C:\WINDOWS\Favorites folder with lots of .url files in it, you are using the 32-bit version of MSIE.  If you don't find this folder or the folder exists but there aren't any .url files in it, examine the C:\IEXPLORE directory.  If you see a FAVORITE.HTM or HOTLIST.HTM file with a recent date, you are running a 16-bit version of MSIE.  (You could of course have both versions installed.)

When you are running under an operating system that does not support long file and directory names (Windows, Windows for Workgroups, and Windows NT 3.1), you can tell CBM to save in the 32-bit favorites format, but this is not advised.  CBM will have to truncate the name of each item to 8 characters or less.  If this produces any duplicate names, the file will contain the data from the last item saved, and the data from the duplicated items will be lost.  Continuing the Alta Vista example, CBM will save the favorite in a file named ALTA_VIS.URL.  If you have any other bookmarks that begin with "Alta Vis", they will be saved in the same file and the duplicate data will be lost.  The same truncation will occur when loading 32-bit favorites under an operating system that does not support long file and directory names.  The favorite names will come from the short file name aliases that Windows 95 and Windows NT create, not from the long file names.

In short, when converting 16-bit favorites to 32-bit favorites or vice versa, it is best to run CBM in the 32-bit operating system (Windows 95 or Windows NT 3.5 or above) to properly preserve the names of the favorites.  Even though CBM is a 16-bit Windows program, it will display and support long file and directory (folder) names when running under Windows 95 or Windows NT 3.5 or above.  For details about how this little piece of programming magic was accomplished, visit the author's Delphi home page on the web at

http://www.clark.net/pub/garyc/delphi/delphi.htm

On the CBM Open File dialog box is a checkbox called MSIE 32-bit Favorites format.  It is this checkbox that tells CBM it is to load 32-bit favorites rather than 16-bit favorites.  When this checkbox is checked and you click the Browse button, the browsing dialog box that appears operates in Directory/Folder selection mode.  You must select the directory or folder under which all the 32-bit MSIE favorites files (*.URL) are stored.  If this checkbox is not checked, CBM assumes that you do not wish to load 32-bit favorites and the browse dialog operates in normal file selection mode, in which you specify a single file.  In this case, CBM will automatically detect what kind of file it is from the possible choices of NetScape, MSIE 16-bit, Mosaic, Opera, or HTML.  Note that CBM has no way of automatically knowing that you want to load 32-bit favorites unless you first check the MSIE 32-bit Favorites format checkbox.

When CBM is running under Windows 95 or Windows NT, and your current default web browser is MSIE, CBM automatically checks the MSIE 32-bit Favorites format checkbox.  Most of the time, this will be the correct assumption, since chances are that you are running a 32-bit version of MSIE.  However, if you happen to be running a 16-bit version of MSIE, you must uncheck this checkbox before clicking the Browse button.

On the CBM Save File dialog box, you specify what type of file(s) you want to save.  Again, in order for CBM to know that you want to save MSIE 32-bit favorites, you must first check the MSIE 32-bit Favorites checkbox, then click the Browse button to specify which directory/folder you want to store the favorites in.  If the MSIE 32-bit Favorites checkbox is checked, the browse dialog operates in directory/folder selection mode.  If the MSIE 32-bit Favorites checkbox is not checked, the browse dialog operates in file selection mode.

When you save 32-bit favorites, CBM will first ask you if you wish to delete existing favorites files from the specified directory/folder.  If you click Yes, CBM will delete all the .URL files it finds in the directory/folder.  It will also do the same for any subdirectories (subfolders) it finds.  If this results in an empty subdirectory/subfolder, the subdirectory/subfolder is also deleted.  If you click No, CBM will overwrite the contents of any favorite files that have the same name as the bookmark items in the Bookmark File Outline.  Since you probably loaded the bookmark items from the same favorites folder, this is what you intend to do anyway.   Any existing favorites files that have names different from the names in the Bookmark File Outline will remain unchanged.  The same is true for Folder Items.

The Last Modified dates of the favorites files on disk are determined by the Add Dates of the items in the Bookmark File Outline; not by the date and time that you save them to disk.  This preserves the correct Add Date date when the favorites are next loaded back into CBM.

CBM extends the capabilities of MSIE 32-bit favorites to support descriptions and CBM Ratings by adding two additional lines to the .URL files, like this, for file "Columbine Bookmark Merge.url"

[Internet Shortcut]

URL=http://www.clark.net/pub/garyc/

Desc=The premiere bookmark manager.

Ratings=/*cbm Content=3 Speed=2 */

These additional lines are ignored by MSIE.  These extensions are not possible for MSIE 16-bit favorites, and therefore, descriptions and ratings are not supported in MSIE 16-bit favorites.

Important Note About MSIE Version 4:  At the time of this writing, Microsoft Internet Explorer version 4 was publicly released.  Since MSIE 4 makes significant and (some folks believe) undesirable changes to the operating system, your author has not tested CBM with MSIE 4 (and does not intend to do any such testing).  The author is aware that Microsoft has once-again changed the format of the favorites files in version 4.  Rumor is that the format is basically the same as described above, except that additional parameters have been added to the .URL file.  If this is the case, CBM should work adequately.  However, the author can not be sure at this time and caution is warranted.  At least one user has reported that CBM does work OK with MSIE 4.  On the other hand, some users have reported problems.


About Mosaic hotlists

NCSA Mosaic stores its hotlists in an ASCI file, usually named DEFAULT1.HOT in the C:\MOSAIC directory.  This file is stored in Windows INI file format, i.e., with section names in square brackets followed by "parameter=value" lines.  All sections are named "User MenuX" where X is a number from 0 to however many sections there are.  Each section represents a folder that appears in Mosaic's Advanced Hotlist Manager.  Each section has a "Menu_Name" parameter that specifies the name of the folder.  If the folder is a top level folder, i.e. it appears in the dropdown "Hotlists" menu in Mosaic, then there is a parameter that reads

Menu_Type=TOPLEVEL

The rest of the parameters in each section either specify a "MENU", which is a link to a subfolder, or they specify a URL.  A link to a subfolder has the format

ItemX=MENU,UserMenuY

A URL has the format

ItemX=Url Name,URL,Date and Time

If a URL has not been visited, the string " unvisited" is appended to the line and the Date represents the Add Date.  If a URL has been visited, the Date represents the Last Visited Date.  When loading Mosaic hotlists, CBM will set the Add Date equal to the Last Visited Date if the URL has been visited.  If the URL is unvisited, the Last Visited Date is blank.

For example, consider the following Mosaic hotlist file (Note: Maximize your help window to view best):

[User Menu0]

Menu_Name=Starting Points

Menu_Type=TOPLEVEL

Item0=MENU,UserMenu1

Item1=MENU,UserMenu2

[User Menu1]

Menu_Name=Gopher Servers

Item0=Original (UMN) Gopher,gopher://gopher.micro.umn.edu:70/1,08-Mar-96 04:06:33

Item1=PSC Gopher,gopher://gopher.psc.edu:70/1,08-Mar-96 04:06:37

[User Menu2]

Menu_Name=Home Pages

Item0=British Columbia,http://www.cs.ubc.ca/,08-Mar-96 04:14:44

Item1=BSDI Home Page,http://www.bsdi.com/,08-Mar-96 04:14:57

Item2=Carnegie Mellon,http://www.cs.cmu.edu/,08-Mar-96 04:15:28

[User Menu3]

Menu_Name=Search Engines

Menu_Type=TOPLEVEL

Item0=Yahoo,http://www.yahoo.com/,09-Mar-96 06:15:28 unvisted

This hotlist has two top level folders.  The first top level folder, "Starting Points" has two subfolders, "Gopher Servers" and "Home Pages".  The "Gopher Servers" subfolder has two URLs.  The "Home Pages" subfolder has three URLs.  The second top level folder, "Search Engines" has a single URL.

Folders may have subfolders, and subfolders may have sub-subfolders, etc.  This structure matches well into the outline structure of CBM with one exception.  In CBM, there is always exactly one root folder.  In Mosaic, there may be multiple top level folders.  To accomodate this difference, CBM will always create a single root folder and load the Mosaic top level folders as children of the root.  The hotlist example above will look like this when loaded into CBM

 Unnamed Root Folder

 Starting Points

 Gopher Servers

 Original (UMN) Gopher

 PSC Gopher

 Home Pages

 British Columbia

 BSDI Home Page

 Search Engines

 Yahoo

When saving to a Mosaic hotlist, CBM does not save the root folder.  Each child subfolder of the root becomes a top level folder in the hotlist file.

If any of the child items under the root folder are URL Items, a folder is created to contain the URL.  The name of the folder is the same as the name of the URL Item.  For example, consider the following outline in CBM.

 Gary's Bookmarks

 Web Accesories

 Columbine Bookmark Merge

 Gary's Delphi Page

When saved to a Mosaic hotlist, CBM will create a top level folder named "Gary's Delphi Page".  In this folder, it will place the "Gary's Delphi Page" URL Item.  If this hotlist were loaded back into CBM, the outline would now look like this

 Unnamed Root Folder

 Web Accesories

 Columbine Bookmark Merge

 Gary's Delphi Page

 Gary's Delphi Page

This logic also applies when saving a selected branch of an outline to a Mosaic hotlist file.  Consider the following outline

 Gary's Bookmarks

 Web Accessories

 Winsock FTP

 Bookmark Managers

 CBM

 Browsers

 Opera

If you selected the "Web Accessores" folder and then saved this outline to a Mosaic hotlist with the Save Selected Branch Only checkbox checked, both the "Web Accessories" and "Gary's Bookmarks" folders would not be saved.  Three top level folders, "Winsock FTP", "Bookmark Managers" and "Browsers" would be saved.  If you select a URL Item in an outline and save with the Save Selected Branch Only checkbox checked, CBM moves up to the parent folder of the URL Item and then does the save.  For example, if you selected the "Winsock FTP" URL Item in the outline above and saved it with the Save Selected Branch Only checkbox checked, you would get the same result as selecting the "Web Accessories" Folder Item.

Since they do not support descriptions, and since CBM Ratings are stored in the descriptions, Mosaic hotlists do not support CBM Ratings.

Separator Items are not saved to Mosaic hotlists.

Note: CBM reads and write Mosaic hotlists using the Windows INI file APIs.  The Windows APIs limit INI files to a maximum of 64K bytes.  Therefore, the maximum size Mosaic hotlist file that CBM can read or write is 64K.  Attempting to exceed this limit will produce an error or may even crash CBM.


About Opera Hot Lists

Opera Hot Lists changed significantly from version 2.12 to version 3.  Each of the formats is described below.

Opera v2 Hot Lists

Opera v2 stores its Hot Lists in an ASCII file, usually named OPERA.ADR in the C:\OPERA directory.  An Opera Hot List may contain any number of sub-lists, which are roughly equivalent to folders in CBM, as will be explained in a moment.  Each sub-list may contain any number of elements.  Each element may contain from 1 to 6 URLs.  Here is a sample file

Opera Hot List Version 1.0

1

2

Career

2

European Job Openings

1

http://www.britain.eu.net/jobs/dl/dlregn.htm

NCS Career Magazine

2

http://www.careermag.com/careermag/index.html

http://www.careermag.com/careermag/interviews.htm

Winsock

2

Stroud's Consummate Internet Apps List

1

http://www.stroud.com/

PAPA-l WinSock FTP Site

1

ftp://papa.indstate.edu/winsock-l/

Line 3 of the file specifies how many sub-lists the Hot List file contains -- in this case 2, named "Career" and "Winsock".  Line 2 of the file specifies which sub-list is the Active List, i.e. the sub-list into which new URL elements are added whenever you click Add URL in Opera.  Line 4 is the name of the first sub-list, which is "Career".  The line immediately below the sub-list name gives the number of elements the sub-list contains -- in this case 2, "European Job Openings" and "NCS Career Magazine".  The line immediately below each element gives the number of URLs the element contains, followed by one line for each URL.  Notice that the "NCS Career Magazine" element has two URLs.

If an element contained only a single URL, we would be able to map each element to a URL Item in CBM and map each sub-list to a Folder Item.  But the fact that an element can contain up to six URLs presents a special challenge for CBM.  When loading an Opera v2 Hot List, CBM handles this situation as follows.  If an element contains a single URL, the element is treated as a URL Item.  If an element contains more than one URL, CBM creates a Folder Item with the name of the element, and then creates child URL Items -- one for each of the URLs in the element.  Each URL Item is given a name equal to the URL itself.  When the sample file given above is loaded into CBM, the following outline is created

 Unnamed Root Folder

 Career

 European Job Openings

 NCS Career Magazine

 http://www.careermag.com/careermag/index.html

 http://www.careermag.com/careermag/interviews.htm

 Winsock

 Stroud's Consummate Internet Apps List

 PAPA-l WinSock FTP Site

Notice also that since CBM can only have a single root folder, an unnamed root folder is created.

When saving to an Opera v2 Hot List, CBM tries to reverse this logic.  It examines the contents of each folder.  If the folder contains no sub-folders, six or less URL Items, and all of those URLs have names that match their actual URL, CBM will treat the folder as a single element with up to six URLs.  If the folder contains any sub-folders, or more than six URLs, or any URL that has a name different from its actual URL, CBM will treat the folder as a sub-list.

Opera v2 Hot Lists may contain only one level of sub-lists, i.e., a sub-list may not contain other sub-lists.  Since a CBM outline can contain up to 30 levels of folders, this presents another problem.  CBM will solve this by "flattenning" the tree structure.  Consider the following outline in CBM

 Gary's Bookmarks

 Web Accessories

 Bookmark Managers

 CBM

 Browsers

 Opera

 NCSA Mosaic

 Gary's Delphi Page

CBM begins the save by ignoring the root folder -- "Gary's Bookmarks".  CBM processes URL Items in each folder first before processing Folder Items, so the first thing it will look at is the URL Item "Gary's Delphi Page".  URL Item "Gary's Delphi Page" is not in any folders, so CBM creates a sub-list called "Gary's Delphi Page" and then saves element "Gary's Delphi Page" in that sub-list.  CBM now begins processing the Folder Items under "Gary's Bookmarks".  Folder "Web Accessories" is saved as a sub-list.  Processing URL Items first, CBM saves the URL Item "NCSA Mosaic" as an element of the "Web Accessories" sub-list.  CBM now begins processing the folders under "Web Accessories".  Folder "Bookmark Managers" cannot be saved as a sub-list under "Web Accessories", so CBM will save it as a sub-list on the same level as "Web Accessories".  URL Item "CBM" is saved as an element under sub-list "Bookmark Managers".  Folder "Browsers" is saved as a sub-list at the same level as "Web Accessories" and "Bookmark Managers".  URL Item "Opera" is saved as an element of sub-list "Browsers".

If the resulting Opera v2 Hot List were loaded back into CBM, the following outline would result

 Unnamed Root Folder

 Gary's Delphi Page

 Gary's Delphi Page

 Web Accessories

 NCSA Mosaic

 Bookmark Managers

 CBM

 Browsers

 Opera

Notice how the "Gary's Delphi Page" and "NCSA Mosaic" items floated towards the top of the outline.  Also notice how the outline has only two levels of folders, instead of three in the original outline.

The logic explained above also applies when saving to an Opera v2 Hot List with the Save Selected Branch Only checkbox checked.  The selected folder is not saved and processing of the child items of the selected folder proceeds as described above.

Since Opera v2 Hot Lists do not contain date information, CBM sets the Last Visited Date, and Last Modified Date of each item to blank.  The Add Date defaults to the current date and time.

Separator Items are not saved to Opera v2 Hot Lists.

Opera v3 Hotlists

Opera version 3 Hotlists differ significantly from Opera v2 Hot Lists.  The new format is much simpler to map into CBM's outline structure and contains more information.  Opera v3 stores its Hotlists in an ASCII file, usually named OPERA3.ADR in the C:\OPERA directory.  Here is a sample file

Opera Hotlist version 2.0

#FOLDER

NAME=Gary Cramblitt's Bookmarks

CREATED=881424917 (Sat Dec 06 11:15:17 1997)

VISITED=0 (?)

EXPANDED=YES

#FOLDER

NAME=Columbine Bookmark Merge

CREATED=881424917 (Sat Dec 06 11:15:17 1997)

ACTIVE FOLDER=YES

VISITED=0 (?)

#URL

NAME=Columbine Bookmark Merge

URL=http://www.clark.net/pub/garyc/

CREATED=881424917 (Sat Dec 06 11:15:17 1997)

DESCRIPTION=The premiere bookmark manager.

SHORT NAME=CBM

VISITED=0 (?)

#URL

NAME=Welcome To Opera

URL=http://opera.nta.no/

CREATED=881424917 (Sat Dec 06 11:15:17 1997)

VISITED=0 (?)

-

#FOLDER

NAME=Search Engines

CREATED=881424917 (Sat Dec 06 11:15:17 1997)

VISITED=0 (?)

#URL

NAME=Yahoo

URL=http://www.yahoo.com/

CREATED=881424917 (Sat Dec 06 11:15:17 1997)

VISITED=881424977  (Sat Dec 06 11:16:17 1997)

-

-

Notice the hyphens.  The major parts of the file are fairly obvious.  A "#FOLDER" label begins a new folder or subfolder.  The entries that follow the folder are children of the folder until a hyphen in column 1 is encountered, which "closes out" the folder.  URL items are identified by the "#URL" label.  Dates are recorded as the number of seonds since Midnight, January 1, 1970, followed by a formatted date string in parenthesis.  If a date is unknown, it is zero, with "?" in parenthesis.  The "CREATED" tag corresponds to the Add Date of a folder or URL.  The "VISITED" tag gives the date last visited for a URL.  (It is not known what VISITED means for a folder; they always seem to be zero.)  If a folder is expanded, it contains an "EXPANDED=YES" line.  The "SHORT NAME" tag corresponds to the Nickname.  One folder may have the "ACTIVE FOLDER=YES" line, which corresponds to the New Item Folder -- the folder into which new hotlist items are added when browsing in Opera.  Each URL or folder may also have an ORDER= clause, which specifies the user-preferred sort order for the item.  If the value is "-1", no "user-preferred" sorting has been specified for the item.

Separator Items are not stored to Opera v3 Hotlists.

When the above file is loaded into CBM, it results in the following outline structure:

 Opera Hotlist v2.0

 Gary Cramblitt's Bookmarks

 Columbine Bookmark Merge

 Columbine Bookmark Merge

 Welcome To Opera

 Search Engines

 Yahoo

Since Opera v3 Hotlists do not contain a single "root" folder, a root folder called "Opera Hotlist v2.0" is always created when loading Opera v3 Hotlists.  Similarly, when saving to an Opera v3 Hotlist, CBM does not save the root folder of the outline.  Likewise, when you select a folder in CBM and save with Save Selected Branch Only checked, the folder you have selected is not saved, but all its child items are.  For example, if you selected the folder called "Gary Cramblitt's Bookmarks" in the outline above, and saved it  with Save Selected Branch Only checked, the resulting Opera v3 Hotlist file would look like this

Opera Hotlist version 2.0

#FOLDER

NAME=Columbine Bookmark Merge

CREATED=881424917 (Sat Dec 06 11:15:17 1997)

ACTIVE FOLDER=YES

VISITED=0 (?)

#URL

NAME=Columbine Bookmark Merge

URL=http://www.clark.net/pub/garyc/

CREATED=881424917 (Sat Dec 06 11:15:17 1997)

DESCRIPTION=The premiere bookmark manager.

SHORT NAME=CBM

VISITED=0 (?)

#URL

NAME=Welcome To Opera

URL=http://opera.nta.no/

CREATED=881424917 (Sat Dec 06 11:15:17 1997)

VISITED=0 (?)

-

#FOLDER

NAME=Search Engines

CREATED=881424917 (Sat Dec 06 11:15:17 1997)

VISITED=0 (?)

#URL

NAME=Yahoo

URL=http://www.yahoo.com/

CREATED=881424917 (Sat Dec 06 11:15:17 1997)

VISITED=881424977  (Sat Dec 06 11:16:17 1997)

-

Opera v3 Hotlists support most of the same data as is stored in NetScape bookmark files, and therefore, make an excellent bookmark storage medium and work well with CBM.  The only information they lack is:

Last Modified Date

Alias

Alias Of

Menu Folder

Since they support descriptions, and since CBM Ratings are stored in the descriptions, Opera v3 Hotlists support CBM Ratings.  CBM saves the ratings by appending them to the end of the description surrounded by "/*cbm" and "*/".  For example,

DESCRIPTION=The premiere bookmark manager./*cbm Content=3 Speed=2 */

When saving Opera v3 Hotlists, CBM records ORDER= clauses for every URL and Folder Item.  The ordering is recorded so that while in Opera, if you set "User-preferred" mode, the items display in the same order as you saw them in CBM.

Note: The information above was reverse engineered from Opera 3.0 (final).


About NetScape E-mail Addressbooks

NetScape stores its e-mail addresses in an ASCII file, usually named ADDRESS.HTM in the NetScape program directory, which is usually C:\NETSCAPE.  The addressbook file format is very similar to the bookmark file format except that addresses may also have NickNames.  Each e-mail address is stored as a URL with a "MailTo:" protocol word.

You can merge an addressbook into a regular bookmark file.  The URLs will become "MailTo" URLS in the resulting file.

You can also convert a NetScape E-mail Addressbook into a NetScape bookmark file, or an MSIE favorites file, an Opera Hot List, a Mosaic hotlist, or an HTML file.  NickNames will be stripped from the items when saved in any of these formats.

Although CBM will also permit you to convert bookmark files into NetScape E-mail Addressbooks, the resulting addressbook is useless for e-mail in NetScape.  When such a file is loaded into NetScape, most of the addresses will end up with two protocol words.  For example, the URL "http://www.yahoo.com/" will become "mailto:http://www.yahoo.com/", which is an invalid URL (as well as an invalid e-mail address) and will probably crash NetScape.


About Ratings

See Also:

   URL Ratings Window

   Define Rating Categories

Have you ever stopped to think just what bookmarks (favorites) are for?  We have observed that most users who begin using bookmarks go through three phases:

1.	Phase 1: Quick Reference.  Beginning users of bookmarks typically save their bookmarks "just in case I need to come back here".  They typically do not organize their bookmarks into folders.  When they start their web browser, they typically do not open the bookmarks window unless they need to "go back to the place I was at yesterday".  Used in this way, bookmarks are more like a most-recently used (MRU) list.  There's nothing wrong with using bookmarks in this way, and many users never go beyond this phase.

2.	Phase 2: Personal Knowledge Base.  When the bookmarks become very numerous, users begin thinking about organizing their bookmarks.  They create folders and begin to think about using bookmarks as a reference resource.  Their bookmarks become less of a phone book white pages, and more of a phone book yellow pages.  They periodically weed out old, stale, bookmarks.  Some users create "My Favorites Places" folders with their most-often visited bookmarks.  Users in this phase will often open the bookmark window in their web browser as soon as they start a web surfing session and will use the bookmarks as a kind of Table of Contents, that directs their session in an organized way.  Students, Teachers, and other professionals will begin to build up quite a hierarchy of bookmarks for future reference.  Used in this way, the bookmarks become a kind of Personal Knowledge Base.  Why store information on your local hard drive?  Just bookmark a web site that is a good reference source.  You can always retrieve it later if needed.

3.	Phase 3: Bibliography.  Users in this phase definitely view their bookmarks as a Knowledge Base (conciously or unconciously).  They begin to think about sharing their entire bookmark file with others, or even publishing their bookmarks on their home page.  Typically, users in this phase have developed an extensive reference list of web sites about one or two subject matters.  In this phase, the bookmarks can be viewed as a kind of Bibliography.  Have you ever done a research paper for school using bibliographies?  Poor bibliographies are just a list of references.  Good bibliographies guide your research.  They orgainize the references in several ways, provide short descriptions of the contents of each reference, and comment on the relevance and usefulness of each reference to the bibliography's purpose.  You use this information to help you focus in on the information that is relevant for you.

Unfortunately, most bookmark files aren't really up to supporting Phase 3 usage.  Yes, you can record comments in the Description field of each bookmark, but it is often awkward to do so, requiring you to open another window and do several clicks with the mouse.  (Internet Explorer doesn't even have a Description field.)  Even if you bother to enter Descriptions, they are not visible in the bookmark window of the browser, so finding things later can be awkward.

Columbine Bookmark Merge version 3 offers several enhancements targeted towards the Phase 3 user.  Even Phase 2 users will find these features useful.  First, Descriptions can now be entered directly on the Main Window of CBM.  Click a bookmark once and the Description appears at the bottom of the screen.  Also, the Main Window gives you more information about your bookmarks.  It tells you if you have visited the site recently (or not at all).  It can show you duplicates, and you can sort your bookmarks in various ways.

Secondly, CBM now offers Ratings.  Consider this.  You're surfing the web and come upon a site that contains information you think you might need someday.  However, the site is difficult to navigate and slow to display.  Perhaps the author did not think about optimizing the web pages for download speed.  Or perhaps the site contains useful information, but it is incomplete or out-of-date.  You decide to bookmark the site somewhat reluctantly.  You're thinking you don't want to lose that information, but you're hoping to find a better site later.  Weeks or months later, while your browsing through your bookmarks, you come upon this bookmark.  You wonder why you ever created the bookmark in the first place, and you can't remember if this is that obnoxious site that requires Java or not.  So you give it try, and suffer the pain for awhile before realizing this is not the site you're looking for.  Wouldn't it be nice to be able to mark your bookmarks in several ways so that you can decide the relevance before you retrieve it?  Like a good bibliography, you need some signposts that indicate the sites that have good content, or are kept up-to-date, or are fast to download (or whatever).  This is what Ratings are for.

Note: CBM stores ratings in the Description field.  Therefore, those bookmark file formats that do not support Descriptions do not support ratings.  The formats that do support ratings are:  NetScape bookmark files, Opera v3 Hotlist files, and MSIE 32-bit favorites.  You can also output ratings to an HTML file.  The formats that do not support ratings are NCSA Mosaic hotlists, Opera v2 Hot Lists, NetScape E-mail Addressbooks, and MSIE 16-bit favorites.

You can rate each URL item in your bookmark file with up to 5 short categories.  You rate each URL item on each category as Low/Poor or Medium/Fair or High/Good.  The ratings show up as Red, Yellow, or Green bullet icons next to each bookmark in the Main Window.  Now, at a glance, you can see the sites that are excellent or poor for each category you've defined.

For example, suppose you're concerned about whether sites keep their information up-to-date or not.  You can create a category called "Up-to-date".  As you visit sites, you can quickly and easily mark each site as Poor (Red), Fair (Yellow), or Good (Green) on the category of "Up-to-date".  Notice that while a site might be poor at being up-to-date, it might be strong in other categories.

Before you begin using Ratings in CBM, please think about how you use your bookmarks and what categories are important to you.  While CBM will permit you to assign a different set of categories to each URL Item, it is better if you are consistent and use the same 5 categories throughout the bookmark file.  Please read the topic Define Rating Categories for information on setting up your 5 default categories and for suggestions on categories to get you started.

Once you've defined the default rating categories, you're ready to begin rating your bookmarks.  There are two ways to do this.  First, in the Main Menu under Options, click on Show Ratings Window.  A stay-on-top window appears which displays the ratings for each bookmark as you select it in the Main Window.  This window also permits you to change the ratings and add new rating categories.  See URL Ratings Window for details on operating this window.

Second, you can edit the ratings right on the Main Window of CBM.  To do this, first enable the display of ratings by clicking on Options in the Main Menu, and then click on Show Ratings.  You can also permanently turn on the display of ratings in the Main Window using the CBM Preferences Window which is opened by clicking on Options in the Main Menu and then Preferences.

With ratings displayed in the Main Window, simply position the mouse over a rating bullet; the rating category will appear in the status bar at the bottom of the Main Window.  If you use your default rating categories throughout the bookmark file, all the ratings for a single category will line up vertically on the screen.  To change a rating, hold the right mouse button down with the mouse cursor positioned on the rating bullet.  A popup menu will appear.  Select the desired rating and release the mouse button.  The color of the bullet will change to reflect your rating choice.

If you decide to publish your bookmarks on the web, you can create web pages from your bookmarks with rating information included.  See Using CBM to Publish Your Bookmarks and CBM Style Files for more details.

Tip #1:  Here's another way you can use the Ratings feature of CBM.  Did you ever read a book or long document, placing those colored paperclips on pages containing relevant information?  Or did you ever use several colored highlighters to mark up a document?  You can use Ratings in the same way.  Create a category called "Paperclip".  You now have 3 different colored "paperclips" you can attach to bookmarks -- red, yellow, and green.  With up to 5 categories, you can get up to 15 different "paperclips".  Used in this way, you'll have to remember what each color paperclip means, but it can be quite handy when you're working on a research project.

Tip #2:  Here's another way to use the Ratings feature of CBM.  You're going through your bookmarks, select a bookmark and launch it in your web browser.  It doesn't display.  Perhaps the site is down, or perhaps your ISP is fouled up (again?), or perhaps the web site no longer exists.  You cannot really tell.  Should you delete this bookmark?  The site may be back up tomorrow or next week.  You can use Ratings to flag such bookmarks as candidates for deletion.  Create a category called "Purgable?".  Rate the bookmark Yellow.  In your next web surfing session, try the site again.  Still down?  Flag it red.  The following week you try it again, and it's still down.  Since it's flagged red, you now can be reasonably sure the site is gone.  3 strikes and your out!  You delete the bookmark.  On the other hand, if the site does display, you can flag it green to indicate that it should not be deleted.


About Automatic Backus
About Automatic Backups

Whenever you Open a bookmark, 16-bit favorites, or hotlist file, CBM will automatically make a backup copy of the file.  The backup copy is placed in the same directory or folder as the original.  By default, CBM will keep up to 3 backup files in any given directory or folder.  You can turn this feature off by setting the number of automatic backups to 0 in the CBM Preferences Window.  You can increase the number of backup copies up to 9.

Note: CBM does not make backups when opening 32-bit MSIE favorites.

The backup files are given names of the form CBMBACK#.HTM, where # is a backup number.  CBMBACK1.HTM is the most recent backup.  The higher the number, the older the backup.  When the automatic backup limit is reached, the oldest backup is deleted and all the other backups are renumbered so that a new CBMBACK1.HTM file can be created.

If you ever need to recover a backup copy of one of your bookmark, 16-bit favorites, or hotlist files, simply open the appropriate CBMBACK#.HTM file.  (Backups are not made when opening a CBMBACK#.HTM file.)

Backups are made whenever you open a file rather than save a file because the most frequent cause of corrupted files is when CBM and your browser battle over the same file.


Limitations and Known Bugs

The following are the limitations and restrictions in CBM:

Maximum length of name of folder or URL: 256 characters.

Maximum length of URL: 256 characters.

Maximum length of description: 4000 characters.

Maximum number of child items in any folder: 16K.

Maximum depth of folders: 30.

Maximum length of URL that can be captured from clipboard: 254 characters.

Maximum number of rating categories per URL: 5.

Maximum number of Default Rating Categories: 5

Maximum number of items that can be selected in an outline: 1.

The following are known bugs or deficiencies.  Most will be addressed in future versions:

When you load a bookmark file in one format, and then save the file in a different format, the file filter does not work properly in the File Browse dialog box.  For example, suppose you load a NetScape bookmark file named BOOKMARK.HTM and then attempt to save the file as a Mosaic hotlist.  When you click the Browse button, the file browse dialog box will not display .HOT files, even though the file filter reads "Mosaic hotlist".  Instead, the dialog is displaying .htm files (because the default file name is still BOOKMARK.HTM).  To fix this, simply click the file filter combo box dropdown arrow and re-select "Mosaic hotlist".

If you have the same file loaded into both the Primary and Secondary outlines, and then save the file from either outline, CBM will display a warning dialog stating that the file has been modified by another application (in this case, itself!).  Simply click No.

CBM does not support Windows NT Internationalized file or folder names.  CBM does not support UNICODE characters.  This restriction mostly affects international 32-bit MSIE users.

Parsing of HTML files is quite slow.  CBM may appear to be "locked up".  Be patient.  For example, on the author's 33MHz system, it took 5 minutes to load an HTML file of 48K bytes.

Finding of duplicates can be quite slow.  Be patient.

When starting Opera from CBM, if you have not registered Opera, CBM will display an error dialog.  Simply click OK.  This is caused by the registration dialog that Opera initialy displays when starting up if it has not been registered.

If an invalid file name is given on the command line, CBM will hang under Win95 and NT.  Short file names are no longer supported on the command line.

When specifying a favorites folder or file name on the command line, the name must be a long name, not short name, and it may not contain spaces.

If any of the favorites within a single folder are duplicates, the duplicate will be lost when saving to disk.  Blank URL Item names become ".URL" files, which are not purged when saving to disk.  They must be manually deleted using Windows Explorer.

The automatic backup feature does not work for MSIE 32-bit favorites.

If you have multi-line descriptions entered in NetScape (Ctrl-Enter), the line delimeters are removed by CBM.

When very long descriptions are loaded into NetScape, they are truncated.


Contacting the Author

The author of Columbine Bookmark Merge is Gary Cramblitt.  Gary is a Senior Software Engineer at IIT Research Institute in Annapolis, Maryland, USA.

Gary can be contacted via e-mail at

garyc@clark.net

Please put the letters CBM somewhere in the Subject line of your e-mail.

Gary does not accept payments for CBM.  Gary does not promise to answer every e-mail, but he will try.  If you report bugs, please give as complete details of the problem as you can, including:

1.  Describe your environment.  What operating system?  Which version?  How much memory do you have?

2.  Exactly which version of CBM are you running?  Click on Help | About.

3.  Exactly which browser and which version are you running?  If you are running MSIE, is it a 16-bit or a 32-bit version?

4.  What is the exact error message you received?

5.  What operation(s) did you do immediately before the error?  What did you expect to see happen, and what did happen instead?

Gary maintains an informal mailing list for CBM.  If you would like to be notified of new versions, or be notified what is happening with the Frank Jerome Cramblitt Memory Fund, send an e-mail message to

garyc@clark.net

with "Subscribe CBM Mailing List" in the Subject line.


Obtaining the Latest Version of CBM

The World-wide Web site for Columbine Bookmark Merge and Columbine Enterprises is

http://www.clark.net/pub/garyc

The anonymous FTP site is

ftp://www.clark.net/pub/garyc/cbm/

Files are stored on the web/FTP site as self-extracting EXE files with the version number in the name.  For example, CBM version 3.3 is stored as file CBM33.EXE.


Version History

1.0.1.0	First public release of Columbine Bookmark Merge

1.0.2.0	No changes to BKMMERGE.EXE.  SETUP now prompts to restart Windows if CTL3DV2.DLL is replaced in the \windows\system directory.

1.0.3.0	Bug fix: Unable to load bookmark files if Windows date format not US.

1.0.4.0	Bug fix: Does not correctly save bookmark file if it contains empty folders.

2.0.0.0  Major rewrite.  Many new features, including support for MSIE and HTML files.

2.1.0.0  Bug fix: Does not correctly save bookmark file if it contains empty folders.

2.2.0.0  Enhancements:  Sorting of bookmarks and scrolling of outlines while dragging items.  Also, one-step unpack and install Setup Wizard.

2.2.0.1	Removed CTL3DV2.DLL from package.  Was causing crashes in Win95 and is not necessary anyway.

2.4.0.0	Several major enhancements, including

Support for long file and directory names when running under Win95 or WinNT.

Support for 32-bit versions of MSIE.

Enhanced file browse dialog.

Print bookmarks.

40% improved speed loading NetScape bookmark files.

Several minor bug fixes.

2.5.0.0	Now supports NCSA Mosaic.  Abort button added to Merge Progress window.

2.6.0.0	Bug fix: GPF when exiting under WinNT 3.51.

2.7.0.0	Several enhancements and bug fixes, including:.

Now supports Opera.

File Browse dialog now displays folders having the System attribute set.

Bug fix: Now supports more than one TOPLEVEL menu in Mosaic.

Bug fix: Browser Launch button not updated after Editing a Url.

Bug fix: Save dialog box did not have Mosaic radio button checked when a Mosaic hotlist file was loaded.

Bug fix: Choosing Mosaic file type would output in NetScape format.

Bug fix: Unable to delete an item if its name was blank.  Blank folders are now given name "Unnamed folder".  Blank URLs are now given a name equal to the URL.

2.8.0.0	Several enhancements and bug fixes, including:

Now supports NetScape E-mail Addressbooks

Progress window displayed when loading or saving files.

Bug fix: GPF when deleting the root node of an outline in certain circumstances.

Long file names now supported on command line.

NOTE: Version 2.8 had a nasty bug and was recalled.  See version 2.9.

2.9.0.0	Added additional sort options.  Sort options are now remembered from one session to the next.  Fixed a bug introduced in version 2.8: When loading NetScape bookmark files, the Add Date was always set to Today.  Now properly gets the Add Date from the bookmark file.

3.0.0.0	This is a major release.  The following bugs were fixed in this version:

Tips line does not specify correct browser when mouse is over the browser select buttons.

Name of root folder truncated in outline display under certain circumstances.

"List index out of bounds" when moving the bottom folder up inside another folder.

Outline displays not refreshed after merging.

Print dialog resizable but should not be.

Not handling CR in long NetScape descriptions.

Incompatibility with Swedish version of Opera 2.12 Hotlists.

"Opera Hot List (*.ad" in file type combobox in Browse dialog should be "Opera Hot List (*.adr)".

"Parent must be expanded" error when merging into outline with unexpanded root folder.

The following enhancements were made in this version:

Ratings.

When opening a folder, automatically scroll so as to display as much of the folder's contents as possible.

Purge duplicates option added.

Replace URL from Browser option added.

Added check.  If saving HTML file but name is BOOKMARK.HTM, warn user that he may be overwriting his bookmarks.

Automatic backups.

Context-sensitive (right click) menus added.

Confirm Delete option added.

Undo.

Working Directory option.

Merged items are flagged in outline display.

Empty folders display as gray icon.

URL Item icons reflect Last Visit information.  Ability to set how far back is "recently visited".  Last Visit date automatically updated when launching URL from CBM.  "Now" buttons added to Item Properties Window for updating dates.

Descriptions can be edited right on Main Window.  Descriptions can be longer than 255 chars.; up to 4000 chars.

Resizable directory list box in Browse dialog.

Factory Defaults buttons on Preferences, Merge, Sort, and Find Dup dialogs.

HTML styles enhanced to support ratings.  Styles now produce valid HTML v3.2 code.

Descriptions and Ratings stored in MSIE 32-bit favorites.

Most-recently-used files list under File menu and Browse dialog.

When sorting, added option that URLs always follow folders.

Icon Legend added to Help.

When opening file or folders with Hidden, System, or Read-only attributes, now gives user opportunity to remove these flags, which can cause problems later when saving.

Path To INI command line parameter for network installs of CBM.

Support for Opera v3 Hotlists.

3.1.0.0	Minor bug fixes:

Stripping ORDER= clause from Opera v3 Hotlists.

            	Not recording LAST VISIT information correctly.

"Add URL from Browser" not adding URLs; replacing instead.

3.2.0.0	Bug fixes:

Crash if Item Properties Window is onscreen when creating a new outline.

Local Timezone support.

ORDER= information now written to Opera v3 Hotlist files.

GPF when dragging and dropping.

"Access Denied" error when saving MSIE 32-bit favorites and any of the items have blank names.

Cancel button on Item Properties Window does not restore properties when Stay On Top is active.

Long names truncated in outline display.

Help Index updated.

3.3.0.0 	Buf fixes:

Outline display corruption when expanding folders near bottom of outline.  Fixed.

New | Secondary erases Primary outline if Primary is currently-selected outline.  Fixed.

When replacing a URL from browser, the ratings are no longer erased.

Before flagging duplicates, all existing duplicate flags are erased.

All of these enhancements were asked for by users.  Let us know what YOU would like to see!


Release Notes

For version 3.3 of Columbine Bookmark Merge

Columbine Bookmark Merge is free, but we do ask that you contribute to a tax-free worthy cause.  Please read the License topic for details.

First-time Users of CBM

Welcome to Columbine Bookmark Merge.  If you are installing CBM for the first time, please read the following topics:

Overview: What is Columbine Bookmark Merge?

Requirements: What is needed to run CBM?

Installing CBM

Do not fear the Columbine Install Wizard.  Uninstalling CBM is easy!

After installing CBM with the Columbine Install Wizard, you can come back to this topic from the CBM program by clicking on Help, then Contents.  Select the Release Notes topic at the bottom of the Table of Contents.

After installing CBM, be sure to configure your browser(s).  If you are a Windows 3.1x or Windows for Workgroups 3.1x user, be sure to set your local timezone information in the Preferences window.

To get started with CBM, we recommend first-time users read the following topics:

The Main Window

Bookmark File Outline Displays

Getting Started

Open File Window

Save File Window

Limitations and Known Bugs

We've worked hard on the online help.  It should answer most of your questions, so please do take a look.

Veterans -- Upgrading CBM

If you are upgrading CBM, simply install it into the same directory as before.  Your previous preferences and browser settings will not be changed.  Version 3 of CBM does replace the HTML Style files (*.sty) with new versions in a new format.  If you have modified any of these files, you should rename them before installing CBM.  If you have created your own Style files, CBM will automatically convert them to the new format the first time you use them.  If you are a Windows 3.1x or Windows for Workgroups 3.1x user, be sure to set your local timezone information in the Preferences window.

New in this version

Version 3.3 includes the following bug fixes:

Outline display corruption when expanding folders near bottom of outline.  Fixed.

New | Secondary erases Primary outline if Primary is currently-selected outline.  Fixed.

When replacing a URL from browser, the ratings are no longer erased.

Before flagging duplicates, all existing duplicate flags are erased.

Version 2.7 of CBM added support for the Opera v2.12 World-wide Web browser.  Version 3.0 of CBM supports the new Opera v3 Hotlists.  We decided to add support for Opera to CBM because

We are impressed with the capabilities of Opera.

Opera is faster than NetScape or MSIE.

Opera is small and lean.  It loads quickly and does not suffer from the browser bloat currently aflicting the more recent versions of NetScape and MSIE.  We do plan to continue support for NetScape and MSIE.

Opera has many features that "fix" some of the current problems with many web sites.  For instance, you can turn off frames and animation.

If you haven't tried, Opera, you should give it a look.  You can obtain an evaluation copy of Opera at

http://opera.nta.no/

For a list of other enhancments and bug fixes, see Version History for details.

If you have questions or problems with CBM, see Contacting the Author.