Number 221 - October 2001
	Organizing Your Bookmarks
via AT&T Broadband Web Exchange from The Des Moines Register, Raskin Gannett News Service, April 18, 2001
If you've ever stumbled across a great Web site only to never be able to find it again, then you're not putting your browser's bookmarks to their best use. Bookmarks--called Bookmarks on Netscape, but Favorites on AOL or Internet Explorer--are a convenient way of adding a Web site's address to a personalized list that is maintained on your Web browser.     But you know how it is. You find a site that you think you'd enjoy revisiting, click on Add to Favorites, and before you know it you've got an untenable list of obscure Web site names that you can't imagine were ever important to you.     The lesson? Creating bookmarks is easy. Keeping them organized and relevant takes a bit of effort. If you want to get the most out of this very useful function, it's time to clean up.     A few ways to do just that: Delete old sites     The first thing you should do is visit all your Favorites to see if the sites still exist and are worth keeping. Delete those that don't make the cut.     If you use Internet Explorer, go to the Favorites pull-down menu and select Organize Favorites. A new pop-up window will appear with a list of your Bookmarks, along with buttons that give you the option to delete any or all entries. Just highlight the site's address, then hit Delete to send it to your computer's trash bin.     In the Netscape Navigator browser, click on the Bookmarks pull- down menu and select Edit Bookmarks. This will give you a list of your Favorites. Click on the URL you wish to get rid of, then click on Edit, then Delete. Note: Unlike Internet Explorer, when you hit the Delete option you don't get a prompt that asks if you would like to continue with this unalterable action. Create folders     Once you've got rid of all the extraneous and out-of-date URLs, you can further organize your Bookmarks by creating folders. These folders are just like the ones you create in Microsoft Word to organize text files.     In Internet Explorer, go to Favorites in the main toolbar and choose Organize Favorites.     The next window that pops up has a Create Folder button to create a personalized folder. Keep your list of folders simple at first. For example, if you have a ton of sports sites, an obvious choice for a folder name would be Sports. You might also have folders for travel sites, your favorite music sites or sites specific to a homework assignment.     In Netscape, go to Bookmarks, choose Edit Bookmarks, then click on File and New Folder. Simply type in the name of the new folder in the window that pops up and it is added to your list.	Once you've created a folder, you can add related Web sites into it by using the Move to Folder button that you'll find in the same window as the Create Folder icon. In this window you'll see your list of Favorites on the right-hand side of your screen. Highlight the Web site address you want to move, then click Move to Folder, where a new window will pop up with your list of Folders. Click on the desired folder and the Web site is automatically put into the folder.     To move a folder in Netscape, use the cut-and-paste method. Go back to Edit Bookmarks so your list of favorite sites appears on the screen. Highlight the site you want to move, then go to the Edit function and choose Cut. Next, highlight the Folder you want to move the URL to, go back to Edit and choose Paste. Instantly, you're more organized. Rename, combine     Even when you have your favorite sites organized, Bookmarks can become unruly thanks to extremely long Web site addresses that don't immediately tell you what the site is about. To fix this, rename each address to something that is quickly identifiable.     In Internet Explorer, go to Organize Favorites, highlight the Web site you want to rename, and click Rename. Then just type in the simplified name.     In Netscape, go back to Edit Bookmarks, right click on the Web site address, choose Bookmark Properties, then rename the site. The address -www.wsu.edu/ =brians/errors/errors.html, for example -won't mean anything when you revisit it several weeks after bookmarking it.     But if you give it a title that clearly explains the nature of the site, such as "Common Errors in English," you'll instantly know what it is, whenever you return.     If you use multiple computers and have separate lists of favorites, there is an online resource that allows you to merge them to create one master list.     Go to BookmarksPlus.com, create a free account and plug in your favorites. Now, even if you don't have access to your PC, you'll have easy access to your favorite sites wherever you can get online. A Web-only list is also practical for travelers who might not always have their PCs.     BookmarksPlus.com will keep your sites private, but you can opt to put a Web site address on the public listing to be viewed by all visitors.     (c) 2001 The Des Moines Register, via Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All Rights Reserved     AT&T Broadband publishes news items and articles to inform customers about products and services available on the Internet. Publication of a news clip or article is not an endorsement by AT&T Broadband of its viewpoint or accuracy.
Number 221 - October 2001