Video Professors

BACKING UP BOOKMARKS

Saving and Retrieving Your Favorites

Just because you cant find the bookmark youre looking for doesnt mean its lost or irretrievable. No, you dont need to recreate the bookmark. You just need to find it.

All of todays browsers are designed as bookmark managers. Use them to back up your Explorer bookmarks so that they can be restored later when apparently "lost."

Both Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape are equipped with default devices that automatically save bookmarks in a file. For Explorer, that file is designated as bookmark.htm. For Netscape, that file is designated bookmark.html.

Additionally, there are several other software programs that enable computer users to manage (back up or restore) bookmarks or favorites. They include Mozilla Firefox and Opera.

To back up favorites when using Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 or above, do the following:

• Click the File menu.
  
• Within the "File menu, click Import and Export."
  
• Within the "Import/Export" window, click Next.
  
• Click "Export Favorites," then click Next.
  
• Select the folder you want to back up. If you want to select all files in the window, highlight the entire folder.
  
• Click Next.
  
• Select the destination for your saved favorites and click Next.
  
• Click Finish.

To recover backed-up files from MS Internet Explorer 5.0 or above or Netscape, do the following:

• Click the File menu.
  
• Within the File menu, click "Import and Export."
  
• Within the "Import/Export" window, click Next.
  
• Click "Import Favorites," then click Next.
  
• Select the location that contains your favorites; click Next.
  
• Select the destination for your saved favorites and click Next.
  
• Click Finish.

To back up bookmarks when using Netscape Communicator/Netscape 7.0 or above, do the following:

• Within Netscape, click Bookmarks and Manage Bookmarks or use the CTRL+B function.
  
• Within the Bookmark manager, click "Tools and Export."
  
• Select the destination for the exported file and click "OK."

To recover backed-up files from Netscape backup or MS Internet Explorer, while using Netscape Communicator/Netscape 7.0 or above, do the following:

• Within Netscape, click Bookmarks and Manage Bookmarks or use the CTRL+B function.
  
• Within the Bookmark manager, click "Tools and Import."
  
• Select the file to import and click Open.

Mozilla Firefox has a default function wherein the bookmarks file is designated as bookmarks.html. To back up files using this software program, do the following:

• Open Mozilla Firefox.
  
• Click on Bookmarks and then the Manage Bookmarks link.
  
• Within the Bookmarks Manager window, click File and select Export.
  
• Choose the location to which you wish to save the bookmarks file, and then click the Save key.

Opera 6.0 has a default function wherein the bookmarks file is designated as Opera6.adr. To back up bookmarks using this software program, do the following:

• Within Opera, click the File menu, then Export.
  
• Select the location to which you wish to save the backups of your favorites; click Save.

To retrieve a backup with Opera 6.0, do the following:

• Within Opera, click the File menu, then Import.
  
• Choose the bookmarks or favorites you wish to recover by selecting "Opera bookmarks," "Netscape bookmarks" or "Internet Explorer favorites."
  
• Select the file or folder you want to retrieve; click "OK."

By this time, a certain pattern should seem apparent to you. That is, when saving a bookmark, you are going to export to another location; and when recovering a bookmark, you are going to import from another location. Remember this key:

• Save or Back up = Export to.
  
• Recover = Import from.

In addition to backing up files within your computer, its always a good idea to backup critical documents onto a disk or CD-ROM or CD-RW. These come in handy when your computer crashes and it appears youve lost everything.

Youll never be comfortable doing backups and retrievals until you are comfortable with the software youve chosen to use. The good news is that you can learn computer basics and undergo online software training within the comfort of your own home.

Every software program comes with its own tutorial. Additionally, companies such as Video Professor offer free computer software training as well  as low-cost tutorial videos that assist with learning the nuances of the programs youve chosen to use.

Computer education software isnt meant for use only by novices. Even so-called computer experts can benefit from the tips provided by computer video training. For more information, visit Video Professor.