Sync Bookmarks Help

User’s Guide

This document describes the basic operation of the Sync Bookmarks Utility. This program has to be properly installed on your system before use; for details, see Installation Instructions.

Contents

Overview

The Sync Bookmarks Utility synchronizes your Mozilla or SeaMonkey Bookmarks with your Internet Explorer Favorites. It creates a subfolder in your Bookmarks named "Imported IE Favorites" and places your imported Internet Explorer Favorites there, separating them from the rest of your Bookmarks.

Sync Bookmarks comes with two user interface front ends. TKSYNBMK.EXE is a basic, easy-to-use graphical front end. SYNCBKMK.EXE is the command-line front end of the utility, and features additional capabilities such as exporting your Mozilla/SeaMonkey bookmarks file and displaying detailed status messages. The basic capability of bookmark synchronization is the same in both front ends.

You should run the Sync Bookmark Utility whenever you want to synchronize your Bookmarks with your Favorites. Please note that Bookmarks cannot be synchronized if a SeaMonkey or Mozilla window is open.

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For Windows XP Users

NOTE: The following information applies only to Version 1.0 of Sync Bookmarks. The issue discussed here does not affect users who downloaded and installed Version 1.01 or higher.

If you use Windows XP, you may experience problems starting either the graphical or command-line front ends of the Sync Bookmarks Utility. When choosing the "Sync Bookmarks Utility" menu item on the Windows XP Start menu, there may be no visible effect, or you may receive an error message.

To resolve this problem, you need to specify Windows 95/98 compatability mode for both SYNCBKMK.EXE and TKSYNBMK.EXE.

To specify Windows 95/98 compatibility mode for Sync Bookmarks:

  1. Right-click on the Sync Bookmarks Utility program shortcut on the Start menu, and choose Properties in the pop-up menu that appears.
  2. In the Properties dialog box, click on the Compatibility tab.
  3. Click on the Run this program in compatibility mode check button to enable the compatibility mode option.
  4. In the drop-down list box immediately below the check button, choose Windows 95 or Windows 98.
  5. Click OK.

NOTE: If you use SYNCBKMK.EXE, the command-line front end, you will need to repeat the above steps for that program.

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About Mozilla/SeaMonkey User Profiles

You Mozilla/SeaMonkey preferences, settings, stored messages and bookmarks are stored in a user profile. Every Mozilla/SeaMonkey user has at least one user profile. User profiles are identified by a name, for example, "Joel User". You may have more than one Mozilla/SeaMonkey user profile (for example, if you have multiple email accounts).

When you synchronize your Bookmarks using the Sync Bookmark Utility, you must choose the desired Mozilla/SeaMonkey user profile in which the bookmarks will be synchronized. There are specific ways to choose the desired user profile in TKSYNBMK.EXE and SYNCBKMK.EXE, as the following sections will explain.

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Using the Graphical Front End

A shortcut to TKSYNBMK.EXE can be found on your Windows Start menu. Select the "Sync Bookmark Utility" item in the Programs submenu of the Start menu to run the Sync Bookmarks Utility.

To synchronize your Mozilla/SeaMonkey Bookmarks:

  1. Using the mouse, click on the Windows Start button.
  2. Point the mouse cursor to the Programs menu, then click Sync Bookmarks Utility.
  3. A window will appear, as shown below.
    [The Sync Bookmarks window]
    The Sync Bookmarks window.
  4. In the list box, choose your Mozilla/SeaMonkey profile name by clicking the desired profile name in the list box. (For details on Mozilla/SeaMonkey user profiles, see above.)
  5. To begin Bookmark synchronization, click the Synchronize button, or press ENTER.
  6. Wait for the program to finish Bookmark synchronization. In a few moments, a message box will appear, notifying you that Bookmark synchronization is complete. Click OK or press ENTER to dismiss the message box.

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Using the Command-Line Front End

The command-line front end is ideal for advanced users and Mozilla or SeaMonkey enthusiasts who want greater control over bookmark synchronization. For example, you can export your Favorites to a Mozilla/SeaMonkey-compatible Bookmark file.

The command-line front end is typically run from the MS-DOS console window. The executable name of the command-line front end is SYNCBKMK.EXE. To avoid having to type the full path of the program, for example C:\PROGRA~1\MOZTOOLS\SYNCBKMK.EXE, consider putting the program folder in the $PATH environment variable. For more information, see Updating the $PATH Environment Variable.

Program options are input to SYNCBKMK.EXE via command-line options or switches. For example, entering the following will export your Favorites to a Mozilla/SeaMonkey compatible Bookmark file:

syncbkmk -backup

Unlike the graphical front end, there is no list of profiles presented for you to choose; by default, SYNCBKMK.EXE will synchronize bookmarks belonging to the profile used when Mozilla or SeaMonkey was last run. If you want to synchronize bookmarks in a specific profile by default, specify the profile name with the -P option. For example:

syncbkmk -P "Joel User"

Quotation marks are required if your Mozilla/SeaMonkey profile name contains a space. Note that there is a space between -P and the profile name.

NOTE: The -P option is also available in TKSYNBMK.EXE. However, invoking the graphical front end with -P will bypass the initial user profile selection window.

Additional options are available; you can get a full list of supported options and their descriptions by typing the following:

syncbkmk -help

Options are case-sensitive; for example, the option -P is distinct from -p.

Updating the $PATH Environment Variable

You can avoid having to type the full path of the program at every invocation of SYNCBKMK.EXE by adding its program folder in the $PATH environment variable.

To add the SYNCBKMK.EXE program folder to the $PATH:

  1. Use a text editor such as Notepad to open the file AUTOEXEC.BAT, which is typically located on the root folder of hard drive (C:\).
  2. Add the following to the end of the file:

    PATH=%PATH%;C:\PROGRA~1\MOZTOOLS
    This assumes the program was installed in C:\Program Files\Moztools. Note that the equivalent MS-DOS name, not the long name, is used in the $PATH variable.
  3. Save the file, and then exit the text editor.
  4. Restart your computer for the changes to take effect.

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