I am a long-time Powermarks user also. I started using Netvouz, which does have a Powermarks import facility. So there's another idea for orphaned PM users to try. I do note that they are having a moratorium on adding new users due to spam cleanup. But you can email them and request it.

HTH,

Lorane

just a quick note.
I really like delicious bookmarks for FF, but!
Magnolia (similar to delicious) actually takes an snapshot of what you bookmark there, so you can see the page even if it's no longer available. JFYI.

several do this:
- magnolia
- yahoo bookmarks
- diigo (allows notes on page too)
- spurl

Out of these, all but magnolia work properly with opera.

I find that handy for certain type of bookmarks where i bookmark a specific page of information, but not for bookmarks which are about remembering a site - so I use them for a subset of sites

Different people have different needs but what I am looking for is something that makes it easy to manage my bookmarks in one place then deploy to all browsers I might have, and possibly to online tool that support the exchange format:

- speedy management of bookmarks, especially moving/deleting, since i do that quite a bit
- fast search
- can add keywords/tags
- can grab bookmarks from browser(s), at the minimum from the active window, but if possible be tab aware and able to grab more. Alternatively a drop target
- gets basic information from website when available, i.e. keywords/description
- can open bookmark in browser (or has a browser internally)

tools to
- import/export/sync with bookmarks for: ie, firefox and other mozilla based browsers (eg kmeleon and flock, same filename but multiple locations), opera, safari, chrome etc. (note: all tools I have tried seem to lose opera's 'show on user bar' flag)
- find duplicates
- check bookmarks and mark any broken ones

Some tools have sexy extras like taking a screenshot etc.

In my recent tests my favorites were linkman (mostly due to the little resident search bar which I used a lot more than I would have thought - i am confused by the 2 pane system they use) and link commander (mostly the grabbing links, and a very clean and simple management interface)

Link commander might have been a buy for me but it is not maintained anymore much that I can tell - at least my question in their ticketing system is unanswered 6 months later!

I am the developer of Power Favorites. Twinkler mentioned my program in this post .  although the comment is not very positive  . I'd like to know what features you all need most for managing bookmarks, I will try my best to follow your wisdom.

Thanks.

Thanks for the comment!  I haven't tried your program, but if you ask my input, I will say this much:  if you can make your program work just like PowerMarks, I will be ecstatic!

Personally what I'm looking for is this:
--If I want to go to a site, I click a button to open the program (or hotkey, whatever).  I see a big list of all my bookmarks in a compact form (I don't need the bookmarks taking up a lot of space, again, just look at Powermarks).
--I'd like my most visited sites to be at the top of the list (like Powermarks) so you're program needs to be able to track that information.  Usually I will just click on that bookmark at the top somewhere and go there.  That's it, I'm done.  See how simple that is?

--Now, in the case where I have to spend a little time finding a more obscure bookmark, I want it to be as fast as possible.  In Powermarks, there was a search box up top that was find-as-you-type (see my review here).  So I'll usually find what I'm looking for in a matter of a couple seconds.  No organization, no tree, nothing.  Just an address and a bunch of keywords and/or descriptions.

--When adding a bookmark, I'd like it to be as easy and fast as possible.  Click a button, and the url and keywords should be automatically generated and added to my list.  That's it.  Shouldn't even take a second in most cases.

That's how I use bookmarks and that's why I think PowerMarks was so great.  You just click and go.  I don't relate to people who need to organize bookmarks like crazy with trees and such (I'm not criticizing, I just don't relate).  I just want to click and go.  Mindlessly.

Power Favorites certainly shows some potential, although like superboyac I'd like to see it work just like PowerMarks Especially the quick add bookmark (no questions asked) is very useful.

Also, one thing quite annoyed me: Even though the setting Run at startup was unticked, it started with Windows for All Users!  I'm running XP Home sp2 if that matters.

Edit: One more thing, what is the "Install Opera Addon" supposed to do? I tried it, but I don't notice anything different. Is it supposed to install a menu entry? Btw, I tried installing it both with Opera running and after closing it, so that's tried and tested.

Another thing, the help file is very limited. Doesn't even say the right name of the product and there's no search function.


Oh, and only copyrighted to 2005?

A new Linkman version 7.5(major update) released . with support for Powermarks:

http://www.outertech.com/index.php?_charisma_page=news&id=42

SKA

I just installed and tried out Power Favorites. Although my overall impression is favorable and it might appeal to many people, there's a simple feature missing that makes the program ususable to me.

Powermarks enables selecting which fields appear as columns in the main bookmark list, and I depend on one of those columns being the tags associated with each bookmark. Power Favorites decides for you what fields are displayed, and tags are not one of them.

I realize that the tags of the currently highlighted bookmark are displayed in the bottom pane, but that’s not useful to me in browsing my bookmarks.

By the way, I noticed that the create date for imported Powermarks was often incorrect.

OK, here are my suggestions so far for Power Favorites.  If these things are implemented, I think there's no reason for current Powermarks users to not want to use Power Favorites.  Personally, I think Power Favorites is almost there, and I think my suggestions are pretty minor and shouldn't be that difficult to implement.  But I'm not a programmer, it's just my feeling.
Of course, these comments are also applicable to any other bookmark manager, including Linkman.  Essentially, there's are a few of the things that made us love Powermarks so much.

ESC key clears search

ESC key should clear the search box.  Additionally, in Powermarks, if you pressed the down key from the search box, it would immediately go into the list and you could navigate to the desired bookmark.  This was good for quick keyboard navigation.  I always wished that if you pressed the UP key from the top item, it would go back to the search box, but it didn't.  This is where Power Favorites can improve on that feature.

More keyboard shortcuts

There's a keyboard shortcut for opening the main window, but a lot of users would really appreciate keyboard shortcuts for all of the significant program functions.  Things like: --adding a bookmark --moving cursor to search box or other windows (like an alt-tab for the program itself)

Program window closes when a bookmark is selected

A useful option would be for the program window to close/minimize automatically after a bookmark is selected.

Option to get rid of the big folder title bar

Have an option to remove the big bar that shows the folder you are using.  In my opinion, it's distracting for users that are using the program in a very fast way and it's way bigger than the other elements in the program window.  WHen I am working quickly, my focus is on the list of bookmarks, not on the folder title.

minimize/close to tray

Have an option to minimize and/or close the program to the tray.  Most likely, we will always want the program running, so there should be the option to always have it go to the tray when minimize or close is clicked.  That way, to exit the program, the user must actually exit the program from the menu.  I think right now it automatically closes to the tray, but I don't see an actual option for this.

Firefox (and other browsers) buttons

Powermarks had three buttons: --One to open the main program window --One to add a bookmark (where the fields and tags were automatically filled) --Another to SILENTLY add a bookmark, meaning the user doesn't review the link and the tag.  You just click the button once and the bookmark is in the list immediately.  You don't confirm or anything. It would be nice to have these options in Power Favorites.

Options on how to open links in browser

At least for Firefox, there should be these options: --Open the link in the current tab --Open the link in a new tab --open the link in a new window Everyone works differently here, so the options are pretty necessaary, in my opinion.  I personally like the bookmark to open in the current tab.  That way, I don't have a new tab or window opening every time I use a bookmark because that will me way too many tabs and windows after an hour or so.

Additionally, in Powermarks, if you pressed the down key from the search box, it would immediately go into the list and you could navigate to the desired bookmark.  This was good for quick keyboard navigation.  I always wished that if you pressed the UP key from the top item, it would go back to the search box, but it didn't.  This is where Power Favorites can improve on that feature.

My bad, this is already implemented in Power Favorites.  Nice!

Another Suggestion for Power Favorites:

Option to hide the left window showing the categories/tags.  Sometimes it slows down the program, and I simply wouldn't use it that much.  I hide that window in Powermarks.

Also, have an option to have the program revert to the last used folder or a default folder after a bookmark is chosen.  Or if the list is filtered down during the last search, there should be an option to come back to that state next time you open the window or have it reset to some default state.

Am I missing something or none of this programs support Firefox 3.0 new bookmarks storage architecture?

They switched from a simple HTML file to an SQLite database. For any developer who has not worked with databases before, this is going to be a hurdle, though thankfully SQLite is one of the simplest db engines. Still, you first need to research what you can use to operate on FF's database files; there are free bindings for most programming languages (typically talking to SQLite via a DLL, which may have some performance implications), as well as commercial solutions. For example, there's a very good one for Delphi that sells for 90 or 270 Euro, depending on whether you want full source code. So finding a way to talk to SQLite is another hurdle.

Then you have to figure out the schema of FF's "places" database, which is simple if you just want to pull out the URLs, but gets somewhat convoluted if you need to do more. For anyone interested, here's the schema of the places database. The nice thing about the db is that you can get not only bookmarks, but the entire FF history from the same db.

Many bookmark programs will catch up eventually, but it may take some time.

Superboyac, I'm am also a long time user of Powermarks and ever since switching to Firefox 3, I have been looking for a way to overcome what we long time users of Powermarks are facing.

I've look long and hard and I thought I had found a solution with combination of TagSifter and HandyTag

TagSifter
"Firefox 3 lets you tag your bookmarks, but it doesn't give you a great way to browse your bookmarks by their tags. TagSifter tries to. Select a group of tags in the sidebar or menu, and TagSifter shows you all the related tags and bookmarks. Or search your bookmarks with set operators, like "tag1 - (tag2 + !tag3)". Comes with a tool to help tag your existing bookmarks as you move to Firefox 3."
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/search?q=tagsifter&cat=all

Handytag
Search Add-ons :: Firefox Add-ons
"HandyTag simply providing a complete set of most relevant keywords in the bookmark's edition panel. These keywords are retrieved from many different sources."
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/search?q=handytag&cat=all

BUT, I keep thinking that a lot of the convenience I was experiencing with Powermarks was still missing.

Besides, I have not figured out how to backup all these Tags I'm entering into Firefox.

But guess what, I think I have hit upon a solution - with just a couple of small steps missing.

This is what I'm doing :

You will need to have a few things to accomplish this.

1. Powermarks
2. Firefox 3
3. Turnon Global HotKeys - enable you to hit the hot key to bring Powermarks to the foreground
Make sure you assign an unused key combination to     "Add Bookmark from Clipboard" such as Alt+Shift+P

Chapter 8 - Powermarks User Guide
"    8.1.7 Hotkeys

    Switch to Powermarks
        Display the Powermarks window
    Add Bookmark to Browser
        Add the current browser URL to the Powermarks bookmark list and allow for editing.
    Fast Add Bookmark from Browser
        Adds the URL currently in the Browser to the Powermarks bookmark list.
    Add Bookmark from Clipboard
        Searches the clipboard for a URL and adds it the Powermarks bookmark list. Powermarks will attempt to contact the site and retrieve the name, keywords and description of the new bookmark. "
http://www.kaylon.com/help/chapter_8.htm#SystemTray

4. Chapter 8 - Powermarks User Guide
"8.1.12 Browsers"
http://www.kaylon.com/help/chapter_8.htm#browsers

If you look at your actual Option Screen in your Powermarks program, you will see an additional line item - Firefox which is not shown in the online Powermarks User Guide.

Make sure you tell Powermarks where to find Firefox 3.

Your are almost all set for a test run now.

5. Using Firefox, do you usual surfing on the web.

Let's say you are at

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/search?q=handytag&cat=all

And you want this url plus whatever keywords to be captured in Powermarks.

(Note: Do make sure Powermarks is loaded and it could also be minimized in the backgroud)

a. Press Crtl+L - this highlights the URL bar in Firefox 3 (Note that Alt+D also works in same way)
b. Press Crtl+C - this places https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/search?q=handytag&cat=all into the clipboard.
c. Press Shift+Alt+P - this executes "Add Bookmark from Clipboard" which you configured in Step 3 above such as Alt+Shift+P

Step 5c tells Powermarks to store retrieve https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/search?q=handytag&cat=all into the database together with the associated keywords.
And all this time, Powermarks remain in the background until you invoke it with say Crtl+Alt+P Hotkey you assigned (See 8.1.7 Hotkeys  in Chapter 8 - Powermarks User Guide)

Presto - you are done - back in business with Powermarks. Clicking on a url in Powermarks would launch the url in a new tab (if you set the options correctly) in Firefox (if it had been set as the default browser.)

Now of course Steps 5.a, 5.b and 5.c can all be combined as a single command if someone can write a Autohotkey script and compile it into and exe and attach it to a Button on Firefox - This part I have not figured out as yet - but it certainly can be done. Once the script has been written and compiled, it could possibly be launched by
"Launch External Windows Applications Directly From Firefox
http://www.inspiredgeek.com/2008/01/28/launch-external-windows-applications-directly-from-firefox/

But take note that "Launch External Windows Applications Directly From Firefox" does not seem to operate properly with Firefox 3. [See How to add a Button (to execute a AutoHotkey script or an exe) to Firefox 3 - DonationCoder.com
"I would like to execute a particular command from within Firefox 3.
This could be calling a AutoHotkey script or the same script compiled into a DoThis.exe"]
http://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=14850.0

Perhaps someone with Greasemonkey script (if that is the thing to use) could figure this out.

Take note that "Alt+Ins Add URL from clipboard" does not quite work - It would have completed the picture for people like us.
Chapter 10 - Powermarks User Guide
"Alt+Ins Add URL from clipboard"
http://www.kaylon.com/help/chapter_10.htm#ShortcutKeys

Do tell me what do you think - no more worries that Firefox 4, 5, or 6 would break it !!!

Yes no doubt it is not as convenient right now, but it works !!!

Anyone would like to craft a Autohotkey script for us poor Powermarkers and figure out how to use "Launch External Windows Applications Directly From Firefox"

I mentioned a while back that the ""Launch External Windows Applications Directly From Firefox" does not seem to operate properly with Firefox 3."

Well, I just discovered that the Firefox Add-On extension IE Tab has an option that allows you to launch an External Application.

It works when you Crtl+Click the IE Tab BUTTON.

This could be used to launch a compiled Autohotkey script such as the one written by Twinkler.

So this could be THE solution for the clickable button solution that I was looking for.

When I can find sometime to work this out, I'll post again.

But of course whoever wants to beat me to this is most welcomed.

I suspect there may be other Add-ons that has a hidden option to launch an external program that we are not aware of.

That it happened to be part of the IE Tab Add-on is just a conincidence.