Google ChromeWhen
you
launch OfflineBookmarkManager for the first time after installation, if you do not
have a previous OfflineBookmarkManager database saved in your My Documents folder, you
will be asked if you would like to create one. For first time users, it
is suggested that you click Yes on this dialog to get started
immediately. Once you have a database loaded, you can begin using
OfflineBookmarkManager's features.
This is where you'll find information on how to start utilizing OfflineBookmarkManager. While it supports many advanced features, this section is here to help you become proficient enough to get maximum value from the application. OfflineBookmarkManager is a Database built upon two basic components, Categories and Bookmarks.
Before you can do anything with OfflineBookmarkManager, you need a database. If you let it, a default database will be created for you upon startup. If you would prefer not to load your database from your Documents folder, but from a different location, you can pass in a command line argument with the name of the database like so:
--database C:\OfflineBookmarkManager\mydatabase.sudb
Supplying your own path will let you open the database from any location. The path to the file does not need to be a hard path, you can specify a path relative to the location of OfflineBookmarkManager and OfflineBookmarkManager will still be able to load it. If your path has spaces in, please make sure to enclose the entire path in "double quotes," otherwise it will fail to find and load the database.
This version of OfflineBookmarkManager supports an unlimited number of databases. By default it will load the one in your Documents folder, but you are free to close and open databases from any location that your account has read/write permission. To create a new database, it's as simple as choosing that option from the File menu. You will be asked where to save the file to, and a new database will be created in that location. Starting with OfflineBookmarkManager 3.0, all categories, bookmarks, etc. are stored in a single file for easier portability.
Root categories are the foundation of the OfflineBookmarkManager database. You need at least one root category before you can start adding sub-categories and bookmarks. When first installing and running OfflineBookmarkManager, you will always start off with a Default root category containing a bookmark for the Isim Software website. You can delete that category, but if it is the only one in your database, you will need to add a new category before you can add bookmarks.
Creating: To create a root category, you have two options:
Once you have initiated the process to create a category, the only input required is a new category name. Just type a name in the box and click the OK button.
Renaming: If you decide later that the category name should be something different, it's easy to rename it to whatever you'd like. Like most functionality in OfflineBookmarkManager, you have multiple options, depending on your desired work flow.
Deleting: Deleting categories is just as easy. To do so, there are a few different options:
When deleting a category, you will be asked to confirm that you'd like to proceed. This is a very destructive task, and has the potential to delete things you did not intend to. When deleting any category, whether it's a root category or a sub-category, all child categories and bookmarks within will be removed from the database as well. Please make sure you meant to do this, as there is no reversing the process.
Moving: Moving categories is a simple process of dragging the folder in the left tree to a different folder within the tree. You can do this for both Root and Sub categories. Root categories can be moved lower into the hierarchy in this manner, but you cannot put a Root category into a child of itself.
If root categories are the foundation of the OfflineBookmarkManager database, then Sub-Categories are like the framing. They act in the same manner as Root categories, but can be nested as many layers deep as you care to go.
Creating: Creating a sub-category, you can:
Any of these options will automatically create the new category inside the currently selected category.
Renaming, Deleting: Sub-categories can be renamed and deleted in the same manner as root categories.
Moving: While you can drag a category into any other category in your database, it is not possible to make a sub-category become a root category in this manner. If you have a sub-category that you would like to become a root category, you need to Promote it.
Promoting: Promoting a category moves it from its current position in the hierarchy to become a root category. To do this:
It will immediately move the
selected category up to the top of the hierarchy along with your other
root categories.
Within OfflineBookmarkManager, there are special categories. Each of these special categories has its own special rules, and standard functionality (such as renaming, deleting, promoting, etc.) will not work as expected. One of these categories is the Search Results category.
Bookmarks are the best part of OfflineBookmarkManager, and its primary purpose. These allow you save all of your favorite website URLs in a single, central repository which you can use with any web browser installed on your computer. Bookmarks must be contained within a category, so read about categories above before trying to create a new bookmark.
Creating: There are multiple ways to create bookmarks:
The Add Bookmark window will pop up on your screen. In this window, there are a few fields to fill out. You don't need to fill everything out, but to get the most from OfflineBookmarkManager, you will want to include a name, URL and description. The easiest way to get all of this information is to just paste in the URL and then click the Auto Fill button. It will attempt to retrieve the name and description from the meta information provided by the website. If that information is not available, you can still fill it in manually. If you are adding multiple bookmarks, you can check the "Add Another" box in the bottom left corner. This will immediately open this window again after creating your previous bookmark. When creating new bookmarks, they will automatically be added to the currently selected category.
Deleting: To delete a bookmark, you can:
In this window, you have the option of telling OfflineBookmarkManager not to ask you again when you delete a bookmark. This is only valid for this session. Be careful with this feature, as deleting a bookmark is permanent, and you will not be able to recover it.
Moving: Bookmarks can be moved around between categories by dragging them from the list on the right to the tree on the left. You can select and move as many bookmarks as you'd like in a single drag. To select multiple bookmarks, you can either drag a selection box around them, or hold your Ctrl key or Shift key, just like files in Windows® Explorer.
Renaming, Editing: Bookmarks have multiple properties that you can change at any time. You can edit the properties by selecting the bookmark in the list on the right and then:
You can also edit multiple bookmarks simultaneously. If you have a large list of bookmarks that you want to update, you can select them all and follow the same steps above. You will be presented with a new window for each of the bookmarks you selected to edit. The title of the window will show you the number of bookmarks you have selected, and which one you are currently editing within that list. This is helpful if you selected a large amount of bookmarks, and you are wondering how many more you have to edit before your task is complete. Pressing Cancel on this dialog will immediately drop you out and you will have to start your edit task all over.
Copying and Pasting: Bookmarks can be copied and pasted from one category to another. You can also copy and paste within the same category, if you'd like to make duplicates and then just modify them slightly. Copying and Pasting work just like any other application in a Windows environment. Ctrl+C copies the selected item(s) and Ctrl+V pastes the items on your clipboard. Since a bookmark is a specialized object, you will be unable to paste it into any other applications. If you'd like to copy just the URL, you can right-click the bookmark and choose Copy URL from the pop-up menu.
Verifying: You can "verify" that a bookmark is still valid. More details can be found in the Advanced Topics.
Sometimes you can't remember which category the website is you are looking for. To resolve this issue, there is Search functionality in OfflineBookmarkManager. On the Edit menu, select the Find option or Ctrl+F on your keyboard. You will be presented with a window asking for a search term, and a few various options. You can specify whether you want to search in only one of the fields, or any combination of fields. You may also request that it only searches the currently selected category. This is useful if you remember the category, but can't remember exactly what the site was titled.
Once a search is performed, your results will be displayed in the Search Results special category. You can do basic things from this special folder, like view the information about the bookmarks or launch them in your browser. You will be unable to make changes here though. It will display the Category that the site belongs to in a breadcrumb format, so that you may easily find the original and make changes.
You can "star" a bookmark. When you do this, it will add it to a special category called "Starred." This is a good way to mark your frequently visited bookmarks that you need quick access to. When they are starred, there is no need to drill all the way down into an individual category to find what you are looking for. To do this, simply right-click on the bookmark and choose "Star Site" or check the box when adding/editing a URL.
All browsers listed below can have their bookmarks imported. This is accomplished from the Import option within the File menu. When importing from a browser, a new root category will be created named "Import: <browser> (date)" so that it's easy to see when you imported your bookmarks and from where. The name is not import to the OfflineBookmarkManager client and you are free to rename the category to whatever you'd like.
Google ChromeTo import from a Google Chrome bookmark file, you will need to find your file on your hard disk. By default, OfflineBookmarkManager checks the most common places that the bookmark file should exist, which is C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Bookmarks. If that file is not there, but you know where it is at, just use the file dialog to find your file. Depending on the number of bookmarks you have in Chrome, it may take a few minutes to complete the import process.
Mozilla FirefoxOfflineBookmarkManager supports two different import methods for Firefox version 4.0 and higher.
Either of these options will create the same Import: Firefox (date) category. You can have multiple categories with the same name, so it's best to rename one if you are importing from both sources on the same date.
Internet ExplorerInternet explorer has had the same basic Favorites structure as far back as Windows 95. The files are stored in C:\Users\<username>\Favorites directory. OfflineBookmarkManager will automatically detect the location and import the favorites accordingly. It does not require input from the user, as these are always in the same place.
OperaOpera stores its bookmarks in a similar, but slightly different format to Google Chrome. You can find your Opera bookmarks in C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Opera Software\Opera Stable\Bookmarks. Like Chrome, it will try to find this location, but if you know your files are stored elsewhere (for example, if you are using a portable version of Opera), you can still browse and find your Bookmarks file.
While the above listed browsers are the most common browsers, they are not the only ones that OfflineBookmarkManager will support. There are many browsers out there that use the same bookmark structure as Chrome or Firefox. If you are trying to import from one of those browsers, it's highly encouraged for you to experiment. The best, and safest way to do this would be to make a temporary testing database within OfflineBookmarkManager, and try to import into that. If it works, do the same thing with your primary database. Some browsers that are known to have been successfully imported from include Chromium, Vivaldi, and Pale Moon. If you have successfully imported from a different browser, or if you failed but think it'd be a good addition to OfflineBookmarkManager, get in contact with us!
OfflineBookmarkManager has a few configurable options, all available from the Tools menu. They are mostly self-explanatory, but here is a quick overview:
OfflineBookmarkManager supports the ability to export your bookmarks. It currently will allow you export to a comma separated value (CSV) file or an XML file. You have the option of exporting the entire database, or only the current category you have selected. To do so, just choose one of the options under the File->Export menu. In the resulting Save As dialog, you can choose in the type dialog at the bottom whether you would like a CSV file (the default) or an XML file. Type a filename in the respective input field and click the Save button. Your database/category will then be saved to that file in an easy to read/parse format that you can take anywhere you'd like.
Note: This is not the best way to create a backup of your database. See Database Backups below.
OfflineBookmarkManager has a built-in feature to create a backup file of your database. It creates a standard ZIP file containing your database file in the path that you choose. To create a backup file, Choose the Backup Database... option from the File menu. In the window that pops up, select a location that you'd like to store your backup file. By default, this will have My Documents selected. Click the OK button and a backup file will be created at the selected location. It will be the name of the database plus the current timestamp for easy future reference.
OfflineBookmarkManager can generate HTML "home" pages that are just a clickable list of your bookmarks. You have complete control over how this list looks via Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). There is a built in stylesheet editor available which will help you build in whatever formatting you'd like. To manage the formatting of your output HTML file, launch the Stylesheet Editor from the File->Generate HTML menu. You can double-click any of the classes and elements that are used when generating the HTML file on the left list. It will automatically insert it into the stylesheet file. Once you are happy with the way your style sheet is setup, you can save it and close the editor. If you are an advanced user, or have your own favorite CSS editor, you can definitely use that instead of the basic built-in editor. On Windows 7 and later, the stylesheet file is normally saved in C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Isim Software\OfflineBookmarkManager\storurl.css. If your external editor is registered as the default handler for .css files, it is easy to just click the button from within the built-in editor to launch your editor and then close the built-in editor window. OfflineBookmarkManager will load the CSS file every time it generates HTML, so there is no need to restart the application once you make any changes and save them externally.
OfflineBookmarkManager has built in scanning functionality to verify that your saved bookmarks are relevant. If you'd like to just verify the currently selected bookmark(s) you can do any of the following:
You also have the option to verify the selected category, or even the entire database. Both of those options are available via the Tools->Verify URL menu.
Once completed, the verify process will update the Status column for each of the bookmarks that you scanned. It will report the standard HTTP response code, as well as a plain text message that is human-rememberable. Some common status codes are listed below, but for a complete listing, check this site.
The floating toolbar is a neat way to quickly access your bookmarks from an out of the way object on your screen. It stays on top of all the other windows, and gives you a list of all your bookmarks when clicked. It is configurable via the Options window to suit your tastes. It launches any bookmark you click in your system's default browser.
OfflineBookmarkManager automatically detects the web browsers you have installed on your computer. It checks the registry in a standard location where browsers are required to register themselves if they would like to be used by the system as the default browser. However, if you have a browser that is not registered with the system, and there is no way for that to be accomplished, you can add a custom browser to OfflineBookmarkManager. This will show up in the drop-down list when clicking the arrow next to the URL in the details window.
To add custom browsers, you can either click the Edit Custom Browsers item on the drop-down menu or you can access the same interface via the Options window. Once in the Custom Browsers tab of the Options window, click the Add button in the bottom left corner to add a new custom browser. You will need to give it a name and choose the executable to launch when that browser is chosen from the menu. If you need to specify additional parameters for the browser, you will need to append them in the path box. Usually this is unncessary. Once filled out, click the OK button to save the new browser and then click Save on the Options window to save the list of browsers. There also options to Edit and Remove the custom browsers, and should work as you would expect.
OfflineBookmarkManager, starting with 3.0.3.0, supports a portable mode. This means you can run it from a USB flash drive or network share without having to install it on your computer system. To enable portable mode, either download the portable package, or create a file called "portable" in the application's directory.
OfflineBookmarkManager supports a "night mode." This allows you to dim the colors of the main interface to be less annoying than looking at a bright white window on your screen, especially in a dark room. This mode is activated from the View menu. Additionally, if you'd like to redefine the night mode colors, you can do so in the Apperance tab of the Tools->Options dialog.
OfflineBookmarkManager will allow you to password protect your database. The first time you create a new database, or open an older one without a password, you will be prompted for a password. It is suggested that you set this value, but is not required. If you would like to use OfflineBookmarkManager without password protection, just leave the box blank and click OK.
If you would like to add a password or change the password to an existing database, click Tools->Set Database Password and type the new password you would like to use. It will update the password in the database and re-encrypt all of your saved credentials using this new password.
Note: This is a per-database setting. You can have a different password for each database that you use.
Occasionally, we release updates to OfflineBookmarkManager. You can choose the Check for Updates option from the Help menu to see if there is a new version available. If there is, the application will ask if you'd like to download and apply the newest version. If you choose yes, OfflineBookmarkManager will close and the updater application will launch. It will tell you more information about the update and let you confirm you'd like to download the newest version. Upon completion, OfflineBookmarkManager will launch again, freshly updated. If you had a custom database open beyond the normal one in your Documents folder, you will need to manually open it again. By default the update check does not run automatically, for privacy purposes. If you would like the application to check for updates upon startup, enable that option in the Options window.
OfflineBookmarkManager accepts a --database parameter. If this is defined, OfflineBookmarkManager will attempt to open the file specified instead of looking for [username].sudb in your "My Documents" folder. The easiest way to do this is to create a shortcut to OfflineBookmarkManager and add the parameters to the Target field
Example: C:\Program Files (x86)\OfflineBookmarkManager 3.0\OfflineBookmarkManager.exe --database "C:\Users\Joey\Documents\awesome.sudb"
OfflineBookmarkManager has a built registration function. While the application is freeware, meaning you are allowed to use it for personal use in any environment, it is still nice to know how many people are using the application.
If you are still having issues with OfflineBookmarkManager, or if you have found an issue that you would like to report, please let me know via one of the following contact methods. I try my best to respond to emails from users within 24 hours of initial contact. Unfortunately, because freeware is a hobby, and not a job, I can't guarantee that I will respond within that timeframe.
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