Favourites in IE11

Syncopator · Jul 2, 2015

I am finding Windows 8.1/IE11's "Favourites" to be an absolute nightmare

I can elect to "Add to favourites" or "Add to Favourites bar". Many of the URLs I have added to either of them don't show up anywhere. I have had to search History in order to return to a viewed site

How, exactly, is "Favourites" supposed to work?

Where can I see Favourites rather than the Favourites bar?

broe23 · Jul 2, 2015

They are in the Favorite folder under your profile. Pull up help in Internet explorer and type in "Bookmarks" or "Favorites"

Pretty simple stuff.

Syncopator · Jul 2, 2015

broe23 said:
They are in the Favorite folder under your profile.

Do you mean my profile in C/Users? Yes, the same information as I see in IE.
Why should I have to look in my user profile in the C drive?

Pull up help in Internet explorer and type in "Bookmarks" or "Favorites"

Clicking on Help in my IE browser does not open up a search box.

Pretty simple stuff.

Not in my computer.

If I want to add a site to my list of Favourites, I click on Favourites in IE's menu bar. I am then offered the options of adding it to "favourites" or to the "Favourites bar".

I can't see many of the sites I (apparently) added to the Favourites Bar.

In XP the favourites feature worked properly. I clicked on a "favourite" and the browser took me there. In IE11 its operation seems to be quite different and I am at a loss to see why.

torre · Jul 2, 2015

Is IE 11 in the UK a different version ?

When you click on the star in the upper right corner a list of favorites should drop down. If you click on the arrow next to "Add to Favorites" the option to add to Favorites Bar is displayed.

Reset IE which "may" help. InternetOptions/Advanced/Reset

jds63 · Jul 2, 2015

Works for me that way, also be done on menu bar or by pressing Alt+A on keyboard.

Syncopator · Jul 3, 2015

Thank you gentlemen.

I have no idea how or why, but, as I said earlier, I can not see many of the additions I apparently made to the Favourites Bar. They're nowhere to be seen.

What are the pros and cons of resetting IE?

torre · Jul 3, 2015

What are the pros and cons of resetting IE?

No real cons. The pro is it resets and eliminates problems. I sometimes use it when Flash crashes.

Select the first option and not the personal setting option. Your selected search provider may default to Bing and you should check your personal settings like toolbars/extensions, tracking protection, etc but normally they are not effected.

If the Personal Setting option is selected you will have to reset IE from scratch with homepage, tracking, search provider, etc. Also, your Favorites list could be rearranged. Not lost but rearranged.

Syncopator · Jul 5, 2015

Thank you Torre.

That's not changed a thing. Looks like I shall have to start re-building my list.

Helmut · Jul 7, 2015

Go to the Favourites list > Right click on any favourite link > Properties > Untick "Sort by name".
That will make any Favourite you make go to the bottom of the list of shortcuts within whatever Folder, it remembers the the last Folder used so if you don't realise what exactly you last used you can actually 'lose' it.

What I do is then drag and drop the Shortcut to the Top of the list, so essentially what is important to me is at the top of the list i.e. not arranged alphabetically.

I do the same thing with Favourite folders select drag and drop in the Favourites list either directly or using the 'Organise Favourites....' option. Thus those Folders are also organised like I wish i.e. important to the top.

On the bar at the Top, Right Click in an empty space, and you can elect to display/not display the Favourites Bar, or Menu Bar.
I prefer to have the rather old Menu Bar displayed then it's easy to select Favourites > Add to favourites...

The 'Yellow Star' selections not being that useful to me, though as you say useful if you 'lose' a recently made favourite.

I have been using IE for around 14 years and basically the Favourites lists were started then and been successively edited over the years and exported/imported to various versions of IE, and ineed other Web Browsers.

elbmek · Jul 9, 2015

I am trying out a UK version, if its such a thing, I cannot find import favs (from firefox) which has all my favs. The idea is, if I am reading it right, that I click on favourites and select import - but its not there! I have been though settings too, I cannot find an import button anywhere.

All I have under favourites is:

Add to favourites
Add to favourites bar

Organise favourites - import is not there
Favourite bar folder and a couple of my own folders.

I exported firefox favs as a bookmark.htm to my docs

torre · Jul 9, 2015

I exported firefox favs as a bookmark.htm to my docs

It is my understanding IE does not permit Favs to be imported. Only way is what you have done, import as htm document.

I read the new Edge browser with Win10 will permit importing Favs.

elbmek · Jul 9, 2015

I have just realised the IE11 still opens them stupid little windows about 2 inches across and a few more down. Bloody idiotic. Now off to searhc some 3rd party software that forces IE to open full screen, now, its here somewhere, let me see, hmmmm ......................... sorry carry on without me!

I apologise for my bad memory but there was a thread in here that explained how to ensure IE opened in full screen mode, why they make it open in such a scrawny little window is baffling, stupidity. Answers on the back of a £9 note to me please.

elbmek · Jul 9, 2015

torre said:
I exported firefox favs as a bookmark.htm to my docs

It is my understanding IE does not permit Favs to be imported. Only way is what you have done, import as htm document.

I read the new Edge browser with Win10 will permit importing Favs.

Thanks, I'll wait for Edge. Back to Avant for now ...................

Syncopator · Jul 30, 2015

Helmut said:
Go to the Favourites list > Right click on any favourite link > Properties > Untick "Sort by name".
That will make any Favourite you make go to the bottom of the list of shortcuts within whatever Folder, it remembers the the last Folder used so if you don't realise what exactly you last used you can actually 'lose' it.

What I do is then drag and drop the Shortcut to the Top of the list, so essentially what is important to me is at the top of the list i.e. not arranged alphabetically.

I do the same thing with Favourite folders select drag and drop in the Favourites list either directly or using the 'Organise Favourites....' option. Thus those Folders are also organised like I wish i.e. important to the top.

On the bar at the Top, Right Click in an empty space, and you can elect to display/not display the Favourites Bar, or Menu Bar.
I prefer to have the rather old Menu Bar displayed then it's easy to select Favourites > Add to favourites...

The 'Yellow Star' selections not being that useful to me, though as you say useful if you 'lose' a recently made favourite.

I have been using IE for around 14 years and basically the Favourites lists were started then and been successively edited over the years and exported/imported to various versions of IE, and ineed other Web Browsers.

Thank you Helmut.

Excuse the delay in responding, I've not been very well.

I will have another play when I have my next bout of enthusiasm.

In the 5 months that I have had Windows 8.1 I've had more problems with it than I had with Windows 95, 98, XP Home and XP Pro put together

.

God knows what awaits us in Windows 10.

Favourites in IE11

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