In the context of the

World Wide Web The World Wide Web (WWW or simply the Web) is an information system that enables Content (media), content sharing over the Internet through user-friendly ways meant to appeal to users beyond Information technology, IT specialists and hobbyis ...

, a bookmark is a

Uniform Resource Identifier A Uniform Resource Identifier (URI), formerly Universal Resource Identifier, is a unique sequence of characters that identifies an abstract or physical resource, such as resources on a webpage, mail address, phone number, books, real-world obje ...

(URI) that is stored for later retrieval in any of various storage formats. All modern web browsers include bookmark features. Bookmarks are called favorites or Internet shortcuts in

Internet Explorer Internet Explorer (formerly Microsoft Internet Explorer and Windows Internet Explorer, commonly abbreviated as IE or MSIE) is a deprecation, retired series of graphical user interface, graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft that were u ...

and

Microsoft Edge Microsoft Edge is a Proprietary Software, proprietary cross-platform software, cross-platform web browser created by Microsoft and based on the Chromium (web browser), Chromium open-source project, superseding Edge Legacy. In Windows 11, Edge ...

, and by virtue of that browser's large

market share Market share is the percentage of the total revenue or sales in a Market (economics), market that a company's business makes up. For example, if there are 50,000 units sold per year in a given industry, a company whose sales were 5,000 of those ...

, these terms have been synonymous with ''bookmark'' since the First Browser War. Bookmarks are normally accessed through a menu in the user's web browser, and folders are commonly used for organization. In addition to bookmarking methods within most browsers, many external applications offer bookmarks management. Bookmarks have been incorporated in browsers since the ViolaWWW browser in 1992, and

Mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...

browser in 1993. Bookmark lists were called ''Hotlists'' in Mosaic and in previous versions of

Opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

; this term has faded from common use.

Cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

, another early browser, also had bookmarking features. With the advent of

social bookmarking Social bookmarking is an online service which allows users to add, annotate, edit, and share Internet bookmark, bookmarks of web documents. Many online bookmark management services have launched since 1996; Delicious (website), Delicious, founded i ...

, shared bookmarks have become a means for users sharing similar interests to pool web resources, or to store their bookmarks in such a way that they are not tied to one specific computer or browser. Web-based bookmarking services let users save bookmarks on a remote web server, accessible from anywhere. Newer browsers have expanded the "bookmark" feature to include variations on the concept of saving links. Mozilla Firefox introduced live bookmarks in 2004, which resemble standard bookmarks but contain a list of links to recent articles supplied by a news site or

weblog A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in Reverse chronology, reverse chronologic ...

, which is regularly updated via RSS feeds; however, Mozilla removed this feature in 2018. " Bookmarklets" are

JavaScript JavaScript (), often abbreviated as JS, is a programming language and core technology of the World Wide Web, alongside HTML and CSS. Ninety-nine percent of websites use JavaScript on the client side for webpage behavior. Web browsers have ...

programs stored as bookmarks that can be clicked to perform a function.

Storage

Each browser has a built-in tool for managing the list of bookmarks. The list storage method varies, depending on the browser, its version, and the operating system on which it runs. Netscape browsers store bookmarks in the single HTML-coded file ''bookmarks.html''. This approach permits publication and printing of a categorized and indented catalog, and works across platforms. Bookmark names need not be unique. Editing this file outside its native browser requires editing HTML. For data portability and

interoperability Interoperability is a characteristic of a product or system to work with other products or systems. While the term was initially defined for information technology or systems engineering services to allow for information exchange, a broader de ...

, most modern Web browsers support importing from and exporting to the Netscape bookmarks.html format. Beginning with Firefox 3, Mozilla Corporation began using SQLite in browser releases to store bookmarks, history, cookies, and preferences in a transactionally secure database. Internet Explorer's "Favorites" (also "Internet Shortcuts") are stored as individual files named with the original link name, and the filename extension ".URL", for example "Home Page.URL" collected in a directory named "Favorites" which may have subdirectories. Bookmark names must be unique within a folder. Each file contains the original URL and Microsoft-specific

metadata Metadata (or metainformation) is "data that provides information about other data", but not the content of the data itself, such as the text of a message or the image itself. There are many distinct types of metadata, including: * Descriptive ...

. Browsers have varying abilities to import and export bookmarks to favorites, and vice versa.

Bookmarklets

Bookmarklets are

programs stored as bookmarks. The term is a

portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

of the words ''bookmark'' and '' applet''. Bookmarklets are possible because the JavaScript URI scheme allows JavaScript programs to be stored as URIs, which can be stored in bookmarks. Bookmarklets have access to the current page, which they may inspect and change. As such, they can be simple "one-click" tools which add functionality to the browser. Bookmarklets are typically installed by navigating to a web page that links to a JavaScript URI, right-clicking the link, and clicking the bookmark option. Web developer Steve Kangas got the idea from the Netscape JavaScript Guide, and coined the term ''bookmarklets'' in 1998.

Brendan Eich Brendan Eich ( ; born July 4, 1961) is an American computer programmer and technology executive. He created the JavaScript programming language and co-founded the Mozilla project, the Mozilla Foundation, and the Mozilla Corporation. He serve ...

, the inventor of JavaScript, explained bookmarklets as follows:

Live bookmarks

Live bookmarks are Internet bookmarks powered by RSS, particularly in Mozilla Firefox. They allow users to dynamically monitor changes to their favorite news sources. Instead of treating RSS-feeds as HTML pages like most

news aggregator In computing, a news aggregator, also termed a feed aggregator, content aggregator, feed reader, news reader, or simply an aggregator, is client software or a web application that aggregates digital Content (media), content such as online newsp ...

s do, they are treated as bookmarks that are updated in real-time with a link to the appropriate source. Live bookmarks are updated automatically; however, no browser option exists to prevent or control the automatic live bookmark updates. Live bookmarks were available in Firefox from 2004 until December 2018; since then, Firefox no longer supports them.

Bookmarks bar

The Bookmarks bar, also known as the Favorites bar in Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer, is a graphical user interface (GUI) element in modern web browsers that provides quick access to frequently visited or saved websites. Positioned directly beneath the address bar by default, it allows users to store, organize, and retrieve bookmarks with minimal effort.

References

External links