How do I import bookmarks from Firefox to opera 20

leocg

leocg Moderator Volunteer

@davehawley, what number is the latest Developer version? Is it Opera Next 24?

Opera Developer 24. Although Opera 23 has that option too iirc.

opera://flags/#first-run-import

lem729

lem729

That's great, leocg. Thanks for the info. It will be something to suggest people try if they're attempting an import, and wonderful if -- for most people -- it works well.

A Former User

Thanks leocg, I couldn't remember whether the automatic import facility was there in version 23 or not.
I don't remember there being reports on the developer blogs about any technical problems with it, although a few people didn't like the principle of it!

leocg

leocg Moderator Volunteer

I think thar the flag is disabled by default on 23 and i'm not sure id enabling it would help as the importer seems to run at first install.

lem729

lem729

Leocg, if it's disabled, and enabling it wouldn't help, then what good is it?

A Former User

There's a way to do it lem
Delete the profile and...

--with-feature:first-run-import=true

PS. The feature was and still is under development. Don't assume it's bug-free and that it'll import everything to the preferred folders for example.

s0lem

s0lem

I would leave the chrome today and switch to Opera, but for that they released a version that no such import, export, add favorites satisfactorily in a single bar.

I have hundreds of bookmarks in chrome that I would simply import them into Opera, and saw that there is no possibility.
Not even add bookmarks bar is easily possible, I needed to find in the settings.

Please do not blow up a release by half, missing things ...
The last time I used Opera was years ago, and by the way will not be now.

more tools -> bookmark importer
I found by chance, no matter HTML ...

disappointed

A Former User

I have hundreds of bookmarks in chrome that I would simply import them into Opera, and saw that there is no possibility.
Oh common... https://forums.opera.com/topic/2634/opera-21-importing-bookmarks

lem729

lem729

There's a way to do it lem
Delete the profile and...
--with-feature:first-run-import=true
PS. The feature was and still is under development. Don't assume it's bug-free and that it'll import everything to the preferred folders for example.

I wanted to understand if I had to explain it. I think I'll wait till Opera 24. But as for importing from Chrome, that link @rafaelluik provided is good. It's not hard to do it.

s0lem

s0lem

common?
A browser like Opera and I have come to question in their forums on how to use a simple importer favorites? looks like crap to me

and I have to add an extension to help my favorites simply record a single bar?

And if I do not want to see the bookmarks bar? do what? have to go into settings to disable?

lem729

lem729

Alt P (settings) and under user interface, put a check in Do Not Show Bookmarks Bar. That's easy enough.

Actually the browser is wonderful, @sOlem, though the import ability from third party browsers will be/ needs to be improved. Now you don't have to add any extensions, but if they help, why not?

colderwinters

colderwinters

Don't we get tired of these kinds of posts, We've gone over the bookmarks thing over and over and over, countless times, plenty of prior posts detail just about anything anybody needs to know about bookmarks

colderwinters

colderwinters

If there was actually anything new coming out in every new version of Opera that comes out, maybe then we would have a new batch of questions detailing new problems in the forums, but no, there are no new topics concerning new problems that come up, it's the same questions over and over again, same problems over and over again, and Bookmarks being a pretty good example of this.

blackbird71

blackbird71

Don't we get tired of these kinds of posts, We've gone over the bookmarks thing over and over and over, countless times, plenty of prior posts detail just about anything anybody needs to know about bookmarks

I think part (but certainly not all) of the problem is that the forum search capabilities here are... well... uhmm... "limited". More often than not, I find myself now essentially Googling (I actually use StartPage) for earlier forum posts on a certain topic, visually filtering out the ones that aren't from Opera's forums (of which, on some topics, there are very large numbers). Even then, it can be a challenge to find a thread I absolutely know exists here - somewhere.

That said, the most common user behavior when a question or problem is encountered is to go to the related product forum, register, and immediately post about it... without ever scanning the forum indices nor using the forum search itself. It's a "human nature" thing that, however frustrating it might be to forum helpers, is as persistent as any other element of human nature.

A Former User

Don't we get tired of these kinds of posts, We've gone over the bookmarks thing over and over and over, countless times, plenty of prior posts detail just about anything anybody needs to know about bookmarks
Well I'd close the topic as a duplicate of a prior one, but it's very hard to:

Keep track of new topics about the same issue and store links to reference the users in these new topics.
After a reply I can't immediately close the topic, because it'd leave the user without the possibility to ask further instructions when the first suggestion doesn't work for him/her. Then other users come in and reply different procedures that have never been cited in other earlier discussions which make this topic different and equally useful compared to others so I can't close it.
Differentiate these topics. Each user have different needs and preferred procedures to achieve the bookmark import. They end up not being duplicates. Or...
Decide which topic should be the one I link here. Which one about importing Firefox bookmarks to Opera is the most complete topic to mark this topic as a duplicate of it?
Sometimes the earlier topic contains the solution to import bookmarks from browser X, but it's after several initial posts and some back and forth discussions so the instructions there aren't clear or optimal enough to point users to those topics.

If there was actually anything new coming out in every new version of Opera that comes out, maybe then we would have a new batch of questions detailing new problems in the forums, but no, there are no new topics concerning new problems that come up, it's the same questions over and over again, same problems over and over again, and Bookmarks being a pretty good example of this.
You haven't been following the discussion or Opera's developers blog? We have cited the first run import tool here and there's a bookmarks flag in Opera Dev that gives you access to a bookmarks manager. So, of course it isn't Stable-quality and not enabled in the Stable stream, but there's something coming out!

PS. An observation: look at how many one-posters we have here, including the OP. o.O

A Former User

Yes, we're running around here duplicating advice in this thread and this one!

lem729

lem729

The problem is we have new people who need help. And the seach vehicle for the forum is terrible. It puts a burden on everyone. But still people post new to Opera, and they have very basic needs, often relating to bookmarks.. To say, we've answered 20 times in the forum doesn't help if one can't easily find the stuff. I'm like blackbird71, as I often find more doing google searches than forum searches.

reaper101

reaper101

Uhmm... well, there actually is another explanation, which is that Opera didn't plan or strategize on using bookmarks at all at the outset of its Blink-based browser because it believed most users didn't use/need bookmarks (based on its user 'survey' and its market-target demographics). That explanation is reinforced by a number of official/developer statements along those lines in the early days of New Opera. They thought users would be satisfied by the SpeedDial and Stash features. Now, since Opera has finally included a bookmark bar at least in part because of user outcry, the development of a suitable manager is probably wrapped around the same axle of developing a comprehensive manager for bookmarks, SpeedDial, and Stash... which may be no small task, particularly in the presence of Opera's other priorities.

Opera's user 'survey' and its market-target demographics were wrong if Opera had to finally include a bookmark bar because of user outcry!

It appears to me that Mozilla and Opera are forcing people to use Chrome and IE!! Firefox with its memory leaks even ESR and Opera no bookmark options!!!! Why should their be this big a thread on bookmarks when all they needed was either was an import option or an upgrade option on install of Opera 20+!

This is way too much work to install a simple browser!

I was thinking about installing Opera on our computers at work because of Mozilla's new browser that is one big memory leak, and slows everyone's computer down, there are employees with 100-1000 bookmarks. This leaves us with the only option, Chrome!!

Opera isn't getting it! All they have to do is make their browser bookmark friendly and they can snag a huge chunk of Firefox users!

A Former User

Consider that recent topics duplication problem solved.

That was my best attempt to help someone with importing bookmarks from Firefox, it was long after there were multiple confusing threads about importing from Firefox though so it's itself a duplicate but a better organized one if you follow the links I provided:
https://forums.opera.com/topic/3278/importing-bookmarks-in-v-22

To sum up, the options are:

Install Opera 12, import from Firefox to Opera 12 via the menu there, then use the command line to enable the bookmarks importer under more tools which will be grayed out to get the bookmarks from Opera 12 to Opera 23+ (which will erase your current profile - saved bookmarks, passwords, Speed Dial, etc). These instructions are in the topic from the Mac area I link above.
Empty profile, run the first run import command line parameter once having Firefox set as your default browser.

Other options below. For these, you need to move all your bookmarks to the bookmarks bar in the browser you intend to import from or they won't appear in Opera, or use a bookmarks manager extension like Neater Bookmarks from the Chrome Extension Store (or the bookmarks from opera:flags and opera:bookmarks in Opera 24+).

Using Transmute, Firefox to Chrome then copy the Bookmarks file to Opera's profile.
Xmarks Sync. The other method I described in the topic above.

PS. And we have yet another new one-poster who did nothing else than bloat the discussion.

lem729

lem729

One more simple approach. Export bookmarks from Firefox to Chrome (which has an import feature). Once that import has successfully been accomplished, just copy the bookmark file in the Chrome profile into the Opera 23 profile.