stupid browser tricks: using "folders" as links

[welshTerrier2]

most people know you can bookmark websites so that you can easily return to them without having to remember url's or retype them in the address bar ...

and some even use the "links" section of their browser's window for frequently visited sites (like DU) ... for Firefox users, this section is called the "Bookmarks Toolbar Folder" ... the folder gives you a series of icon/text combinations that are always visible ... their main benefit is that they are readily available without having to pull down the "bookmarks" menu ... in Firefox, if you can't see this toolbar, go to the "View" menu and then the "Toolbars" menu and make sure "Bookmark Toolbar" is checked ...

today's helpful tip, for those who have never done this, is that you can create folders as toolbar elements ... this means that when you click on one of the items in the toolbar, instead of going directly to a given website, you're instead given a sub-menu of any sites you've included in that specific folder ...

for example, i've created a toolbar item for DU ... it includes menu items for GDP, GD, the Computer Help forum, "my posts, search, etc ... instead of having to navigate thru the DU lobby to access these various menus, i just click "DU" in the visible toolbar and then select the location i want ... in essence, setting up around 10 or 15 of these links would allow many users to essentially create a shortcut system to their bookmarks folder ...

to create one of these "folder links" (in Firefox), just click on the toolbar and choose: "new folder" ... then, fill the folder with whatever links you want ... btw, to add new links or to add them to an existing folder, just go to any website you want to save ... then, click and drag the icon to the left of the url (in the address window) onto the toolbar and drop it there or on an existing folder ...

one last tip: most url's give you very long names that would quickly make your toolbar unwieldy ... for example, "DU" might label itself "Democratic Underground" ... you won't fit too many of those in your browser ... to fix this, just right click on the link item in the toolbar and choose "rename" (in IE) or "properties" in Firefox ... you can then change the name to something much shorter (e.g. "DU" or "GDP") ...

using "link folders" makes browsing just a little bit easier (and faster) ... give it a try and ask away if you have questions about how to set this up ...