Bookmark Fort

excellent
key review info
application features
  • Links are checked internally for duplicates and errors
  • (1 more, see all...)

Every time we work with a web browser we are using links in order to get to the location we are interested in. Every browser has now the possibility to store special links so that next time we want to go to a certain part in a website we do not have to start with homepage and click to the one we need. That is called bookmarking or storing that link as a "favorite".

It is a very useful feature that saves a lot of time and enables you to reach fast and effortlessly to the page that contains the information. Think about how long it would take you to get to a certain topic in a forum if it weren't the possibility of storing the link.

But some people spend a lot of time using two or more computers in a day (I for one use at least three different computers every day) and they may find it a little difficult to synchronize the bookmarks from all the computers they use. Not to mention that computer users have preferences regarding the web browser they use, and - as you probably know - different browsers use different engines.

Bookmark Base, the company developing the software with the same name has thought of creating a portable boookmark manager able to store the favorite links from all the browsers you use. Bookmark Base is a pretty small application that comes in handy when you want to carry around all your favorite links. The price of the software is $19.95 for a single user license.

The interface of the software is nice enough not to bad-mouth it. Some would say that it is pretty simple. But in its simplicity lies its ease of use, so there is nothing wrong here. Every button is placed in plain view and there is no chance for you to miss any of them.

The application window is divided into three distinct parts: the toolbar at the top of the window, the Bookmark Base (bookmark tree located under the toolbar, in the left) and the bookmark display window (in the right).

The first button of the toolbar is Import and its purpose is to bring to Bookmark Base the favorite links you have stored in your browser. Once clicked, the Merge bookmarks window will show up allowing you to choose the web browser you want to import the bookmarks from (Opera, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, SeaMonkey and K-meleon are the currently supported web browsers according to the developer).

Besides this option, there is also a feature that allows the user to import the bookmarks from an .xbel (XML Bookmark Exchange Language) file on your hard disk. The next button is obviously the Export button that does the exact opposite thing as Import. Exporting options also includes saving the links in the software on your computer.

Check Links button allows the user to verify if the bookmarks you have stored are still working. The warnings will be displayed by means of colored little buttons (red button means that the link is incorrect, yellow buttons lets you know that the software could not define the status while the green light lets you know that the link is correct and working). An alternative to automatically check the status of the links is to manually check them.

I, for example, have more than three hundred links stored and I get a little impatient when I see that the software takes a few minutes to check the status of the links. So I proceed to manually check only the links that I am interested in.

Preferences menu simply allows the user to define the bookmark sources for each browser (the five supported ones).

The Good

The software is very easy to use and it can give you a whole new perspective on bookmarks management. I know that you can use the browsers to do that, but Bookmark Base does it much faster and - if you use several browsers - you can use it to get all your favorites into all your browsers.

The Bad

The price would be one thing, but if you are a busy little bee and feel the need of a good bookmark manager then this is the software for you.

I would have liked it better if the application had imported my bookmarks from the browsers and showed me in the bookmark tree the browser with the corresponding folders and links. I feel an explanation is required: I usually use different browsers for different tasks (Internet Explorer for leisure, Mozilla Firefox for work, Opera for Linux related stuff etc.) so having each browser with its favorites would be just great.

I have one more thing to say in this section: a search option would improve the value of the software.

The Truth

I said in the above review that the developer displayed on the home page that there is no support for Maxthon yet. Either the page has not been updated or the developer is wrong (personally I think the first explanation is the most plausible), because I mostly use Maxthon and, as it has an IE based engine, it worked just fine.

The application is very good and runs beautifully. Try other web browser based on the three engines supported by Bookmark Base and you may have some pleasant surprises. I did a test with several other browsers and they worked just fine.

I was expecting that once I delete the bookmarks in the software, but it does not happen. A good feature to implement would be to allow the user to choose if s/he wants to delete the link from the web browser too.

Improvement is always welcome in any software, and Bookmark Base needs an injection with new features. The software is at the beginning and on its way to become a very powerful tool for bookmark managing. I strongly recommend using it, even if the trial version has a limitation of only twenty operable bookmarks and the bulk bookmark checker is unavailable.

Here are some snapshots of the application in action:

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user interface 5
features 4
ease of use 5
pricing / value 4


final rating 5
Editor's review
excellent
 
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