Launch and Manage Your Bookmarks

fair
key review info
application features
  • This way, you won't have to write your links in Notepad or manage huge lists of browsers or bookmarks.
  • (2 more, see all...)

When was the last time you organized your bookmarks? We never have time for this kind of operation, because each day we visit and browse new websites that can be prove useful in the future. That is why the Favorites directory or Bookmark list gets bigger and bigger. There are plenty of applications that claim to organize your bookmarks, sort or, even better, convert them, so that they can be used either with Internet Explorer or Firefox browser.

The name of the tested application is PB Web Launcher. This small tool was designed to save, categorize and add descriptions to web links. The PB Web Launcher consists in a single file that can be stored on your hard drive or even on portable devices. The only thing necessary to make it run from portable drives is to create a new directory and copy the EXE file there, because it creates two additional configuration files called "frmAddWeb.set" and "frmCategories.set". The former is for address configuration links, while the latter keeps track of the different categories.

From the beginning, I was surprised to find out that PB Web Launcher didn't have the possibility to import neither IE favorites nor Firefox bookmarks, which I think is an essential feature in a bookmark manager, or the possibility to exchange bookmarks between IE and Firefox. Adding links to the application can be done only manually so I started the first test with a few links and some categories. The application does not provide a way to create sub-categories and to add links to them. Another feature that needs to be mentioned is URL description. For every link appended to the list, you can add a small description for easy recognition.

PB Web Launcher sits in your system tray and its functioning does not put a stress on your system's resources. I've also noticed the fact that the application does not provide another way to call it besides the click on tray icon. A hotkey or a key combination would help a lot. System tray menu can be very easily used to select the link you want to be launched. This is great when you have stored, let's say, a dozen links but, if the list is generous one, then the task's difficulty and discomfort is turned up a few notches. One thing that can overcome this flaw would be showing the categories and letting the user select the links from there. A small test that I made revealed the fact that, once activated, the system tray menu would not disappear until you selected a link to launch. It stood on top and hung over the other applications, which definitely can't be pleasant for the user. All links launched via PB Web Launcher open in the default web browser installed on the system.

Let's say that we decide to work with PB Web Launcher as a bookmark manager. The problem appears from the very start, when we need to enter all the links. As already noted, if the list contains only a small number of links, everything is fine, but the situation gets much more complicated if the list is a larger one. PB Web Launcher will help sort links in categories, but it does not allow you to create a subcategory; therefore, you must sort them all manually and add them to the related category. The links that we have stored are not always valid - thus, some sort of link verifier option could make the list shorter.

As far as the User Interface goes, one thing that needs to be mentioned is that PB Web Launcher offers that possibility to insert a short description to every link you add. From the main window, the user can select to view all the links or those within each category. Also, a single-click launch option can be enabled. An important aspect to a bookmark manager is to provide ways to keep safe the configuration and bookmarks, using either a password or another protection method - a detail that is missing in PB Web Launcher.

The Good

PB Web Launcher is a small application that can help you store your links and sort them in categories. You can also add a description to every link. It does not require installation and it is portable. PB Web Launcher stores all the configuration files within the root directory.

The Bad

A bookmark manager provides ways to import the existing favorites or bookmarks so you wouldn't have to add them manually. With PB Web Launcher, things stand exactly the opposite of that. It can handle only a small number of links because you cannot add subcategories to the existing ones. PB Web Launcher can be called only if you click the system tray icon. It does not support a hotkey or any other way of calling on the interface.

The Truth

I was attracted by the fact that PB Web Launcher is portable and might help me store the big amount of bookmarks that I have, but I was wrong about the second aspect. For a small list of links, the application works just fine, but if you want to go beyond the store process - launch and vice versa - you might want to consider a different option.

Here are some snapshots of the application in action:

Review image
Review image
Review image

Review image
Review image
Review image
user interface 2
features 1
ease of use 3
pricing / value 3


final rating 2
Editor's review
fair