158689 - Bookmarks sorting majorly messed up

Status: VERIFIED WORKSFORME

(SeaMonkey :: Bookmarks & History, defect)

Description

[Cyndi Norman]

I tried to search my bookmarks and got a blank page (even though there are
matches...see other bug).  I made the mistake of hitting a button in the blank
page to see if I could get it to work.  I hit "name."  Then I closed the window
and got my bookmark file back.  Now all my bookmarks are sorted alphabetically.
 This is a disaster!  I can't find anything.  My carefully arranged folders are
all mixed in with hundreds of loose bookmarks even though they should be first
in the file.  My only other option is to sort by location.

While I recognize the usefulness of these sorts as options, what I really want
is my bookmarks back like they were, in chronological order.  There is no button
for that.  I just looked at the menu and saw there are other ways to sort.  I
tried sort by last visited and that didn't work.  Sort by added came close.  But
what a rude surprise!  It should be easier than this.

Sorted by added did not work (it says "unsorted" in the menu now).  It got the
folders back on top and the single files in what appears to be the right order.
 But my folders are all arranged in the order I created them, not the order I
spent hours arranging them over months and years in to be easier for me to find
things.  All my work is lost forever.  Lost because of one unknowing click.  

And mind you I clicked in the SEARCH window, not in the bookmarks window.  It
sorting the searches should not have changed the bookmarks.  This is a bug all
by itself.

Also, folders should never be mixed in with single files.  They should all be
first (or last if you hit reverse).  Or at least you should be able to choose that.

This may seem completely trivial to most of you but to me it feels like someone
came into my home and rummaged through my personal belongings and put them back
in the wrong order.  I don't want anyone messing with my computer files and to
lose years of work in one click is enough to make me go back to Netscape,
crashes and all.  At least it's fast before it crashes.

Comment 1

[riscky]

I would agree bookmarks are royally messed up... a few days ago on OSX using a
nightly build I tried to organize my bookmarks (better) and I lost a good amount
of bookmarks when moving between folders. I have not tried to reproduce this or
the steps involved to produce such a problem again. This is a major annoyance I
must agree.

Comment 2

[Jason Bassford]

In Bookmark Manager, try clicking on the "Name" field a few more times.  It
should toggle between A-Z order, Z-A order, and original (unsorted) order.  I've
made the same mistake and "undone" it by clicking "Name" a couple more times.

Comment 3

[Wesha]

WFM 2002072204/win2000

Sorting in "Find Bookmarks" window doesn't affect bookmarks in "Bookmarks" window.

Reporter, please always include your BuildID with your bug report.

P.S. I understand your frustration - but please remember we're not gods and thus
we can make make mistakes. Besides, please keep in mind that you're using free
product, which is still under heavy development. But, unlike some software
giants, we _do_ fix our own bugs in a reasonable time. (Besides, do you know any
other software vendor whom you can easily report a bug to and get a prompt
response for just $0.00?)

Comment 4

[Cyndi Norman]

Wesha, please don't think I don't appreciate the work that's gone into this
product.  Whether I end up using Mozilla as my primary browser or not, I respect
the people who have made it happen and understand that with any gains, there are
tradeoffs.  Also, I did put in my build ID, it must not have stuck.

As a followup, I quit Mozilla and restarted and am pleased to say my bookmarks
seem to be back where they were when I started. 

Comment 5

[Jason Bassford]

Marking as WORKSFORME as per comment 4.

Comment 6

[Wesha]

==> VRFY WORKSFORME

Cyndi, by reporting a bug to us, you become a certain part of the development
team too (and testing IS an important part of a development process!). I'm sorry
if I sounded too harsh -- my message had more of informational purpose. =^.^=

Talking of build ID -- would you please use Bugzilla Helper next time, the page
specifically designed to not let any of important matters be omitted. Just go to 

http://www.mozilla.org/quality/help/bugzilla-helper.html

and scroll down some. (Or, in Mozilla's menu, go to QA->File a Bug)

Thanks an advancw!