Daily Mac App: Xmarks

Need to sync bookmarks across multiple platforms and/or different browsers? You need Xmarks.

The service that was on its way out, then bought by LastPass, allows you to sync bookmarks to the cloud, between machines and between different browsers. Xmarks has extensions or plugins for Safari (installed as a preference pane), Chrome, Firefox and even Internet Explorer, so it's got most mainstream browsers covered.

Xmarks will sync your bookmarks to the cloud and give you access to them through the my.xmarks.com if you're somewhere without the Xmarks plugin installed. You can keep different profiles, one for work and one for home perhaps, and you can share your bookmarks with friends via RSS or the Xmarks site, all for the fantastic price of free.

It's true that Safari, Firefox and Chrome will all sync your bookmarks from one computer to another, but not between different browsers. Xmarks lets you use Chrome on one machine and Safari on another. It'll even let you sync your Chrome bookmarks to your iDevice through iTunes courtesy of a little Safari syncing intermediary.

Speaking of iOS, if you want access to your bookmarks through the Xmarks app on iOS, Android or Blackberry, Xmarks Premium at a yearly charge of $12 nets you that plus backup and restore for your bookmarks. Xmarks Premium also comes with open tab sync, so you can take your browsing sessions from machine to machine, browser to browser.

If you've ever wanted to sync your bookmarks between different browsers, the free Xmarks makes it quick and easy. Download Xmarks for your browser from here to get started.

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Source: http://www.xmarks.com/

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Need to sync bookmarks across multiple platforms and/or different browsers? You need Xmarks. The service that was on its way out,...

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Foren Sicpics

Do all of those versions support the "user your own server" FTP option, which the Firefox plug-in does?

If not, then forget it. Why do I want to be dependent on some third-party server? Why do I want to share all of my bookmarks (and notes about them) with some third party?

People just don't think anything through.

August 11 2011 at 3:19 AM Report abuse Permalink +1 rate up rate down Reply

RobG

Xmarks was great UNTIL LastPass bought them and screwed the whole thing up. I finally uninstalled it because LastPass kept stepping in and clobbering default values in some forms I would use (like configuring DSNs), thinking it knew better. Xmarks was seamless and nearly invisible. LastPass was very in your face and I was always having to tell it to do (or not do) something. Total #fail.

August 09 2011 at 10:23 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Sauri

I use it with Firefox for years and it's one of the reasons I don't switch to Chrome in spite of the urge – the chrome (and Safari's too, for that matter) version lacks webdav support and I'm not going to share my data neither with xmarks servers nor with google sync :)

August 09 2011 at 7:44 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

JSmith

The Xmarks service works great syncing computers - across both Mac and Windows machines. The only problem is that the iOs browser is absolutely terrible. Totally recommend it as a free service but I would not pay for the premium account unless they fix the iOs browser as it is unusable.

August 08 2011 at 9:17 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

David Barnes

Okay, I have a somewhat different question and that is if anyone knows of a way to sync items in the new Safari Reader. I use Safari at work and on a PC and then at home on a Mac and find it very convenient (Reader) to use but then get home and wonder what the heck I was thinking and where the heck that page is. Anyone know of anything that works? I imagine I could go back to Instapaper or something but sort of like Reader.

August 08 2011 at 4:14 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Yuusharo

Here's a quick tip for Chrome users - make sure you *disable* Chrome Sync for bookmarks before installing this. You'll encounter all sorts of weird conflicts and duplications if you don't. Also, always make a local backup of your bookmarks just in case something bad happens.

Other than that, Xmarks is awesome. An excellent companion service to Lastpass, which syncs all your passwords across different browsers. And they're both FREE!

August 08 2011 at 3:19 PM Report abuse Permalink +2 rate up rate down Reply

2 replies to Yuusharo's comment

Shahrum

Excellent feedback!

August 08 2011 at 3:29 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

gregorycornelius@mac.com

Are you referring to disabling the XMARKS Chrome plugin? How do we keep Chrome synched if it is disabled?

August 08 2011 at 5:19 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

1 reply to gregorycornelius@mac.com's comment

JSmith

Not the xmarks plugin - the native chrome bookmark sync.

August 08 2011 at 9:14 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down