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How to Open and Use Chrome’s Bookmark Manager

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Dinsan

Chrome’s Bookmark Manager has changed a lot over the years. Here’s how to open it today, plus how to use the newer side panel view.

Chrome’s Bookmark Manager has gone through several redesigns over the years, from the old simple list view to a card-based layout, and now to a side panel that sits next to your page. If you’re trying to find your bookmarks and the menu looks different than you remember, here’s how it works today.

Open the Full Bookmark Manager

  1. Click the three-dot menu in the top right of Chrome.
  2. Go to Bookmarks and lists.
  3. Select Bookmark Manager.

You can also get there directly by typing chrome://bookmarks into the address bar.

Use the Bookmarks Side Panel

If you’d rather see your bookmarks without leaving the page you’re on, Chrome can show them in a side panel instead.

  1. Click the three-dot menu, then Bookmarks and lists.
  2. Select Show all bookmarks to open the side panel.
  3. Click the pin icon next to the panel if you want quick access to it from the toolbar going forward.

Both views show the same bookmarks, organized into the same folders. The side panel is just a faster way to browse them while you keep working, and the full manager is better for bulk cleanup, like deleting old folders or moving a lot of bookmarks at once.

There’s no flag to switch back to the old card-based design from 2014. If you really want a different look, a Chrome Web Store extension like Bookmark Sidebar or Sidebar Bookmarks can give you an alternate bookmark view, but the built-in manager is what most people will want to stick with.

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Dinsan Avatar

Written By

Dinsan

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31 responses to “How to Open and Use Chrome’s Bookmark Manager”

  1. The MAZZTer Avatar
    The MAZZTer

    Lol, it seems for every new Chrome feature we see some users go through the five stages of grief: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%BCbler-Ross_model

    Especially on /r/chrome on reddit.

    1. Denial: Wasn’t this different before? I didn’t change anything!
    2. Anger: That feature was great/This new feature sucks! Why did Google remove/change/add it!
    3. Bargaining: Oh sweet, I can use this chrome://flags flag to fix it!
    4. Depression: They removed the flag just like they always end up doing! I’m going to have to switch to Firefox.
    5. Acceptance: I didn’t actually switch to Firefox.
    6. Repeat for every significant change.

    tl;dr Great you posted a workaround for people who want it, but that flag, like all the other legacy flags, is going to disappear some day and people always act so shocked when it does…

    Reply
    1. The MAZZTer Avatar
      The MAZZTer

      Actually thinking about it more Denial is more like:

      I am sure this was a mistake/bug. Google will revert the change once they see how everyone [or so they think] hates it.

      Reply
      1. Dinsan Francis Avatar
        Dinsan Francis

        We’ll see how it goes when this thing shows up in stable channel.

    2. Dinsan Francis Avatar
      Dinsan Francis

      LOL 🙂 I remember the number of comments when they changed Chrome’s logo and made it flat. That was years ago, and the whole world is flat now. People loved iOS 7 for being flat.

      Reply
    3. PAEz Avatar
      PAEz

      @The MAZZTer
      hahaha, classic, Im on stage 3 at the moment 😉

      The new thing is pretty and all and I guess good for some, but for me it sucks.
      Just give me a list view and not these HUGE panels of pictures I really dont need (which I dont even get).
      Reorganizing my bookmarks this way is awful.

      Reply
  2. klitzkrieg Avatar
    klitzkrieg

    Doesn’t work for me on 40.0.2214.10 beta-m (64-bit). I think they added it in by default now. I changed the flag and relaunched. I went to the Bookmark manager and saw the old version for a split second, and ALMOST got to sort one of my folders!! but then it switched to the new manager.

    Reply
    1. Dinsan Francis Avatar
      Dinsan Francis

      That should be a bug then?

      Reply
  3. Dinsan Francis Avatar
    Dinsan Francis

    You’re welcome!

    Reply
  4. MarqFJA Avatar
    MarqFJA

    This workaround used to work for me when I came upon a few weeks ago. Then a new Chrome update came out last week, and suddenly I’m back to square one… despite the flag being still disabled!

    Reply
  5. Anthony Farrimond . Avatar
    Anthony Farrimond .

    Hey @disqus_vX8k2Z1lRD:disqus nice share, many thanks! I like the interface but as drill down to sub folders is impossible (since last attempt) and it simply doesn’t remember what I’ve bookmarked, I’d all but given up using Chrome. This fix took me less than 30 seconds!

    Reply
    1. Dinsan Avatar
      Dinsan

      Well, this is a flag, and it can go away any time 🙁

      Reply
  6. JCDaley Avatar
    JCDaley

    Way over my head. I am on my yahoo mail and my bookmarks are suddenly going to Chrome. How do I stop it in plain english. I don’t know “Chrome beta” I am on a PC I have never seen the screen you are showing. I am going to remove Chrome — will that stop it??

    Reply
    1. superman832 Avatar
      superman832

      It’s easy.

      In your address bar, type “chrome://flags” (without the quotes, of course) and it will direct you to a page with several options which you will be able to enable or disable.

      Reply
  7. Debbie Sam Avatar
    Debbie Sam

    I did this but was directed instead to a google search page. I didn’t find anything that says “Enable Enhanced Bookmarks”

    Reply
    1. Donna Frazis Avatar
      Donna Frazis

      use page search and enter “enhanced”. then don’t forget to restart chrome.

      Reply
  8. john smith Avatar
    john smith

    wonderful plain and simple guide, worked like a charm, thank you sir.

    Reply
  9. Donna Frazis Avatar
    Donna Frazis

    Thank You Thank You Thank You.

    Usability is way more important than looking good.

    Did anyone who actually uses Bookmark Manager in Chrome test this seriously annoying “redesign”?

    I could find no way to alphabetically sort a folder.

    Reply
  10. David Avatar
    David

    Thank you. Now i can bookmark something in a particular nestled folder with a click and drag, rather than 15 or so clicks with the ‘new improved’ system.

    Reply
  11. Pete Bragansa Avatar
    Pete Bragansa

    what the fuck is the omini bar? idiot.

    Reply
  12. Pete Bragansa Avatar
    Pete Bragansa

    what the fuck is this: ”
    Open chrome://flags on your omnibar (addressbar)
    ”
    go back to gautelmala please .

    Reply
    1. Eric Soyke Avatar
      Eric Soyke

      It is spelled Guatemala. Live by the snark, die by the snark.

      Reply
  13. Pete Bragansa Avatar
    Pete Bragansa

    this “help thread” is as crap as the new bookmark manager.

    Reply
  14. Chris Raymond Avatar
    Chris Raymond

    This doesn’t work anymore, unless I chose the wrong “flag”. Ridiculous unproductive interface. I want to create a new folder or add a bookmark to existing folder. Used to be easy. Now I have to open the bookmark manager, switch to list view, then drag stuff around manually. Form over function. UXFail.

    Reply
    1. Thyasianman Avatar
      Thyasianman

      Did you disable the “Enable the new bookmark app system”?

      Reply
      1. Chris Raymond Avatar
        Chris Raymond

        Yes I did get it to work finally but don’t recall how now.

  15. Daryl M Avatar
    Daryl M

    Worked great! Thank you! My bookmarks are now back to normal.
    The new scheme is horrible. Then went for “pretty” and threw out “Practical and Functional”.
    What were they thinking?!?!

    Reply
    1. Flash Reiker Avatar
      Flash Reiker

      “What were they thinking?!?!”
      They weren’t. They never do.

      Reply
  16. Flash Reiker Avatar
    Flash Reiker

    Thank you. At first it didn’t work. After restarting Chrome the Bookmarks Manager page wasn’t found. I then set it back to ‘enabled’ and the ridiculously named ‘Enhanced’ Bookmarks Manager was back. After disabling and restarting it again I’m now back with the less offensive and much cleaner old Bookmarks Manager. Thanks for you help.

    Reply
  17. Don Meridith Avatar
    Don Meridith

    Thanks. Google needs to hire some adults and knock this shit off if they want to be in business in ten years.

    Reply
  18. Rob Alfieri Avatar
    Rob Alfieri

    What a pain the new design creates. You can’t even select all bookmarks in the list to move them. Pretty bad.

    Reply
  19. Thyasianman Avatar
    Thyasianman

    Thanks! I also had to disable another thing for it to be fully back to normal. It was the “system” bookmarks thing that really made it back to normal. Also, the new bookmarks function looked great! But… it wasn’t very functional at all compared to the old way. Get it to be pretty like the new and functional like the old, and I’ll be getting the new one!

    Reply

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