maintaining link collections...
 

so im addicted to collecting links (the 'link of the day' thread in this forum brought me to the cellar in the first place). the trouble is, its increasingly difficult to categorize and maintain these links. at first i just used ie's favorites, and then built a small webpage with js nested drop-downs to organize. well, this has gotten unwieldy as well. i know im not the only one who has more saved links than i could possibly need, so i thought i would ask, how does everyone else manage their links?

~james

Mozilla's personal toolbar allows you use folders of bookmarks pretty well.

http://cellar.org/2002/desk.jpg

The personal toolbar is the thing in that shot that goes "Cellar Daily Blogs Weekly..."

The Cellar is a direct link to here, and of course everyone should have that first on their toolbar. From there, you see folders, and in those folders are bookmarks (and in a few cases, more folders of bookmarks).

Setting it up this way, I have a place for two kinds of links that I visit every day, in the "daily" and "blogs" folders; and the rest of the toolbar is just an attempt to categorize stuff that I know I will visit again.

You can drag and drop a link from the location bar right into any of these folders. You manage it all via the standard bookmarks "manage bookmarks".

I should add, I tried to set things up this way in IE once and it was a bad experience. IE alphabetized them and tried to open new IE windows for each one.

http://www.metastudios.com/images/20...04301_shot.jpg

You know what's important to me. :)

I've been using Netscape/Mozilla to maintain my links collection for about seven years now.One folder within the bookmarks is designated as the "personal toolbar folder" and is the one the browser displays.

I also use a tool called bk2site to publish the links. My bk2site can be seen at http://voicenet.com/~maggie/bk2site/index.html

Et voila...

CEO Express
 

Perth,

For me, a web-based solution is the only way to go. I move around from computer to computer at home, work and play. Browser-based favorites and hot links don't meet all my needs for link list maintenance and portability.

You only get what you pay for, one way or the other, even if you maintain and host your own web page. Unless you use a free weblog service like Blogger and Blogspot. But, as you say, that can be unwieldy and difficult to organize because link lists is not specifically what the service is designed for.

A value-added service at $49.95 per year, that provides a structure for adding your own links to those maintained by the "editor" is www.ceoexpress.com. This includes other features such as web-based email.

I know that a "fee for service" concept isn't the answer for everyone, but CEO Express is exactly what you are describing.

And you didn't specify FREE.

nic,

i agree. right now i have a page saved locally to my computer here at work that categorizes my links into drop-down menus using some js and dhtml. problem is, it takes upwards of 20 seconds to load. (mostly because of the js). im planning on putting it on some free webspace i have with my isp when its done, but i just dont like how long it takes to load.

my problem, i guess, is finding the right format for storing my links. ideally, i would like to make it db driven with asp. but my isp doesnt support asp and im too cheap to pay for one that does.

i could do a yahoo-like thing where i click into diff categories, but i think that sort of defeats the purpose of what im trying to do. i want to write as few pages as possible and be able to display as many links as possible. a list format on one page is right out.

~james

Re: CEO Express
 

That's exacty why I copy my bookmarks page to my website flat in addition to having the bk2site version up there. It's always available.

I used to collect bookmarks, too. See here for an example from a few years ago.

Noawadays, though, I store all URL's in my head. The more obscure ones I can find again with google within 10 seconds, and all the major ones I just type into the address bar myself.

I currently use Opera ("The Fastest Browser on Earth!"), and I'm extremely happy with the bookmark manager here. You can also import/export bookmarks from/to other browsers (ie import all the old IE) which makes it that much easier.
Sad thing is that it automatically alphabetizes them, therefore The Cellar is down there towards the bottom (just below The Bottom in fact). Unless Aaron Aardvark buys it from Tony sometime soon, it will stay there (at least until I edit the name of the bookmark with a _).

If you think Opera is the fastest browser on Earth, you've never used Dillo.
http://dillo.cipsga.org.br/
"Sad" is a good word for that. You do pay a price for a lightweight browser, and functionality is part of that price.

Here's a look at some Mozilla bookmark management stuff...

A browser trying to help you by alphabetizing your bookmarks is like a car trying to help you by switching the gas pedal and brake pedal.

A little tounge-in-cheek goes a long way around here :) If the firewall at work wasn't in place, I'd upload a few captures to show how wonderful this thing really is. How 'bout I mail 'em to ya, Tony?
And the pedals of my car are already alpha-ordered. Luckily I don't drive a standard at the moment.

And it's a good thing Opera isn't "helping" your shift lever:

PRND21 => DNPR12 :-)

My daughter (19, away at college) loves Opera because she was raised on Netscape, hates IE, but NS V6 treated her badly. She'll prolly get onto Mozilla when V1 comes out, though.