We all save bookmarks on our browser. For some, it’s the webpages they frequent while for others it’s a webpage they would open in the near future. Whatever be the case, bookmarks have been a boon for the users. It saves both time and effort when shuffling through the web.

Losing the bookmarks is a nightmare for most users. If you are one of those, exporting them or creating a backup should be your approach. Losing the bookmarks not only amounts to more time consumption but could also lead to major setbacks if they are work-related. Therefore, it is recommended to have a back-up to look up to. Also, you can add the Google Chrome bookmarks to another browser using the backup file.

Before you create a backup, do make sure that you are logged in to Chrome with your Google account. It also helps sync the data on multiple devices where you use the same ID for the browser.

Exporting Bookmarks in HTML Format

Open the Google Chrome browser and then click on the ellipsis at the top-right corner. You will now see a list of options in the drop-down menu, select ‘Bookmarks’ just under the ‘Downloads’ options.

To proceed with the exporting of bookmarks, click on ‘Bookmark manager’ in the context menu that pops up.

You will now be redirected to the bookmarks window where all the saved bookmarks are displayed. Next, click on the three dots in the blue stripe at the top-right corner.

Now, select ‘Export bookmarks’ from the menu.

A new window will open for you to browse your computer and save the file in the desired location. You can also create a new folder for bookmarks beforehand and save the file in it.

The bookmarks backup file is HTM format when saved to your system.

Finding the Existing Bookmark File

Google Chrome has the bookmark backup stored in your computer and you can simply copy it without creating a backup. There is another backup file of the bookmarks in the same folder with the ‘.bak’ extension. Chrome updates this file every time you launch the browser.

The backup file can only be viewed with the ‘Hidden Files’ option enabled. To enable, open the file explorer and go to the ‘View’ tab at the top. You now see the various layout options, the ‘Current View’ section and the ‘Show/hide’ section. Click on the checkbox for ‘Hidden items’ in the last section to view the hidden files.

Once you have enabled the hidden files, go to the following address in the file explorer. The ‘Username’ is the profile name with which you are logged in to the system and are using Chrome.

C:\Users\<Username>\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default

After you have reached the address mentioned above, simply copy the ‘Bookmarks’ file and paste it in the desired location on your system. The file just under bookmarks is the ‘Bookmarks.bak’, as discussed earlier. If the ‘Bookmarks’ file is ever corrupted or deleted, you can still get hold of the data from ‘Bookmarks.bak’. All you have to do is rename it and remove the ‘.bak’ extension from the end to change its format.

Now that you know how to create a bookmark’s backup or find one already existing on your system, you must also know how to import them to Chrome, if the need ever arises.

Importing Bookmarks to Google Chrome

If you lose your bookmarks, you can easily import them back if you have a backup stored on your system. This process is similar to the one where we exported the bookmarks, however, it’s relatively simpler.

Open the bookmarks tab where all the webpages that you have bookmarked are displayed, as discussed earlier and click on the ellipsis at the top-right corner.

Ealier we selected the option to export bookmarks since we were creating a backup of them while now we have to upload them back to the broswer. Therefore, click on ‘Import bookmarks’ from the menu.

Browse through your system to locate the file, select it and then click on ‘Open’ at the bottom of the window.

The bookmarks that you just imported will be available in the bookmarks tab inside the ‘Imported’ folder. Click on the icon to expand and view the bookmarks.