All of one bookmark folder's subfolders went AWOL when I clumsily clicked on that bookmark folder
Once every few weeks or so, I click on a Firefox dropped down bookmark folder in a clumsy way (using the non-dominant hand for medical reasons) and accidentally make that bookmark folder or subfolder 'disappear' from the drop-down list for bookmarks, and also from Show All Bookmarks. When I then export the bookmarks and do a File Explorer search of that exported html file, I do see the missing folder or subfolders in the list of links that appears, and the missing folder is where it belongs in the list. I am presuming that the drop down list will be restored when I close and reopen Firefox, and I will edit this post if not. I cannot tell what mouse action can cause this problem, and would appreciate input on that. More broadly, what in Firefox could make a particular bookmark folder disappear from the viewable lists until Firefox is closed and reopened? I have accidentally moved bookmark folders before, but the search results do not show the bookmark folders moved, but rather still in bookmarks where they are supposed to be.
Chosen solution
Step two:
Firefox automatically makes backups of the bookmarks. These are stored in the bookmarkbackups folder.
Open the Bookmarks Manager; Press the Alt or F10 key to bring up the toolbar, and select Bookmarks. Hot key is <Control> (Mac=<Command>) <Shift> B.
Once the window is open, at the top of the page, press the button labeled Import and Backup. Select Restore. From the list, pick the file you want and click it.
The backups are stored in a jsonlz4 file named something like this; bookmarks-2016-06-29_1424_enD1GTH ya0JmicnYWg4V4g==.jsonlz4
In this example; 2016-06-29 = date created, 1424 = number of entries.
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/restore-bookmarks-from-backup-or-move-them
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/recover-lost-or-missing-bookmarks
https://support.mozilla.org/kb/forum-response-recover-bookmarks-after-update
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I do not see an edit function, so modifying my post above: Closed and reopened Firefox, but the missing subfolders are still missing. Then I restarted the computer, with the same result. I cannot be sure whether the missing subfolders are elsewhere in my bookmarks or not because there are so many of them. Bookmark lists are very important, and seem at least to me to be too fragile and difficult, at least for correcting user errors. I can try reimporting, but it would be better to understand the problem better. A bookmark seach function better than we have would be convenient.
Step one: If you have sync, and there is a problem anywhere, Shut Down Sync Immediately On All Devices to prevent the problem from spreading. Once the problem is fixed, perform the same repair on all computers/profiles before using sync again.
[v57+] Places Maintenance is built into Firefox.
Type about:support<enter> in the address bar.
You will find Places Database near the bottom. Press the Verify Integrity button.
When done, copy and post the results here.
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/fix-bookmarks-and-history-will-not-be-functional
Chosen Solution
Step two:
Firefox automatically makes backups of the bookmarks. These are stored in the bookmarkbackups folder.
Open the Bookmarks Manager; Press the Alt or F10 key to bring up the toolbar, and select Bookmarks. Hot key is <Control> (Mac=<Command>) <Shift> B.
Once the window is open, at the top of the page, press the button labeled Import and Backup. Select Restore. From the list, pick the file you want and click it.
The backups are stored in a jsonlz4 file named something like this; bookmarks-2016-06-29_1424_enD1GTH ya0JmicnYWg4V4g==.jsonlz4
In this example; 2016-06-29 = date created, 1424 = number of entries.
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/restore-bookmarks-from-backup-or-move-them
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/recover-lost-or-missing-bookmarks
https://support.mozilla.org/kb/forum-response-recover-bookmarks-after-update
Thanks. I take it what you call "Bookmarks Manager" appears in Firefox as "Show All Bookmarks". [I have no syncs.] I did see the Restore Feature in the Imports and Exports dropdown list, but this restoration apparently replaces all current backups with either the ones from today or last Sunday, which both total 213. It apparently is not like restorations in many backup programs that restore missing files without deleting files added since the last backup.
I may have moved some bookmarks around in the interim, so I do not want to do anything that drastic until I am sure there are no other options for finding and locating and restoring a single missing bookmark folder's subfolder group. There are no other methods?
If not, I hope the Firefox designers will look into new options for handling situations like this, ones ideally that do not involve third party add-ons, and also if possible make bookmarks more robust regarding fumble fingers and deletions.
Did you run 'Places Maintenance?'
I had not heard of it. I put "places maintenance" into the Firefox Add-ons search box, and nothing relevant with that or a similar name came up.
Follow these instructions: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1303633#answer-1348261