BookMacster

v2.12 crashes at launch in MacOS 10.11! :-(

This keeps my bookmarks synced, as advertised. If you spend a little time setting up BookMacster, it just works. I did have a problem at one point. I contacted the developer and he was responsive and kept with me until the problem was resolved.

This app is very difficult to work with. The instructions do not match the actions well. I have used this in the past and still find the same problems in the current version. All I need is an app that will alphabetize bookmarks and sync to several browsers. Alphabetization works well but syncing always gives error messages and is quite annoying. Way too many preference settings and way too many screens to work in. PLEASE simplify!

Love this app. If you like me love to test/use multiple browser this is the perfect app to manage all your bookmarks for all your browsers.

My gosh. Browsing imported bookmarks feels like browsing and previewing large files on a DVD disk. Dreadful and terribly slow. It takes 2 - 3 seconds to close a folder with bookmarks..? Come on!

I am an experienced user and this is a powerful app that is really best used only by geeks. The learning curve is a bit much for most folks IMHO. Please back up your existing bookmarks before using this app. If you have no idea how to find your bookmarks, and dread the difficulty in figuring that out, then this app may not be for you--a nice little test perhaps. Also, I would note that the built-in utilities for Chrome and Safari seem to be mutually excellent at transferring even the kind of complicated bookmark library that I have. That hasn't always been the case. All that said, if you can read carefully and follow instructions then this seems to be software that delivers on its promises.

This is software in the true, original spirit of Apple ….. it just works, and the support is first class. Yes, it may take some persistence in setting it up, but with the demise of Xmarks , this is a fantastic replacement. 1400 bookmarks, in 40 folders, 2 computers with 2 browsers on each, and all bookmarks are the same and can be added to from any device, or browser. BookMacster really does just work, so very well. The support engineer Jerry is patient, understanding, quickly responsive and SO helpful. Get this software running and bookmarks will just work.

BookMacster is an essential app for me that needs a little initial training but it offers a good documentation to use to use a lot of helpful functions. I’m using BookMacster for eight years now to keep my bookmarks synchronized between Safari, Firefox and Opera without any serious problem. Thanks to the responsive developer.

It's very difficult to set settings, and I restored my iCloud Bookmarks four times, because this app messed my bookmarks. Hope someday the developer can rebuild this app. I will buy it again. I use Safari and Chrome, and I just want they both to have the same bookmarks with a real-time sync. I don't know why this app makes the simple thing difficult, we are not a developer, we are a customer, why we need to think a logical steps by ourselves (e.g. sync loop). Checking checkbox step by step is easy way for customers, for example, the first step: Which Browser Do You Have? Checkbox the second step: Do You Turn on Sync Themselves? Checkbox the third step: ...? Checkbox Thank you.

I'm curious, I've had a v1.0 license for quite a long time and ...stupidly.... never actually used BookMacster. Now, I actually want to use it but I'm wondering if I get the upgrade price or need to pay full price again? If I can upgrade, how does that function without v1.0 installed or downloadable to then upgrade? There doesn't seem to be an 'Upgrade from an older BookMacster' license tab. Thanks.

Great App, once set up it runs very reliable. Good ways to customize and very good documentation. Support for multiple browsers. Also the way licensing works, it's really high quality software!

I have enjoyed the benefits of BookMacster for just over a year now, and it does a great job keeping my many bookmarks cleanly synced between the 3 major browsers. But I'm having a very hard time seeing any value in the "new" features in 2.0. Looking at the release notes, it seems to be minor bug fixes and the *removal* of some features. I'm all for paying for software and supporting developers, but I hope Jerry will reply and help us all understand what is significant enough about 2.x to warrant an almost full-price upgrade. For anyone reading this that doesn't yet have BookMacster and is looking for an amazing product that seamlessly/magically keeps all of your browsers synced...get this program.

WARNING: BookMacster 2.0.1 is out and if you already have an earlier version installed, it shows up just like a regular update within the app and NO major upgrade notice, and THEN let's you know it's a $16.95 upgrade AFTER it's installed when you try to use it.

I have not tried Opera synching for a long time as I did not use it, yet now I'd like to.. and Bookmacster seems to struggle with it and be unable to even write bookmarks to it :/

A word of warning

Anyone using different browsers intensively will one want to find a way to sync bookmarks. I have been using Bookdog from the same developer for some years and moved on to Bookmacster. I did read the manual, read the help functions and there where periodes, sometimes months where Bookmacster did work as advertised and synced my bookmarks from multiple browsers over multiple locations and devices. But always my bookmarks were hosed every once in a while.

Of course I do have backups and did reset them, but try for yourself to reset the iCloud sync of bookmarks over multiple devices, you don't want to really do that. Past weekend I was working on a different location and added a lot of bookmarks. Yesterday I came home to discover that due to an error in Bookmacster I have lost them. Although I have no safe-sync limit, I have the backups, BM was complaining about safe-sync limits. So, hosed ... again ..
For me this is the last time I will use Bookmacster, this was one "hosing" too much.
I will now only use Bookmacster to sort and find duplicates which works well.

There is one BIG problem with this program, it isn't meant to be used by users. All the problems I have encountered during many years of use where probably not created by the developer not being capable enough, but by the clumsy interface. Don't get me wrong, I would love to use Bookmacster, but it is to unreliable. In all comments you can read exactly the thing, the interface sucks and the problem is complicated and one does have to read the manual.

The preferences are spread out over different panels, hidden under other other options and one really needs to search for settings like a safe sync. For me it feels like the developer wrote the application for himself. Of course he "knows the way" but he is obviously not capable in translating his skills and knowlegde into an app that can be used in a logical and especially organised interface.

That is what you van read in all these comments below, people who really try to use Bookmacster, because unfortunately there is no alternative for what is does, but run into problems and hard to find options.

So, after my last bookmarks mess up it's over, I will keep using BM for sorting and finding duplicates, but that's it. A pity, if the dev would partner up with someone who could help him to develop an user interface for customers it would become a killer app.

Moved from URL Mgr Pro... Great support with frequent updates. Very powerful.

I am so impressed with BookMacster. There is nothing else that can do what it does. I was looking for a way to manage my pinboard bookmarks on my Mac and I found it. It also nicely pushes my bookmarks to firefox and safari. What BookMacster does a lot and you need to take 10 minutes to read the manual or it can get confusing, but it works very well. The developer is also surprisingly helpful. He walked me through an issue I had and has even implemented a small feature that I was looking for in the update that was released today. This is what I love about small third-party developers. Good ones listen and and dedicated to their work.

Much as I want to love BookMacster (and BookDog), they both suffer from the same issue - the developer thinks like a developer, not like a Mac user. The interface is filled with esoteric naming protocols that may be unfamiliar to the new user, the graphic interface is anything but intuitive. I do programming myself and became really frustrated trying to make it work. I have well over a thousand bookmarks and keeping them well-organized is a major challenge - and I wish this software were less grating. For instance, just try and drag a subfolder out of a folder - every folder you drag over pops open in fractions of a second, you try and let go and the difference between a folder being nested or placed outside is a few pixels of mouse position. Lots more stuff like that. Safari is just as irritating, but then that's why I was looking for a third party. This great app needs a good U/X designer to give it an overhaul

This app definitly deserves more attention. It's great way to keep your bookmarks in (cross-browser) sync. Combined with iClouds Safari sync it even keeps your bookmarks in sync with your iOS devices. Only downside (and probably what others meant by 'learning curve'): it's kind of un-macish. Far too many options, menus and nested selects might give you MS Windows flashbacks. Keep it simple. Setup is simple and straight forward though. ( ...unless you mess things up by getting curious and clicking all those checkboxes... ;) Recommended.

I had long ago given up on bookmark managers and the last one I used was "URL Manager Pro" which was sort of killed or crippled by one or another version of OS X. Having settled on Safari as my browser anyway, I just forgot about managing bookmarks. However, recently Safari has had some problems and I began experimenting with other browsers. Keeping the bookmarks straight among them was virtually hopeless. However I got Bookmacster as part of a bundle and it is a pleasant surprise indeed. It is absolutely mandatory to do a backup before running this app and manipulating bookmarks because there is a lot more to this app than you might think and the settings are daunting. That said, I found the initial settings understandable enough and (deep breath) trusted that my 1500 plus bookmarks would be exported from my default browser to my other browsers. They were, and duplicates were found. The bookmarks toolbars among my browsers were changed but not much. I only work with one machine so I don't contend with syncing computers. The syncing features and settings are many and complex. I very much like that this is a third party app and not a bunch of browser plugins or system service. You run the app and the app works on the various bookmark files independently of the browsers. Once you get comfortable with running the app, you can run it as often as you like. Also, there are plenty of undo opportunities but I have not used them. I suspect I would not have paid the street price of $23 for this app, but after using it for awhile I am thinking I might consider it. There is a lot of complexity in syncing bookmarks among browsers and computers and doing it right requires some pretty good programming chops I would imagine. Since there is a demo, you can see for yourself. Just make sure you back up because you certainly can make a mess of things if you don't proceed cautiously.