TagSifter Firefox Extension

Browse your bookmarks with sets of tags

and some such

Version 4.1.4

I know Firefox 3.5 is out. I'm working on it. :)

Firefox 3 lets you tag your bookmarks, but it doesn't give you a great way to browse your bookmarks by their tags. TagSifter tries to.

Click a bunch of tags in the sidebar or menu to see the bookmarks and other tags that are related. Use the related tags to quickly filter your search.

Or, if you can handle real ultimate power, use a full range of set operators to combine your tags in arbitrary and interesting ways. To see all bookmarks whose names contain the word "telecaster" and that you've tagged as being about classic films or books but not about hamsters:

(classic & (film + book)) - hamsters ?telecaster

TagSifter also comes with a tool to help you tag your old bookmarks as you migrate to Firefox 3.

Screenshots

Sidebar

Migration tool

Toolbar buttons

Sidebar with optional tag cloud

Options window

Sidebar, OS X

Install

Visit TagSifter's home at Mozilla to install it.

FAQ

1. Why does TagSifter (4.x) show multiple copies of the same bookmark?: Because you have multiple copies. Try this: Right-click each copy and select "Show in Library." The Library will open up into different copies of the same bookmark, possibly in different folders. Firefox lets you copy a single bookmark all over the place, with all copies sharing the same tags. Starting with version 4.0, TagSifter shows them all to allow you to delete and otherwise act on the individual copies. More info.
2. You misspelled "frequency.": frecency = frequency + recency
3. Can TagSifter show untagged bookmarks?: No. TagSifter works only with bookmarks that have at least one tag.

Help

You betcha.

Style It

You can color individual tags in the sidebar by right-clicking on them to bring up a context menu. But, if you know some CSS, you can go above and beyond.

Known Issues

Ctrl-clicking (Cmd-clicking on a Mac) bookmarks in the TagSifter menu opens too many tabs. Too many tabs.
Tag colors do not apply in the tag menu.
Livemarks are not expanded. But Firefox doesn't expand livemarks under tag folders, either...
On the Mac, sidebar keyboard shortcut customization is kind of sketchy. Some key combinations just won't work, but because TagSifter doesn't know which, it can't tell you if they don't.

Wishlist

Integrate with the awesomebar?
Add a tags column, showing each bookmark's tags, to the bookmarks list.
Group all copies of a bookmark into a single row in the bookmarks list with nested, collapsible children for the actual copies.
A subset-based tag view. A list of two hundred tags is not so useful. If tag A only appears where tag B does, hide A until we choose B. Tag "bundles" (supersets) will naturally emerge.
Better query operators for bookmarks, like url:, title:, date:, etc.
Livemark expansion.
Drag and drop support in the tag list and cloud.
Ability to save queries for later recall.
Query history.

Changelog (clog?)

4.1.4 (November 23, 2008; Firefox 3.0–3.0.*)

bugfix: improved performance when many bookmarks or tags updated at once
bugfix: tags and bookmarks should secondarily sort on their names
localization: de-DE (Deutsch)

4.1.3 (November 6, 2008; Firefox 3.0–3.0.*)

bugfix: bookmark list not immediately updated after deleting a copy of a tagged bookmark
bugfix: bookmark list not immediately updated after copying a tagged bookmark

4.1.2 (October 31, 2008; Firefox 3.0–3.0.*)

bugfix: tag list during complex queries sometimes incorrect after 4.0 update
bugfix: hide-query-cloud preference did not stick after 4.0 update

4.1.1 (October 28, 2008; Firefox 3.0–3.0.*)

bugfix: columns in tag and bookmark lists sometimes not properly updated

4.1 (October 27, 2008; Firefox 3.0–3.0.*)

feature: better integration with custom themes
bugfix: commands in sidebar sometimes disabled after using tag menu
change: combined tag display toggle and tag sort buttons in sidebar

4.0 (October 17, 2008; Firefox 3.0–3.0.*)

feature: view and sort bookmarks and tags by date added, date visited, size, visit count, frecency, and others
feature: Cut, Copy, Paste, Delete, Show in Library, and other commands for bookmarks and tags
feature: drag and drop support in the bookmarks list
feature: improved tag menu
feature: middle-, shift-, and control-click on tags to open bookmarks in tabs
feature: bookmark search box in sidebar
feature: tag display, bookmark sort, and tag sort toggle buttons in sidebar
feature: improved looks on OS X
feature: tag and bookmark quantities shown in list headers
bugfix: CuteMenus and other add-ons that add icons to Firefox's menus prevented TagSifter's menus from opening
change: changes in CSS selectors (sorry)
change: removed default sidebar keyboard shortcut
change: tab key on tag autocompletion appends a comma (", "), enter key does not
technical: XUL templates in bookmarks list, tag list, and tag cloud replaced with direct querying of the Places database; lots of other fundamental changes as a result

3.1 (June 18, 2008; Firefox 3.0–3.0.*)

feature: bookmark (names and URLs) search operator
feature: when there are no related tags, the sidebar's splitter collapses to hide the related tags display
bugfix: random bookmark names appear blank
bugfix: bookmarks with no name should display their URLs instead
bugfix: tag input autocompletion incorrectly steps over the spaces in tags that contain spaces
bugfix: duplicate tag names can trip up the sidebar's tag input

3.0 (May 20, 2008; Firefox 3.0–3.0.*)

feature: Full set manipulation. Tags can be intersected, unioned, complemented, and subtracted by typing arbitrary expressions in the sidebar's tag input
feature: "Open All in Tabs" bookmark command, which can be accessed in the tag menus and from the sidebar's context menu
feature: middle-clicks on bookmarks in the tag menu open them in new tabs
feature: tags in the sidebar can be individually colored (via context menu)
feature: query cloud in sidebar can be hidden via options
change: gussied up query portion of sidebar
change: Unlike the betas the RC synchs the properties of all copies of a bookmark. So, added a bookmark Properties command, and bookmark titles are now taken from the synched copies (in the moz_bookmarks table) instead of the history (moz_places)
bugfix: minor fixes to accommodate changes from betas

2.0.0 (May 2008; Firefox 3 Beta 5)

Complete rewrite for Firefox 3, most Bookmark Tags functionality resurrected
change: funky folder-based tagging system no longer needed, abandoned, yay
change: tags must now be separated with commas when typing them, to match Firefox 3's method
change: sidebar default keyboard shortcut changed to Ctrl+` because Firefox 3 stepped on my toes and set the bookmarks Library to the previous shortcut
change: default tag display is now a list, to better match Firefox 3's UI
change: changes in CSS selectors
change: extra startup time no longer required, other side effects due to changes from Firefox 2
feature: tag list scrolls as tag input is typed in sidebar
feature: better-exposed options and help
feature: customizable sidebar keyboard shortcut
feature: find-as-you-type in the sidebar

1.0.0 (March 2008; Firefox 3 Betas 3 and 4)

Released only experimentally for Firefox 3b3 and 3b4 as Bookmark Tags 1.0.0. Everything scrapped, migration wizard added

Older

In its previous lives TagSifter was known as Bookmark Tags, which enabled "tagged" bookmarks for Firefox 1 and 2

Contact