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Quick Answer

In Edge, open Settings > Profiles > Import browser data. In Chrome, open Bookmarks and lists > Import bookmarks and settings. Both accept another installed browser or an exported HTML file. Press Ctrl + Shift + B to show the bookmarks bar.

How to Import and Organize Browser Bookmarks ​

Applies to: Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome; Windows 11, Windows 10
Article Type: How-To
Last Updated: 2026-07-29

Summary ​

Move your bookmarks from one browser or one computer to another, keep a backup file that survives a device rebuild, and put the whole collection into folders you can actually navigate. Everything here works on a standard work account with no admin rights.

Prerequisites ​

  • Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome on Windows 11 or Windows 10.
  • For an import from another browser: that browser installed on the same computer.
  • For an import from a file: the exported .html file saved somewhere you can browse to.
  • No admin rights required.

Note: Edge calls these links Favorites and Chrome calls them Bookmarks. They are the same feature and the same export format, so a file from one loads straight into the other. This article uses each browser's own label in its own steps.

Instructions ​

1. Import Bookmarks from Another Browser ​

This is the fastest route when both browsers sit on the same machine — the browser reads the other one's profile directly and needs nothing from you but a checkbox.

Close the browser you are importing from first. Edge and Chrome both skip data that is locked open by a running browser, which is the usual reason an import finishes and brings nothing across.

Microsoft Edge:

  1. Open Microsoft Edge.
  2. Click the three dots (...) at the top right — the tooltip reads Settings and more — and select Settings.
  3. Click Profiles in the left sidebar, then click Import browser data in the main pane.
  4. Under the Import from other browsers heading, click Choose what to import. A dialog opens.
  5. Open the Import from dropdown at the top of the dialog and select the browser you are moving away from. Only browsers installed on this computer appear in the list.
  6. Tick Favorites or bookmarks. Clear the other checkboxes if you want the links and nothing else.
  7. Click Import, then click Done when the dialog reports it has finished.

Verification: Press Ctrl + Shift + O to open Favorites. A folder named after the source — for example Imported from Google Chrome — sits at the top of the list holding everything that came across.

Google Chrome:

  1. Open Google Chrome.
  2. Click the three dots (⋮) at the top right.
  3. Select Bookmarks and lists, then Import bookmarks and settings. In Chrome versions before 121 this menu is labelled Bookmarks rather than Bookmarks and lists.
  4. In the dialog, open the dropdown at the top and choose the source browser — Microsoft Edge and Mozilla Firefox appear here when they are installed.
  5. Tick Favorites/Bookmarks and clear anything else you do not want.
  6. Click Import, then Done.

Verification: A folder named Imported appears on the bookmarks bar, or under Other bookmarks if the bar is hidden.

2. Import Bookmarks from an HTML File ​

Use this when the old browser is gone, the links came from a colleague, or you are restoring the backup from Step 3.

Microsoft Edge:

  1. Go to Settings > Profiles > Import browser data and click Choose what to import.
  2. Open the Import from dropdown and select Favorites or bookmarks HTML file. The dialog changes to show a single Choose file button.
  3. Click Choose file, browse to your .html file, and click Open.
  4. Click Import, then Done.

Google Chrome:

  1. Click the three dots (⋮) > Bookmarks and lists > Import bookmarks and settings.
  2. Open the dropdown and select Bookmarks HTML File.
  3. Click Choose File, select your .html file, and click Open.
  4. Click Done.

Note: An import never replaces what you already have — it adds. Both browsers drop the incoming links into a folder named Imported, so nothing you had before moves or disappears. If you import the same file twice you get two folders, not merged duplicates.

3. Export Your Bookmarks as a Backup ​

Do this before a device refresh, before resetting the browser, and before any change to your profile. The result is one small file that opens in any browser on any machine.

Microsoft Edge:

  1. Press Ctrl + Shift + O to open the Favorites pane.
  2. Click the three dots (...) at the top of that pane and select Export favorites.
  3. In the Save As dialog, choose a location. Pick your OneDrive folder rather than the desktop — a desktop file does not survive a rebuild, and a OneDrive file downloads itself onto the new machine the moment you sign in.
  4. Click Save. Edge writes a file named favorites_<date>.html.

You can reach the same export from Settings > Profiles > Import browser data, under the Export browser data heading, by clicking Export to file.

Google Chrome:

  1. Press Ctrl + Shift + O. The Bookmark manager opens in a new tab.
  2. Click the three dots (⋮) at the top right of that tab, to the right of the search box, and select Export bookmarks.
  3. Save the file — Chrome names it bookmarks_<date>.html — into OneDrive or another location that syncs.

Tip: The exported file is a plain list of links and folder names. It holds no passwords and no browsing history, so it is safe to email to yourself or hand to IT during a device swap.

4. Turn On the Bookmarks Bar ​

The bar sits directly under the address bar and is the difference between a bookmark you use and a bookmark you forget you saved.

  • Both browsers: press Ctrl + Shift + B to show or hide the bar. Press it again to reverse.
  • Microsoft Edge: for a permanent setting, go to Settings > Appearance and find Show favorites bar under the Customize toolbar heading. Choose Always, Never, or Only on new tabs.
  • Google Chrome: go to Settings > Appearance and turn on Show bookmarks bar. Chrome has no "new tab only" option — the bar always appears on the New Tab page regardless of this setting.

To shorten a label so more fits on one row, right-click the bookmark on the bar and select Edit in Edge or Edit... in Chrome, then replace the Name with something short. The web address underneath is untouched.

Verification: Your links appear in a single row under the address bar. If a small double-arrow (») appears at the right end of the bar, the row has overflowed — Step 5 fixes that.

5. Build a Folder Structure for Work Links ​

A flat list of 60 bookmarks is a list nobody reads. Group by how you use the link, not by what the site is called. This structure holds up for most office roles:

  • Daily — the four or five links you open every morning. Keep this folder first on the bar.
  • Systems — HR portal, expenses, ticketing, time sheets, the intranet home page.
  • Team — your SharePoint sites, Teams channels, shared drives, the team calendar.
  • Reference — policies, document templates, the org chart, the brand guidelines.
  • Projects — one subfolder per live project. Move the subfolder out of Projects and delete it when the project closes.

To create a folder:

  1. Right-click an empty part of the bookmarks bar.
  2. Select Add folder in Edge, or Add new folder in Chrome.
  3. Type the folder name and press Enter.
  4. Drag bookmarks onto the folder to move them in. A blue insertion line shows where the link will land before you release the mouse.

Tip: Stop at two levels — a folder on the bar and one level of subfolders inside it. Three levels means you are hunting through menus, which costs more time than retyping the address.

6. Tidy Up in Bulk with the Bookmark Manager ​

Dragging links one at a time is why bookmark cleanups never get finished. The manager handles dozens in one action.

  1. Open the manager. In Edge, type edge://favorites in the address bar and press Enter. In Chrome, press Ctrl + Shift + O.
  2. Click the first bookmark you want to move. Hold Ctrl and click others to add them to the selection, or hold Shift and click to take everything between two points.
  3. Drag the whole selection onto a folder in the left sidebar. All selected links move together.
  4. To delete instead, right-click the selection and choose Delete. Both browsers remove the whole set without a confirmation dialog, and Ctrl + Z puts it back.
  5. Right-click any folder and choose Sort by name to alphabetise its contents in place.
  6. To find duplicates, type a domain name into the search box at the top of the manager. Every saved page from that site appears in one list — keep the one you use and delete the rest.

Verification: The bookmarks bar shows folders rather than individual links, and the overflow double-arrow (») at the right end of the bar has gone.

7. Sync Bookmarks Across Your Devices ​

Sync means your desktop, your laptop, and a loaner machine all show the same bookmarks, and a device rebuild costs you nothing.

Microsoft Edge:

  1. Go to Settings > Profiles and confirm the profile at the top shows your work account, not a personal Microsoft account. Bookmarks sync per profile, and links saved in the wrong profile do not travel.
  2. Click Sync.
  3. Turn on the Favorites toggle. Leave the others as they are if you only want bookmarks.
  4. Click Turn on sync if a button offers it, and confirm.

Google Chrome:

  1. Go to Settings and click You and Google in the left sidebar. Recent Chrome versions label this section You and Chrome.
  2. Click Sync and Google services, then Manage what you sync.
  3. Select Customize sync and turn on Bookmarks.

Note: Plenty of organizations turn browser sync off deliberately, and a work-managed browser is the normal place to find it disabled. The toggle appears greyed out next to a briefcase icon, with wording along the lines of Managed by your organization in Edge or a note that the setting is controlled by your administrator in Chrome. Nothing is broken. If you need it, tell IT: "Please confirm whether browser sync is disabled by policy on my account, and whether favourites sync alone can be enabled." Until then, the HTML export in Step 3 moves your bookmarks between machines with no policy involved.

Troubleshooting ​

TIP

Export your bookmarks to OneDrive once a quarter and after any big cleanup. The file is a few kilobytes, it restores in under a minute, and it is the one part of your browser setup that no rebuild, reset, or profile change can hand back to you automatically.

Symptom / ErrorPotential CauseSolution
Import finishes but no bookmarks appearSource browser was open during importClose the other browser completely, check Task Manager for a leftover process, and run the import again from Step 1.
The source browser is missing from the Import from listBrowser not installed on this computerOnly browsers installed locally are listed. Export from the other machine as an HTML file and use Step 2 instead.
Imported bookmarks are buried in a folderBoth browsers import into a named folderOpen the manager as in Step 6, select the contents of the Imported folder, drag them where you want them, then delete the empty folder.
Bookmarks bar keeps disappearingEdge is set to show the bar on new tabs onlyGo to Settings > Appearance > Show favorites bar and change the setting from Only on new tabs to Always.
Sync toggle is greyed outSync disabled by company policyThis is a deliberate setting, not a fault. Ask IT whether favourites sync can be enabled for your account, and use the HTML export in Step 3 in the meantime.
Bookmarks vanished after signing in with a different accountLinks are saved in the other browser profileSwitch profiles from the profile picture at the top right of the browser. The bookmarks are attached to the profile that created them, not to the computer.