Rene van den Abeelen

Q: Is there a way of protecting your Safari bookmarks?

Several times now I've had the very unpleasant surprise of a map with Safari bookmarks gone missing.

I know: that doesn't happen by itself: I must have swept or clicked.

But what I really don't understand is why it's so easy to make this mistake.

If I want to delete a photo in Aperture I'm asked if I really want to do that.

If I specifically click Delete in iTunes I'm asked if that's what I want.

Deleted e-mails go to a wastebasket and are still not gone.

And so on.

 

Is there a tool for the same protection with those all important bookmarks?

One that asks if I really want to delete. Even better: asks for a password to make it happen. Or at least gives me te possibility to choose if I want any protection!

It would make me very happy.

iMac, OS X Yosemite (10.10)

Posted on Jul 26, 2015 2:36 AM

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Q: Is there a way of protecting your Safari bookmarks?

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  • Helpful answers

  • by QuickTimeKirk,

    QuickTimeKirk QuickTimeKirk Jul 26, 2015 4:12 AM in response to Rene van den Abeelen
    Level 9 (53,114 points)
    Jul 26, 2015 4:12 AM in response to Rene van den Abeelen

    Set up Time Machine so you'll always have a backup.

  • by Rene van den Abeelen,

    Rene van den Abeelen Rene van den Abeelen Jul 26, 2015 4:23 AM in response to QuickTimeKirk
    Level 1 (1 points)
    Jul 26, 2015 4:23 AM in response to QuickTimeKirk

    Apart from the fact that I'm having trouble getting Time Machine to do what I want; that is not 'protecting my bookmarks'. That's restoring after a problem.

    I would love to have the capability to protect them, in the same way that is possible with music, pics, e-mail etcetera.

    I find it hard to believe that I'm the only one who would love to have such a tool or preference.

    So again: is there a way to do this?

  • by QuickTimeKirk,

    QuickTimeKirk QuickTimeKirk Jul 26, 2015 4:28 AM in response to Rene van den Abeelen
    Level 9 (53,114 points)
    Jul 26, 2015 4:28 AM in response to Rene van den Abeelen

    I give up.

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Jul 26, 2015 6:27 AM in response to Rene van den Abeelen
    Level 9 (71,079 points)
    iTunes
    Jul 26, 2015 6:27 AM in response to Rene van den Abeelen

    Safari/File/Export Bookmarks. Keep in another folder on your computer. Update periodically.

  • by Rene van den Abeelen,

    Rene van den Abeelen Rene van den Abeelen Jul 26, 2015 7:12 AM in response to Eric Root
    Level 1 (1 points)
    Jul 26, 2015 7:12 AM in response to Eric Root

    Which is of course antoher way of 'backing up' and not a way to 'lock' the bookmarks.

    But thanks anyway.

  • by Roote,Helpful

    Roote Roote Jul 31, 2015 11:14 PM in response to Rene van den Abeelen
    Level 2 (417 points)
    Jul 31, 2015 11:14 PM in response to Rene van den Abeelen

    If you don't mind using a workaround, you might look at a third-party app. The main requirement being that the app run a background process at startup to listen for key and mouse events. One example, using Keyboard Maestro, is triggering a dialog when the Delete key is pressed while on the editing page in Safari's bookmarks view. When the Delete key is pressed while a bookmark or bookmark folder is selected, or a folder name or bookmark name is highlighted, a dialog appears asking if you want to delete. You either accept by clicking OK, in which case the item is deleted, or dismiss the dialog by clicking Cancel. It's also possible to add password authentication. Note that the macro isn't set up to work with Delete selected from Safari's Edit menu, but works with mouse and key events operating on the dialog. Also note that the macros only function while in Safari's bookmarks view, not in the sidebar, nor in other webpages.

     

    1. Navigate to File > Launch Engine and click:

    KMmenu.png

     

    2. Navigate to Keyboard Maestro > Preferences > General and select Launch Engine at Login:

    KMlaunch.png

     

    3. Set up a group:

    KMgroup.png

     

     

    4. Set up your macro:

    KMdelete001.png

     

    5. Use:

    KMdelete002.png

     

    With password authentication:

    KMdeletePass001.png

    KMdeletePass002.png

    KMdeletePass003.png

    KMdeletePass004.png

  • by Rene van den Abeelen,

    Rene van den Abeelen Rene van den Abeelen Jul 31, 2015 11:57 PM in response to Roote
    Level 1 (1 points)
    Jul 31, 2015 11:57 PM in response to Roote

    Thanks very much! This looks interesting!

  • by Roote,

    Roote Roote Aug 1, 2015 3:25 PM in response to Rene van den Abeelen
    Level 2 (417 points)
    Aug 1, 2015 3:25 PM in response to Rene van den Abeelen

    Hi René. I've uploaded the two macros to Dropbox as a macro library file with a .kmlibrary extension. It's a property list file. Import the library into Keyboard Maestro by navigating to File > Import to Macro Library, selecting the file, clicking Open, and then clicking Insert. Remove the .txt extension if present before importing. Make sure a macro is enabled before using. Don't enable and run both macros at the same time. The file can be downloaded from:


    https://www.dropbox.com/s/9usivnqf11pmug8/AskBeforeDelete.kmlibrary?dl=0


    You can verify the integrity of the file before installing by checking its SHA-1 checksum in Terminal. The checksum of this file is:


    060ffc925cf2387ae9b9a58c1bc8df6e3ddcf72c


    The syntax for the command is:


    openssl sha1 /path/to/file

    checksum.png


    The checksums should match. If they are different, don't install and move the file to the Trash for deletion.


    Mac OS X: How to verify a SHA-1 digest - Apple Support