Recommended Posts

Hi y'all,

I'm starting to try to use Edge more and more, to try to give it a fair shot.  It seems to handle most day-to-day sites pretty well, although there definitely still some major bugs to be worked out.  What really irks me the most about it as a browser in general is the lack of options.  It seems very basic in terms of what it offers in terms of customization and changing settings, and also in terms of a user's ability to manage their Favorites list.

 

On the topic of Favorites, I can't for the life of me figure out a way to export my Edge fav's to a file. I'm planning to do a clean install from ISO of the latest Win10 build once they're released in the next few days, and I don't want to have rebuild all of my Favorites.  I found info in the MS forums that said the location of the Favorites folder was:

C:\Users\YOUR NAME\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe\AC\MicrosoftEdge\User\Default\Favorites

However, that folder, on both my desktop (10565) and laptop (10586) is completely empty.  Looks like that folder only contains fav's imported from IE, if you've chosen to do so.  Another question is related to the Favorites Bar items:  I'm wondering if the specific location of that data is different than the other favorites.

I don't get why they did it how they did... they could of just used the favorites folder also and read the changes to it and synced it to their database... I use to just copy the folder and archive it now it's turned into a task to back up stuff (outside cloud backup)

So, does anyone know the local location of Edge Favorites if you did not import them from IE?  Or did they just decide to totally obliterate the local copy to force users into cloud dependence?

My favorites are in "C:\Users\YOUR NAME\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe\AC\MicrosoftEdge\User\Default\Favorites" folder.

I don't know why yours isn't.

My favorites are in "C:\Users\YOUR NAME\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe\AC\MicrosoftEdge\User\Default\Favorites" folder.

I don't know why yours isn't.

Because MS loves making things straight forward.

I have no idea why you still can't manage them directly from the browser (not Favorites page)

I have no idea why you still can't manage them directly from the browser (not Favorites page)

Probably because Edge is basically in an alpha state and lacks a lot of features and customizations? It'll probably be added in time. Maybe for Redstone?

Yeah, that's a great way to release an OS - with a half-baked, brand-new browser as your new default.  Then, be sure to bury the old one (IE) beneath menus that average Joe user will not look inside.  Personally, if integration of the browser with the OS was such a big deal that they couldn't have released Edge separately, once it was ready for prime-time, then they should have delayed the release of the OS altogether until Edge was more fully developed.

They are located here:  

%LocalAppData%\Packages\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe\AC\MicrosoftEdge\User\Default\Favorites\Links

To reimport them you have to drop the links into %UserProfile%\Favorites and then import them into Edge.  (Settings > View favorite settings > select IE > Import).  

I do not think you can just drop shortcuts back into the first path ... mine wouldn't show up until used the IE route.

They are located here:  

%LocalAppData%\Packages\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe\AC\MicrosoftEdge\User\Default\Favorites\Links

To reimport them you have to drop the links into %UserProfile%\Favorites and then import them into Edge.  (Settings > View favorite settings > select IE > Import).  

I do not think you can just drop shortcuts back into the first path ... mine wouldn't show up until used the IE route.

Guessing you didn't read through the thread all the way, but they are not located there on either of my two machines.  Actually, the ...\Favorites\Links folder doesn't even exist on either of mine running 10586.3, and the ...\Favorites folder is just empty.  However, after a clean install, my favorites do show up again after Edge settings are synced.  So, they are stored in my cloud settings.  I just can't find the local location to save my life.

 

  • 2 months later...
  • 4 weeks later...

EdgeExport v 1.2

 

I’ve made a few changes to the EdgeExport application to nudge it away from just being a “demonstration project”.  The original idea was to tread lightly, and not interfere with the original database at all… so that my application could not possibility do any harm.

 

But a few folks were having trouble with database integrity (getting a message saying that the database was not shutdown properly).  So, I’ve modified the application to automatically attempt a recovery of the database. 

 

You can download the updated version from the same location:

http://www.emmet-gray.com/Temp/SetupEdgeExport.exe

 

  • 1 month later...

I've been busy making a new utility to manage Edge favorites.   It's still a "beta", but is suitable for folks to try out.

 

It will allow you to:

 

  • View favorites and folders in a graphical tree
  • Use "drag and drop" to move favorites and folders around
  • Sort all or portions of your favorites
  • Rename folders/favorites
  • Manually add/delete folders/favorites
  • Edit the URLs inside favorites
  • Import favorites from an HTML-based bookmarks.html file
  • Export favorites to an HTML-based bookmarks.html file
  • Backup and Restore the Edge database (can be used to copy to another PC)

Try out the beta version at  http://www.emmet-gray.com/Temp/SetupEdgeManage.exe

On ‎3‎/‎16‎/‎2016 at 5:47 PM, Boo Berry said:

Installer gives off an error; Error reading setup initialization file

 

Is there a portable version for those of us who don't want to install an app? :p

Yeah, I had a copied the wrong setup file to the web site, but I've since replaced it with a good version.

Don't ya know it... the wrong version was only up for about 8 hours or so, but long enough for you to get it!

I'll put a zip file of the contents of the Program Files folder on my website at  http://www.emmet-gray.com/Articles/EdgeManage.html   so you won't have to run the installer.

 

Edited by egray
On ‎3‎/‎16‎/‎2016 at 8:45 AM, egray said:

I've been busy making a new utility to manage Edge favorites.   It's still a "beta", but is suitable for folks to try out.

 

It will allow you to:

 

  • View favorites and folders in a graphical tree
  • Use "drag and drop" to move favorites and folders around
  • Sort all or portions of your favorites
  • Rename folders/favorites
  • Manually add/delete folders/favorites
  • Edit the URLs inside favorites
  • Import favorites from an HTML-based bookmarks.html file
  • Export favorites to an HTML-based bookmarks.html file
  • Backup and Restore the Edge database (can be used to copy to another PC)

Try out the beta version at  http://www.emmet-gray.com/Temp/SetupEdgeManage.exe

Well, it's no longer a beta (Hooray!)

Download it from http://www.emmet-gray.com/Articles/EdgeManage.html

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Posts

    • Microsoft finally launches WSL Containers in public preview by David Uzondu Microsoft has announced that WSL containers, a feature that allows developers to run Linux containers natively inside Windows without the need for Docker Desktop, is now available in public preview several weeks after Microsoft previewed it at Build 2026. To use the new container feature, you first have to install the latest pre-release version of the Windows Subsystem for Linux by running a quick update command in your terminal: wsl --update --pre-release After installing, you'd get access to the new Linux container CLI (wslc.exe) and the programmable API. Microsoft said that the CLI has a "familiar format" that matches the toolsets developers already use every day. If you know standard Docker commands, your muscle memory will translate directly to wslc.exe, which even features a built-in alias called container.exe. You can quickly run a full Ubuntu KDE desktop container by exposing ports, or pass your graphics card straight into a machine learning environment to run PyTorch workloads. Passing the --gpus all flag inside the run command instantly links your hardware. Image via Microsoft As for the API, developers can now embed Linux container operations directly inside native Windows applications without exposing the command line to users. The team integrated the API directly into MSBuild and CMake, so developers can define container steps directly in project files. Apart from bringing the CLI and API into public preview, Microsoft also said that it's working on a new default file system called virtiofs to speed up file transfer rates between Windows and Linux. Microsoft also introduced an experimental networking mode named consomme, which resolves compatibility issues with corporate VPNs by routing Linux network traffic straight through Windows. One thing to note about WSL containers is that they don't run in your standard WSL distributions; instead, every application and CLI session spawns its own lightweight Hyper-V utility VM in the background. This basically reduces the chances of one app snooping on the container of another app.
    • Google reportedly limited Meta's Gemini access over limited AI compute by Karthik Mudaliar Google is reportedly limiting Meta's use of its Gemini AI models after Meta tried buying more computing capacity than even Google could supply. According to the Financial Times, Google told Meta in March that it could not provide the full Gemini capacity that Meta had requested. This shortfall even disrupted and delayed some of Meta's internal projects. Due to this, Meta even told its employees internally to use AI tokens more efficiently. Meta wasn't the only one to get hit by this sudden refusal by Google; even other customers were affected. But Meta was hit harder because of its unusually high demand for Google's models. The move from Google makes it evident that companies all over are in limited supply of both infrastructure and compute. Alphabet said in April that Google Cloud revenue grew 63% year-over-year to $20 billion in the first quarter, helped by enterprise AI infrastructure and AI solutions. In pursuit of more compute, Meta had earlier signed a multi-billion-dollar AWS agreement as well as a large AMD GPU deal for AI data centers. But the crunch would be short-lived as both Meta and Google have also ramped up infrastructure investments heavily. Meta said in November that it was committing more than $600 billion in the U.S. by 2028 for AI technology, infrastructure, and workforce expansion. In the first quarter of this year, Meta also raised its expected capital expenditure for 2026 to a range of $125 billion to $145 billion, citing higher component pricing and additional data center costs for future capacity. However, this doesn't make the company immune to the current dependence on outside suppliers. Meta has also spent many years promoting Llama as an open-weight alternative to closed models from Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic. But if the reported reliance on Google's Gemini models is severe enough for internal work to get impacted, then it looks like even frontier labs and Big Tech aren't fully self-sufficient. Source: Financial Times
    • I like to reminisce about the good old days, way back in autumn 2025 when building a gaming machine was fun and the drives were about $150 when you caught a deal. Yes duh, back in the day we had it gone. Then baby Skynet came along, hiding in AI datacenters demanding more processing power until it reached singularity. End of a not totally fictional story.
    • My experience in the past with older Windows 11 builds was not great on unsupported machines but I recently used Rufus to put the latest build on a older 5th Gen Core Thinkpad T that we upgraded with a SATA SSD and 8GB of RAM four years ago when hardware was reasonable and it seemed pretty fast and solid. Customer is very happy with the performance and will probably get four more years out of that venerable laptop that he loves so much. Another customer just retired his Dell Studio laptop from 2009 running Windows 10. It got an SSD over 10 years ago and did everything he needed it to for 17 years but he also retired last year and is happy doing everything on his iPad now.
    • Apple's newest AirTag 2 gets first big discount by Taras Buria In late January 2026, Apple introduced its second-generation AirTag trackers, bringing a refresh to the old model that has been on the market for half a decade. Now, you can get these new trackers at an all-time low price, thanks to the first big discount that brought the price down by 17% on Amazon. While the second-generation AirTag looks identical to its predecessor, it packs meaningful upgrades inside. The second-gen ultrawideband chip works 50% farther than the original AirTag, allowing you to detect lost items in a wider range. In addition, the second-generation AirTag features an upgraded Bluetooth chip for extended range and a significantly louder speaker (up to 50%) so that you can hear it better when locating a lost item. Note that the second-gen AirTag only works with iPhones and iPads that run iOS/iPadOS 26 and newer, so you need a compatible device to use the tracker. Like the original AirTag, the AirTag 2 is available in two packs: one and four pieces. Both are now available at a notable discount on Amazon, and you can purchase them using the links below. Apple AirTag 2 tracker - $24 | 17% off on Amazon Apple AirTag 2 tracker (four-pack) - $89 | 10% off on Amazon Good to know This Amazon deal is U.S.- specific and not available in other regions unless specified. We only use first-party seller links (at the time of article publishing); ensure that you purchase from a first-party seller link only. Check out Today's Deals on Amazon | or our recent tech deals. Become a Prime member (for Students or SNAP) via Neowin Get Prime Access - Prime for half price (for qualifying Medicaid, EBT, SNAP) Subscribe to Prime Video, Audible Plus, Music Unlimited or Kindle Unlimited via Neowin As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
  • Recent Achievements

    • Reacting Well
      NovaEdgeX earned a badge
      Reacting Well
    • Week One Done
      NovaEdgeX earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Year In
      BA the Curmudgeon earned a badge
      One Year In
    • Conversation Starter
      rosiecharles earned a badge
      Conversation Starter
    • First Post
      KMilenkoski1202 earned a badge
      First Post
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      538
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      269
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      150
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      98
    5. 5
      macoman
      66
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!