How To Delete Google Chrome Bookmarks

How To Delete Google Chrome Bookmarks
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Introduction

Internet bookmarks are nifty tools, that allow you to navigate the Internet, without having to remember the exact URLs of each website. Most web browsers have a bookmarks bar, where all the bookmarks are displayed for easy reference. Google Chrome is no exception; the bookmark bar can be found directly under the address bar.

Bookmarks can be grouped into folders or maintained individually. Organizing bookmarks into folders takes up less room on the bar, allowing for more information to be stored easily. The bookmark interface in Google Chrome is highly customizable and can be organized as to fit the personal tastes of the user.

There are a number of reasons why someone would want to clear their bookmarks; the primary reason being privacy, as bookmarks are a good indicator of a person’s browsing habits. This scenario is particularly valid when disposing of an old machine, and buying a new one.

Google Chrome Bookmark Manager

Google Chrome uses a convenient module to make the maintenance of bookmarks easier. The Bookmark Manager can be accessed in one of two ways:

  1. Under the Settings menu (the spanner icon on the far right of the address bar), using the link titled ‘Bookmark Manager’.
  2. The module has an assigned keyboard shortcut which is Ctrl+Shift+B.

On opening the Bookmark Manager, the user will see that the window is split into two panes. The left pane has a directory structure, with various folders visible. Some of these folders are built into the browser and therefore cannot be deleted, i.e. folders like ‘Other bookmarks’.

When a folder is selected, its contents are then displayed in the right pane, in tabular form. The title of the bookmark and the corresponding URL is visible for easy reference and manipulation. There are three options along the top edge, namely ‘Organize’, ‘Tools’ and ‘Synchronize my bookmarks’. These menus contain all the options required to customize the browser bookmarks, including the ‘Delete’ option. The delete option is only available if the bookmark in question is selected.

Deleting Individual Bookmarks

Star bookmarking

How to delete Google Chrome bookmarks - Adding bookmarks in Google Chrome is very easy, as there is a star icon next to the address bar. The star is meant to provide an easy bookmarking option. When the webpage is bookmarked, the star turns yellow.

Deleting an individual bookmark is equally simple. Clicking on the star icon will bring up a small dialogue box with information about the bookmark, such as name and location. In the top right corner of the dialogue box, there is a text link Remove. Clicking this option will instantly delete the bookmark.

Removing Items from Recent Bookmarks

Thumbnails

Google Chrome also has a neat feature that comes into effect when a new tab in created; it displays a list or thumbnails of recent bookmarks on the newly opened tab. While the feature is handy, customization is slightly more difficult.

The recent bookmark list is populated by an internal algorithm. There is no way to actually add to the list, but deleting list items is not difficult. When using the thumbnail format, a small ‘x’ will appear in the top right corner when the thumbnail is in focus. Clicking on this button will remove the item from the Recent Bookmark list. However, there is no way to add bookmarks onto the list, and once deleted, the same item will not reappear. That’s all there is to it. Now you know how to delete Google Chrome bookmarks.