Bookmark (computing)

In the context of the World Wide Web, a bookmark is a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) that is stored for later retrieval in any of various storage formats. All modern web browsers include bookmark features. Bookmarks are called favorites or Internet shortcuts in Internet Explorer, and by virtue of that browser's large market share, these terms have been synonymous with bookmark since the first browser war. Bookmarks are normally accessed through a menu in the user's web browser, and folders are commonly used for organization. In addition to bookmarking methods within most browsers, many external applications offer bookmark management.

Bookmarks have been incorporated in browsers since the Mosaic browser in 1993. Bookmark lists were called Hotlists in Mosaic and in previous versions of Opera; this term has faded from common use. Other early web browsers such as ViolaWWW and Cello also had bookmarking features.

With the advent of social bookmarking, shared bookmarks have become a means for users sharing similar interests to pool web resources, or to store their bookmarks in such a way that they are not tied to one specific computer or browser. Web-based bookmarking services let users save bookmarks on a remote web server, accessible from anywhere.

Newer browsers have expanded the "bookmark" feature to include variations on the concept of saving links. Mozilla Firefox introduced live bookmarks in 2004, which resemble standard bookmarks but contain a list of links to recent articles supplied by a news site or weblog, which is regularly updated via RSS feeds. "Bookmarklets" are JavaScript programs stored as bookmarks that can be clicked to perform a function.

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Wikipedia