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# 1.2 Getting Started with Synkmark

This section gives the steps to set up Synkmark, possibly in conjunction with other services, to sync the internal bookmarks of your web browsers.

Follow the steps below. If you click a link for more detail, use the Back (<) button in the toolbar above to return here.

- Launch Synkmark. During a first launch, a new document window will appear, and a sheet listing available web browsers roll down over it, asking you to choose the browsers you wish to sync. If that does not happen, and you don’t have any bookmarks in Synkmark which are not in your web browsers, click in the menu: File > Reset and Start Over…, then click the button Reset and Start Over.

- Switch on the checkboxes for only those browsers whose internal bookmarks you wish to import. If a browser contains junk or disorganized bookmarks that you know you already have in one of the other browsers, leave its checkboxes off.

- Click button Done. A sheet will appear asking if you want to import now.

- Click button Import existing bookmarks. Wait for completion to be indicated in the Status Bar.

- If there are other bookmarks in other files, browsers or devices which you want to import and merge with what you have just imported, copy them all into Synkmark. In particular, if there are bookmarks on other Macs that you want to have in your synced collection, make sure you get those now and import them into this document.

- Click in the menu: Synkmark > Preferences > Sorting and, if desired, change the default settings to your liking.

- If you want to sync to additional browsers which you had omitted earlier because they had junk or disorganized bookmarks, click in the menu: Synkmark > Preferences, then the Syncing tab, and click the “+” button to add them. Click the popup menu to change if the browser which appears is not the one you want.

- If you want only “one way” syncing with some browsers on this Mac, click in the menu: Synkmark > Preferences and switch off desired Import or Export checkboxes for those Synced Browsers. Import means that Synkmark will pull in changes from the browser. Export means that Synkmark will push out changes to the browser.

- Organize your bookmarks.

- Assure yourself that the Content you now see in Synkmark is what you want in your web browsers.

The next three steps applies only if you want to sync your bookmarks among multiple Macs or other devices.

- Read about the different services available for syncing multiple devices and sketch out how you will use Synkmark, in conjunction with iCloud, Firefox Sync, and/or Chrome Sync, to reach all the browsers on all devices.

- Switch on the syncing services that you are going to need on each device. Each service as slightly different instructions.

- Clear out all existing bookmarks from each syncing service you are going to use. To do that, open the internal bookmarks manager in each browser and delete all bookmarks and folders. (Technically, this is not necessary if the your data is in a good state, but that is often not the case. Apple’s iCloud in particular can be annoyingly retentive.) Wait at least a few minutes; or better, an hour or more; or even better, overnight. Check all devices and make sure that no bookmarks or folders reappear on any device. If things reappear, just keep stomping on them and eventually they’ll give up the ghost.

Do the following steps on the Mac which has your nicely organized bookmarks already in Synkmark.

- Click the Syncing button in the toolbar to make syncing ready. It will get a yellow dot like this…

- When prompted, click Export.

- Quit Synkmark. Learn Why.

If you are only using Synkmark on one Mac, you are done. If desired, you may test syncing.

If you are configuring syncing to mulitiple Macs, and your sketch shows Synkmark on additional Macs, do the following on each additional Mac.

- Install Synkmark.

- Launch Synkmark. During a first launch, a new document window will appear, and a sheet listing available web browsers roll down over it, asking you to choose the browsers you wish to sync. If that does not happen, and you don’t have any bookmarks in Synkmark which are not in your web browsers, click in the menu: File > Reset and Start Over…, then click the button Reset and Start Over.

- Switch on the checkboxes for all browsers you wish to eventually sync with on this Mac.

- Click button Done. A sheet will appear asking if you want to import now.

- Click button Create empty document.

- If, on the first Mac, you had made changes in Synkmark > Preferences > Sorting, make exactly the same changes on this Mac.

- If you want only “one way” syncing with some browsers on this Mac, as on the first Mac, click in the menu: Synkmark > Preferences and switch off desired Import or Export checkboxes for those Synced Browsers.

- Activate the browser associated with the syncing service you have chosen (Safari for iCloud, Chrome for Chrome Sync, Firefox for Firefox Sync, and open its internal bookmarks manager.

- Verify that all of your bookmarks have arrived from your first Mac. If not, wait until they are all present. This usually takes a few minutes, proportional to the number of bookmarks you have and your internet connection speed.

- Click in the menu: File > Import from only > and then the browser in which you just verified your arrived bookmarks.

- Click the Syncing button in the toolbar to begin syncing. It will get a yellow dot.

- When prompted, click Export.

- Quit Synkmark.

Your setup is now complete.

- If desired, you may test syncing.

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