PMC Systems wrote on Dec 19^th, 2010 at 2:22am:
Thank you for the good description.  You imported from 6 Clients (including the xbel file), you organized, then you ran the default Agent which re-imported, but only from 5 Clients (not the xbel file).  Because BookMacster does not see the bookmarks which were from the xbel file on this second import, it thinks that you don't want them any more and deleted them.

Unfortunately, there are the several ways to solve this problem.  For the sake of the list archives, I'll explain all of them.

First of all, you could add the xbel file as a Client using the Choose File (Advanced) item at the bottom of the Client popup.  That would be rather silly unless you have some purpose for maintaining this xbel file, but it would work.

Second, you could click the top "gear" button in Settings ▸ Clients to show the Import PostProcessing and check OFF Delete Unmatched Items.  But then you would never be able to delete a bookmark by deleting it from browsers and importing, even if you deleted it from all browsers.

Third, you could (and probably should have) execute an Export immediately after you were done organizing for the first time.  Ah, now all of the bookmarks which had been in the xbel file only appear in the other 5 Clients, so that when you imported, they would be matched (5 times) and thus not deleted.

Fourth, is your next idea…

PMC Systems wrote on Dec 19^th, 2010 at 2:22am:
Yes, yes and yes.  That is what I call the URL Manager Pro usage style.  In BookMacster Help, we refer to this as Usage Style 3.  After your initial organizing, you never import and never export.  You can de-activate or delete all Clients which were used for your initial import.  You never touch the Bookmarks menu in any web browser.  When you want to add a bookmark, you use the BookMacsterize Bookmarklet.  When you want to delete a bookmark, you open your Bookmarkshelf in BookMacster, make your changes, and save.  When you want to visit a bookmark, you use the BookMacster Status Menulet or Dock Menu.  If you have an Agent, it might be only to Sort or Verify.  You do not put any Import or Export commands in any Agent.

A half-way variation on this usage style, not quite as radical, would be to use Clients to Export only.  In this style, you could still visit bookmarks using the Bookmarks menu in your web browsers, but you would not Add Bookmark in the browser, because you would never import them.  Exporting to Safari once in awhile has the advantage that your bookmarks are now accessible in Spotlight, Launch Bar, or other favorite launcher app.  That's what I do.  I keep a Safari Client for this purpose, with Import checked OFF and Export checked ON.

The other half-way variation on this usage style would be to use Clients to Import only.  In this style, you could still add bookmarks using the Bookmarks menu in your web browsers, but to  visit a bookmark, you would use the BookMacster Status Menulet or Dock Menu.

I know that the BookMacsterize Bookmarklet is a little cumbersome, and we plan to add more convenient ways to add bookmarks directly to BookMacster in the future, and also to visit the bookmarks, making these usage styles more attractive.

Well, that was pretty long and I hope I didn't lose you.  Let us know if you have any further questions.