iCloud for Windows problem

FrankS · 10 Jul 2021

In the settings panel for iCloud for Windows there is a section called Bookmarks.
It defaults to Internet Explorer (which is so old that it only appears in history books).
There is an option to select Firefox instead but when I do (& click 'Apply') it tells me that the
iCloud Bookmarks extension for Firefox is required.
I am already aware of this & have installed this Firefox iCloud Bookmarks extension previously.
Unfortunately, iCloud for Windows fails to recognise this & therefor It's not possible to set it up.
Any suggestions?

Wisewiz · 11 Jul 2021

I have a suggestion: Just stop using (maybe uninstall?) iCloud for Windows and set up a simple shortcut for iCloud. You obviously already have an iCloud account. All you have to do is get TO the iCloud server and log in with your iCloud credentials. iCloud uses 2FA, but if you click "Keep me logged in" and then don't log out when you close your browser iCloud window, you can go back for at least a while and get back in without 2FA.

My shortcut just reads "https://www.icloud.com/iclouddrive/" and it works perfectly, without any Apple software on my Windows computers. My browser is Chrome, but I'm sure I've accessed my iCloud-stored files through Firefox as well, with just the URL typed in and no additional software used. I upload and download and delete and create new folders and store whatever I want to store and access it all with no Apple software on my PCs. My iPhones do all of their syncing with programs on my PCs through the cloud. No Apple software required. For instance, I use Google Keep and GMail (through Windows Mail) on my PCs, and if I edit a file in Keep on my PC while I have Keep open on my iPhone, I can watch the edits happen on the iPhone in real, almost simultaneous time. Same if I delete an email message from Windows Mail on my PC: GMail gets the cue from Mail, and sends the cue to GMail on the iPhone, which promptly deletes the email message from my iPhone Inbox.

That was a lot of rambling, but I wanted to assure you that you don't need buggy iCloud for Windows to do whatever you need to do in iCloud from a Windows PC.

Dan

FrankS · 11 Jul 2021

Ah yes, I realise that & I use such a link but the object of the exercise is to sync bookmarks. Having been a Windows person for many years ipados is not what I'd decribe as intuative. Wouldn't it be nice if I could just export my Windows Firefox bookmarks to a HTML file, take it over to iPAD & import it into both Safari & Firefox for iPad?
Seems it's not that straightforward.
From what I understood, using the iCloud for Windows would/should allow me to do that.

Wisewiz · 11 Jul 2021

It should, but you've found that it doesn't, and guess what giant company doesn't care very much about how well an app for Windows PCs works.

There's no problem about bookmarks, and you STILL don't need Apple software to do what you want to do. Firefox (on iPad) and Safari are perfectly capable of importing your bookmarks from your PC installations of those browsers. They don't, of course, import them from the PCs; they import them from the cloud. My Chrome and my Safari on my iPhone have all of the Chrome bookmarks and Firefox bookmarks that are on my PCs. And they update as my bookmarks change.

All these things are talking to each other through the cloud all the time. You just need to give them a clue what you want them to be talking about.

If you find that you need help getting this set up without Apple's help, you're in the right forum to get that help. But just to help you get started, open Safari on your iPad and type "import bookmarks" in the search space. Safari will automatically suggest "import bookmarks from Chrome" and "import bookmarks from Firefox" and you're on your way with a click or two.

Please let us know how this goes.

mngerhold · 11 Jul 2021

Wisewiz said:

My Chrome and my Safari on my iPhone have all of the Chrome bookmarks and Firefox bookmarks that are on my PCs. And they update as my bookmarks change.

If you are managing to sync Firefox PC bookmarks with an iSomething, I'd love to know how to do that on my 6S (using Chrome, but Safari would do it could see my bookmarks).

FrankS · 11 Jul 2021

This 'search space' you speak of: you obviously don't mean the Address Bar at the top because doing that simply performs a search for 'import bookmarks' as does typing it in on the Search bar lower down on the page.
Please define 'Search space'.

Wisewiz · 11 Jul 2021

Okey dokey, let's try this:

Open Firefox on your iDevice
Tap the menu button at the bottom of the screen (the menu will be at the top right if you're using an iPad):
Tap Sign in to Sync to open the Turn on Sync page.
To sign in using your email address:
Tap Use Email instead.
Enter your login credentials or sign up for an account (it's free) if you don't have one.

When you're done, you're sync'd across installations of Firefox: bookmarks, history, and other things I never use.

I just did it with a new installation of Firefox on my iPhone, and when I finished, I added a new bookmark in FF on my PC and opened FF on my iPhone about a minute later, and there it was!

Sync bookmarks, logins and browsing history on Firefox for iOS | Firefox for iOS Help

- - - Updated - - -

Update:
(And once you have your PC bookmarks on FF on an iDevice, getting Safari to copy them should be a snap.)

mngerhold · 11 Jul 2021

Wisewiz said:

Open Firefox on your iDevice

Well, I have been a FF user for many years - but it didn't occur to me that there was an iPhone version! I was syncing bookmarks before I knew it (and Chrome has had the order of the boot - if only I could save space by removing Safari). Thanks!

FrankS · 11 Jul 2021

I'm using an iPad with Firefox open. Tapping on the menu there is no 'Sign into sync'. However, selecting 'Settings' there is the Firefox account details showing my email address followed by 'Sync now' which I tap.
This imports a large, unsorted list in 'Recent Bookmarks' - none of my well ordered bookmarks in their respective folders.
Along with 'Recent Bookmarks' there are 4 empty folders above, namely 'Bookmarks Menu', Bookmarks Toolbar, Unsorted Bookmarks & Mobile Bookmarks.
Bookmarks Toolbar would be the ideal place for the bookmarks which is how I have it set up in FF for Windows.
There seems to be no way to copy the huge unsorted list from 'Recent Bookmarks' to 'Bookmarks Toolbar' & there for as it stands it's pretty much unusable.
Also it doesn't import anything into Safari.
Oh well, thanks for your help

Wisewiz · 11 Jul 2021

mngerhold said:

Well, I have been a FF user for many years - but it didn't occur to me that there was an iPhone version! I was syncing bookmarks before I knew it (and Chrome has had the order of the boot - if only I could save space by removing Safari). Thanks!

You're absolutely welcome.

Yeah. I agree. The only thing I dislike about my iPhone (and I love my iPhone) is the fact that they come with so danged much Apple software. I'm great with iOS, but most everything else that came with my iPhone 8 has its icon in a group-icon tucked away out of sight on page 2 (one p. to the right of Home). Today was the first time I'd opened Safari in at least two years.

Dan