Bookmarking a page:
external.AddFavorite() and sidebar.addPanel()

JavaScript FAQ | JavaScript Dialogs FAQ  

Question: Can I bookmark a webpage programmatically from JavaScript?

Answer: In Internet Explorer 4.0 and newer versions, you can invoke the browser's Add Favorite dialog by calling the method window.external.AddFavorite(). In Firefox, similar functionality can be achieved using the method window.sidebar.addPanel(). The actual appearance of the dialogs depends on the browser, OS, and display settings. The screenshots below show these dialogs under Windows XP (Windows Classic theme):

Other major browsers do not support these methods. Still, your script can simply remind the users to create a bookmark by using the Bookmark menu item or keyboard shortcut (see example below).

Example: In Internet Explorer, this script displays the Add Favorite dialog. In Firefox, it displays the New Bookmark dialog. In other browsers, the script reminds the user to create a bookmark by pressing Ctrl+D.
Try this now: click the button Bookmark JavaScript FAQ!

This example uses the function createBookmark; here is the source code: 
function createBookmark(sURL,sTitle) {
 if (document.all && window.external) {
  window.external.AddFavorite (sURL,sTitle);
 }
 else if (window.sidebar) { 
   window.sidebar.addPanel(sTitle,sURL,'');
 } 
 else {
  alert (''
   +'Cannot programmatically add bookmarks!\n'
   +'Please press Ctrl+D to bookmark this page.'
  );
 }
}

See also other JavaScript dialogs:

  • Alert (message box) dialog
  • Confirm dialog
  • Prompt dialog
  • Print dialog
  • Find dialog

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