[Firefox Tip] Hide or Remove “Other Bookmarks” Folder from Bookmarks Toolbar

SUMMARY: In newer versions of Mozilla Firefox web browser (version 85 and later), a new folder “Other Bookmarks” is automatically displayed in Bookmarks toolbar (or favorites toolbar). This tutorial will help you in removing or hiding “Other Bookmarks” folder from Bookmarks Toolbar if you want to get rid of it.

If you upgraded or installed latest version of Firefox browser, you might have noticed a new “Other Bookmarks” folder showing on Bookmarks toolbar as shown in following screenshot:

Other_Bookmarks_Folder_Mozilla_Firefox_Bookmarks_Toolbar.png

Advertisement

The folder was not used to show in older versions of Firefox. Only newer versions such as Firefox 85 and later display it by default.

So why this “Other Bookmarks” folder started appearing suddenly on Bookmarks toolbar in newer Firefox versions? Here is the reason:

In Firefox, whenever you bookmark a website or webpage by pressing Ctrl+D keys or selecting bookmark this page option, by default the page is added to “Other Bookmarks” folder in Firefox Bookmarks Manager. Although you can change the folder to store bookmarked page using the drop-down box given in bookmark dialog box but many people don’t give attention to the option and directly bookmark pages. Thus all bookmarked pages are stored in “Other Bookmarks” folder in Firefox.

Also in older versions of Firefox, when a user enabled Bookmarks toolbar by right-clicking on titlebar and selecting Bookmarks toolbar option, the toolbar didn’t show “Other Bookmarks” folder.

That’s why, Mozilla team decided to show “Other Bookmarks” folder by default on Bookmarks toolbar so that users can access their bookmarked pages right from the Bookmarks toolbar.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Other Bookmarks folder only appears on Bookmarks toolbar if it contains at least one bookmarked item. If the folder is empty, it’ll not show on Bookmarks toolbar.

Now the question comes how to delete “Other Bookmarks” folder from Bookmarks toolbar? Here is the solution:

Advertisement

There are 3 ways to disable or remove “Other Bookmarks” folder from Bookmarks toolbar in Firefox. Let’s discuss them one by one:

METHOD 1:

This is the easiest method to remove “Other Bookmarks” folder from Bookmarks toolbar.

Right-click on Bookmarks toolbar and uncheck “Show Other Bookmarks” option.

Hide_Other_Bookmarks_Folder_Mozilla_Firefox_Bookmarks_Toolbar.png

That’s it. It’ll immediately remove “Other Bookmarks” folder from Bookmarks toolbar.

METHOD 2:

If you can’t get above mentioned option in right-click menu, there is a hidden preference/flag to remove “Other Bookmarks” folder from Bookmarks toolbar.

1. Open Firefox and type about:config in the addressbar and press Enter. It’ll show you a warning message, click on “Accept the Risk and Continue” button. It’ll open Firefox’s hidden secret advanced configuration page i.e. about:config page.

2. Now type otherbookmarks in Search filter box and look for following preference in the window:

browser.toolbars.bookmarks.showOtherBookmarks

The preference value is set to true by default, which means the “Other Bookmarks” is currently enabled and showing on Bookmarks toolbar in Firefox.

3. To remove “Other Bookmarks” folder from toolbar, double-click on browser.toolbars.bookmarks.showOtherBookmarks preference and set it to false. Alternatively, you can click on the Toggle icon given next to the preference name.

Delete_Remove_Other_Bookmarks_Folder_Mozilla_Firefox_Bookmarks_Toolbar.png

That’s it. It’ll immediately remove “Other Bookmarks” folder from Bookmarks toolbar in Firefox.

PS: Actually the above mentioned preference/flag is called and modified when we select or deselect “Show Other Bookmarks” option as mentioned in METHOD 1.

METHOD 3:

There is another simple way to get rid of “Other Bookmarks” folder from Bookmarks toolbar.

Since the “Other Bookmarks” folder only appears on Bookmarks toolbar if it contains one or more bookmarked items, we just need to empty it and it’ll automatically disappear from Bookmarks toolbar.

Open Bookmarks Manager by pressing Ctrl+Shift+O keys together in Firefox and click on “Other Bookmarks” folder showing in left sidebar.

Now select all items present in right-side pane by pressing Ctrl+A keys together and then drag-n-drop them on Bookmarks Toolbar folder present in left sidebar.

Move_Items_From_Other_Bookmarks_Folder_Mozilla_Firefox_Bookmarks_Manager.png

That’s it. It’ll move all your bookmarks items directly to main Bookmarks Toolbar and “Other Bookmarks” folder will disappear from Bookmarks Toolbar.

The good news is that now Firefox remembers last bookmark location. So if you bookmark a page in Bookmarks toolbar, next time Firefox will save the bookmark to the same folder instead of adding it to Other Bookmarks folder.

BONUS TIP: In newer versions of Firefox (version 84.0 and later), you can use keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+B to quickly show/hide (toggle) Bookmarks Toolbar.

Also Check:

[Tip] Always Show or Hide Bookmarks Toolbar on New Tab Page and Everywhere in Mozilla Firefox

[Firefox Tip] Enable Hidden Secret Menu Option to Show Bookmarks Toolbar on New Tab Page Only

[Tip] Create Bookmark to Direct Open Firefox Library Page in a Tab

How to Bookmark All Tabs in Mozilla Firefox? Option in Tab Context Menu Missing

Published in: Mozilla Firefox

About the author: Vishal Gupta (also known as VG) has been awarded with Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) award. He holds Masters degree in Computer Applications (MCA). He has written several tech articles for popular newspapers and magazines and has also appeared in tech shows on various TV channels.

Comments

NOTE: Older comments have been removed to reduce database overhead.

  1. Thank you for the very well written article. I use the Bookmarks Sidebar, rather than the Bookmarks Toolbar. Strangely, none of the information you have provided above works for the Sidebar.
    I have Firefox 93 (and same behavior when it was FF 92).

  2. I use the sidebar and can’t move the “other” folder off of my toolbar. It’s like firefox is nagging you to organize that “other” folder!!!. “other’ is not my top priority yet it appears as the first tile on my toolbar. If you delete the folder you delete the contents. These tactics don’t work. Let me organize my desktop as I wish. It’s deliberate and very off putting. You know it’s really easy to switch browsers.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

NOTE: Your comment may not appear immediately. It'll become visible once we approve it.