Forum Discussion
Deployment - Fonts, Favorites, Sync
HotCakeX "Well that's good to hear 🙂"
I guess so.
I suspect that Microsoft Edge Insiders might be surprised, though, if consumer-side Windows Update installation follows the path of Enterprise-side msi installation and creates duplicate Favorites/Bookmarks.
What appears to happen with MicrosoftEdgeEnterpriseX64.msi is that EdgeChromiumEnterprise installation brings over EdgeClassic Favorites/Bookmarks from the EdgeClassic-server tied to the user's MSA, and adds them to EdgeChromium Favorites/Bookmarks on the EdgeChromium-server tied to the user's MSA, creating duplicate Favorites/Bookmarks, then replicating across all EdgeChromium installations tied to the user's EdgeChromium-server MSA.
That was my experience, anyway.
As discussed in other threads, I prepared to test EdgeChromium installation by creating two identical lists of Favorites/Bookmarks, one in EdgeClassic and one in EdgeChromium. To "fingerprint" the source, I marked all Favorites/Bookmarks in EdgeClassic with an "E" or an "e" and marked all Favorites/Bookmarks in EdgeChromium with a "C" or a "c".''
That created these sets of Favorites/Bookmarks:
(1) EDGE CHROMIUM BEFORE INSTALLING MicrosoftEdgeEnterpriseX64.msi:
On the Favorites Bar:
ForumC,MmailC,YmailC,GmailC,FBc,BingC,GmpsC,AmzC,RtrC,NflxC,ABc,JMGc,TWCc,tURLc,MSNc,511C
In "Other Favorites":
NEWSc-Advocate,NEWSc-Alternet, NEWSc-Capitol Times, NEWSc-Politics Today-Early & Often, NEWSc-Mother Jones, NEWSc-New York Times, NEWSc-Politico, NEWSc-Real Clear Politics, NEWSc-Washington Post, NEWSc-Wisconsin State Journal, NEWSc-Wonkette, MARKER1**, MARKER2**
(2) EDGE CLASSIC BEFORE INSTALLING MicrosoftEdgeEnterpriseX64.msi:
On the Favorites Bar:
ForumE,MmailE,YmailE,GmailE,FBc,BingE,GmpsE,AmzE,RtrE,NflxE,ABe,JMGc,TWCe,tURLe,MSNe,511E
In "Bookmarks Menu":
NEWSe-Advocate,NEWSe-Alternet, NEWSe-Capitol Times, NEWSe-Politics Today Early & Often, NEWSe-Mother Jones, NEWSe-New York Times, NEWSe-Politico, NEWSe-Real Clear Politics, NEWSe-Washington Post, NEWSe-Wisconsin State Journal, NEWSe-Wonkette, MARKER1**, MARKER2**
I then ran the MicrosoftEdgeEnterpriseX64.msi installation routine, resulting in this set of Favorites/Bookmarks:
(3) EDGE CHROMIUM AFTER INSTALLING g MicrosoftEdgeEnterpriseX64.msi:
On the Favorites Bar:
ForumC,MmailC,YmailC,GmailC,FBc,BingC,GmpsC,AmzC,RtrC,NflxC,ABc,JMGc,TWCc,tURLc,MSNc,511C,ForumE,MmailE,YmailE,GmailE,FBc,BingE,GmpsE,AmzE,RtrE,NflxE,ABe,JMGc,TWCe,tURLe,MSNe,511E
In "Other Favorites":
NEWSc-Advocate,NEWSc-Alternet, NEWSc-Capitol Times, NEWSc-Politics Today-Early & Often, NEWSc-Mother Jones, NEWSc-New York Times, NEWSc-Politico, NEWSc-Real Clear Politics, NEWSc-Washington Post, NEWSc-Wisconsin State Journal, NEWSc-Wonkette, MARKER1**, MARKER2**
In an "Other Favorites" folder titled "Bookmarks Menu":
NEWSe-Advocate,NEWSe-Alternet, NEWSe-Capitol Times, NEWSe-Politics Today Early & Often, NEWSe-Mother Jones, NEWSe-New York Times, NEWSe-Politico, NEWSe-Real Clear Politics, NEWSe-Washington Post, NEWSe-Wisconsin State Journal, NEWSe-Wonkette, MARKER1**, MARKER2**
CAVEATS:
(1) I do not know whether EdgeChromium installation through the Windows Update process (that is, as I understand it from you and the documents I've read, the deployment plan for consumer-side cutover) will or will not include a routine to identify duplicates and remove them. It is quite possible that the Windows Update process will not create duplicates or eliminate duplicates during installation.
(2) The "duplicate" issue will only affect users (such as Microsoft Edge Insiders) who have an EdgeChromium-server list of Favorites/Bookmarks existing at the time of cutover; the issue will not affect users who are not (and have not been at any point) Microsoft Edge Insiders and do not have an EdgeChromium-server list of Favorites/Bookmarks.
(3) I do not keep passwords in my browsers and have not tested whether or not passwords will duplicate, and I have not tested what happens with other elements being brought over from EdgeClassic.
===================
** MARKER1 and MARKER2 were favorites/bookmarks created to test whether the cutover process would treat absolutely identical favorites/bookmarks as duplicates, eliminating one set on cutover. MARKER1 points to an identical link in both the EdgeClassic and EdgeChromium sets, as does MARKER2. The cutover process did not identify either MARKER1 or MARKER2 as duplicates of one another and eliminate one or the other when cutting over.
- I'm actually using Firefox Dev as my main browser too, yes it's got a very decent sync and i love that i can sync manually using the sync button so i won't have to wait for the browser.
the only problem I have with Firefox sync is that they don't sync my bookmarks favicons so i have to reload all of my bookmarks at least once every time I install it.
I hope Edge learn from Firefox and also Vivaldi to make a robust sync service and add a sync button so we can sync our data manually too. HotCakeX "The import process you described is normal ..."
"Normal" as in "SNAFU".
"... the only problem that is and has been all the time is that Edge sync servers and browsers don't have the functionality to prevent duplicate favorites."
EdgeClassic is notorious for creating duplicate favorites/bookmarks and creating duplicate folders within the Bookmarks Menu, seemingly almost at random during sync, and for dropping favorites/bookmarks, again seemingly almost at random.
The message and help boards are full of discussions about how messed up EdgeClassic sync has been over the years. I've experienced problems myself, although EdgeClassic has never been my primary browser.
I hope that EdgeChromium will be a little more stable in this respect, although given all the sync issues I've been reading about in this Forum of late, I don;'t have a high level of confidence.
Anyway, back to topic: Since I already have duplicate sets of favorites/bookmarks, after the cutover I expect to have triplicate sets of favorites/bookmarks. That will be a treat.
I'm sometimes glad, in a snarky sort of way, that Microsoft doesn't look like it will get around to going cross-platform with Linux in my lifetime, so I won't have to make a choice about whether to make Edge my primary browser. Firefox just works -- it handles complex bookmark structures without messing anything up, has robust font rendering, and users don't have to play "whack a mole" with flyout bookmark menus.