SOLVED

Did not expect to see my Chrome bookmarks on install

Brass Contributor

I didn't expect to see all my Chrome bookmarks on Edge first launch. It should have asked me before importing them. Or if the issue is that it's looking at Chrome's bookmark DB, that's unideal.

20 Replies
Thank you @Alejandro Barreto, for the feedback. Were you expecting the browser for your permission before importing your favorites, or were you expecting the browser to wait until you initiated the transfer yourself?
Thanks,
Elliot

@Alejandro Barreto Same for me. I was expecting to see my existing Edge favorites, if anything. 

It was very strange. I would like to see my Edge favorite too.

I expected Edge to ask me before importing my bookmarks. What if I wanted to start anew, with a fresh experience? What if I am privacy advocate and would be upset if Microsoft took my bookmarks without my permission? What if I wanted to import bookmarks from a different browser; e.g. Firefox (which I also have installed)?

 

I'm OK if it asks me during the install wizard. But it shouldn't just do it.

I have a few browsers installed, including Chrome, Firefox, Opera, and more - each with their different uses and favorites - yet here it imported my Old Edge favorites and didn't import a single thing from Chrome, so I'm surprised at how it behaved on your installation. Maybe it imports automatically from the default browser ? Original Edge was my default so it would make sense.

@AmineI I have no bookmarks in Edge, so it couldn't have come from there. Chrome is my default browser so your theory is plausible.

@AmineI Edge was my default browser. I had to go into settings after installation to import those favorites. I don't recall it asking about importing favorites during the install. I thought I noticed something about enabling sync which I did thinking that would pull in favorites and possibly passwords. 

@Alejandro Barreto while I was surprised to see edge soak up all my chrome data, I'm not mad at it. This is by far my most beloved feature of this browser.

Plus, it says it: well.png

 

You did confirm, so as for most "problems" we all know the source of this one.

I see your point though. Importing data is an important step and maybe should have a seperate popup, which isn't easily confirmed. Maybe a selection, which forces you to choose which, if any data should be imported. 

 

@Alejandro Barreto 

 

I wanted Edge Dev to import my Edge favorites. It imported from Chrome. This will cause trouble if it synced with my Microsoft account (I have separate sets of favorites). 

 

Now how do I delete the Edge Dev favorites and start again?  I uninstalled and re-installed - the Chrome favorites returned.

 

The User Date folder is empty. - C:\Users\MYUSERNAME\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Edge Dev\User Data

Before any changes from other browser ask first so every knows how it's
I was also surprised by this. It's more than bookmarks too (includes passwords and I assume probably history as well). I also expected that it would ask before importing. Firefox Developer is currently my default browser, but it imported from Chrome. I think it's best if the installer not only asks before importing, but also asks which browser and which data to import (bookmarks, passwords, forms, history, etc).

@Cedup You're right. I installed Edge Preview on another computer and saw the same screen. I must have just clicked through quickly. User error, yes.

 

Yet I still stand by this issue. That dialog looks like a tip. I always click through tips so I can get going faster. I did not expect to see my bookmarks because I didn't believe I had made a choice to add them. The dialog could be designed so that it stands out more, or forces you to make a decision instead of just "Confirm".

Yes, it kind of freaked me out when I saw all my Chrome Bookmarks on here. Edge should have asked me before doing this.

best response confirmed by Elliot Kirk (Microsoft)
Solution

Thank you@Alejandro Barreto and everyone else, for trying out the preview builds and really appreciate the feedback.

 

The way the first-run experience on preview builds works currently is: it picks your most-used browser as a recommendation for you to "Start with your data" imported from that browser. Alternatively, you can "Start from scratch" (which sets up the browser without importing any data) or choose to import from a different browser/profile instead using the "Customize import & sync" option.

 

From what we've heard so far: the "Customize import & sync" option is not quite noticeable in its current form -- and we intend to work on improving it's discoverability, so that you can easily pick a specific browser/profile to import from. Stay tuned for improvements and we look forward to yoru feedback.

@KoshyG again, it did. Like the OP said, it did ask him, but he confirmed it too quickly, because the dialogue looks like some kind of beginner information.

I think it's not fair to state that the browser did this without your permission. You all did click confirm. At least this dialogue was there for me since the very beginning of the unofficial release.

Maybe this raises your attention not to click OK on every single dialogue. 

 

I'm with @Alejandro Barreto though, it could be made more obvious about what is going to happen. 

 

 

 

PSA: You can manually synch EdgeChromium with all your browsers. Check the images below:

psa1.jpg

 

psa2.jpg

 

@Cedup This is not true, on first install Edge automatically shows all your bookmarks from your most used broweser in Edge, there is an option to remove it but it shows up by default. I chose not to import from chrome but it's alamring to see your chrome bookmarks in Edge on first install.

Exactly this @KoshyG . As visible in the first screenshot in the thread, it already has the bookmarks imported when it asks if you want to continue from your data or start from scratch.

Well guys this is my screenshot and there is an explanation for this:
I installed edge dev AFTER I already had installed the unofficial Edge Chromium on that machine, so the bookmarks were already synched. So the screenshot is no proof.
I just installed it for the screenshot.

This is a great thread, and I have forwarded the whole conversation on to the people who are responsible for the first run experience.  Thank you all for being so passionate, and for taking the time to offer us this feedback.

Elliot

1 best response

Accepted Solutions
best response confirmed by Elliot Kirk (Microsoft)
Solution

Thank you@Alejandro Barreto and everyone else, for trying out the preview builds and really appreciate the feedback.

 

The way the first-run experience on preview builds works currently is: it picks your most-used browser as a recommendation for you to "Start with your data" imported from that browser. Alternatively, you can "Start from scratch" (which sets up the browser without importing any data) or choose to import from a different browser/profile instead using the "Customize import & sync" option.

 

From what we've heard so far: the "Customize import & sync" option is not quite noticeable in its current form -- and we intend to work on improving it's discoverability, so that you can easily pick a specific browser/profile to import from. Stay tuned for improvements and we look forward to yoru feedback.

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