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Getting wrong favorite icon with NEW Bookmarks

  • 2 replies
  • 1 has this problem
  • 52 views
  • Last reply by MozzieBob

MozzieBob
MozzieBob
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If I add a NEW bookmark using Bookmark this Page feature OR by dragging and dropping the URL to the Bookmarks menu or toolbar, it will have the wrong FAVORITE icon. (It chooses a consistent one from some older bookmarks I have... let's call it "random" as there's nothing special about that older bookmark, but it's mostly consistent (more below on that.).

If I drag from the URL line to the DESKTOP (or from a Bookmarks toolbar folder of links) it will have a different icon. The icon is again generally consistent but again random in that it has no relation to the item being linked. I can't seem to figure out what condition causes one or the other. Note that every once in a while it will also give me this alternate icon for a URL dragged to the menu/toolbar. Once it's done that, that will forever be the icon for that link - even if I delete the link and start over. Sometimes it gives me the Firefox default icon (when it should give me a favorite from the site) but that's in a few cases. Once again, I can't seem to figure out what condition causes one or the other (or the other).

If I look at the Library pull down tool/menu of "Recent Highlights" it will be correct. However, if I look at the Library -> Bookmarks under Recently Bookmarked it will generally be wrong. Sometimes it will be correct in both but continue to give me the wrong icon (Firefox default) when I drag it from the URL line or Bookmarks menu to the desktop.

If the very FIRST thing I do is to Bookmark this Page upon arriving, it all works normally. But if I drag the URL first before doing that, I get the errant behaviors above. Some can eventually correct by deleting and using the Bookmark this Page feature but generally they retain some errant behavior. There is no consistent workaround that works (at all) or consistently.

Note that the correct favorite icon appears in the TAB header, so it's not an issue with fetching the correct icon or there being one supplied by the web developer.

This has been going on for a while... a month or more. It's probably related to an update but I can't tell you which specifically as I usually do them as a matter of course when they come out. I don't know if it was there in 67.* but it's been there in 68 and it's in 69. I've been through many reboots, full shutdowns, even an unrelated hardware swap of the disk drive to a different (but identical) machine, etc. It's not a transitional problem. 

Also note that the other browsers on my computer seem to be working normally including MSIE and Chrome.
If I add a NEW bookmark using Bookmark this Page feature OR by dragging and dropping the URL to the Bookmarks menu or toolbar, it will have the wrong FAVORITE icon. (It chooses a consistent one from some older bookmarks I have... let's call it "random" as there's nothing special about that older bookmark, but it's mostly consistent (more below on that.). If I drag from the URL line to the DESKTOP (or from a Bookmarks toolbar folder of links) it will have a different icon. The icon is again generally consistent but again random in that it has no relation to the item being linked. I can't seem to figure out what condition causes one or the other. Note that every once in a while it will also give me this alternate icon for a URL dragged to the menu/toolbar. Once it's done that, that will forever be the icon for that link - even if I delete the link and start over. Sometimes it gives me the Firefox default icon (when it should give me a favorite from the site) but that's in a few cases. Once again, I can't seem to figure out what condition causes one or the other (or the other). If I look at the Library pull down tool/menu of "Recent Highlights" it will be correct. However, if I look at the Library -> Bookmarks under Recently Bookmarked it will generally be wrong. Sometimes it will be correct in both but continue to give me the wrong icon (Firefox default) when I drag it from the URL line or Bookmarks menu to the desktop. If the very FIRST thing I do is to Bookmark this Page upon arriving, it all works normally. But if I drag the URL first before doing that, I get the errant behaviors above. Some can eventually correct by deleting and using the Bookmark this Page feature but generally they retain some errant behavior. There is no consistent workaround that works (at all) or consistently. Note that the correct favorite icon appears in the TAB header, so it's not an issue with fetching the correct icon or there being one supplied by the web developer. This has been going on for a while... a month or more. It's probably related to an update but I can't tell you which specifically as I usually do them as a matter of course when they come out. I don't know if it was there in 67.* but it's been there in 68 and it's in 69. I've been through many reboots, full shutdowns, even an unrelated hardware swap of the disk drive to a different (but identical) machine, etc. It's not a transitional problem. Also note that the other browsers on my computer seem to be working normally including MSIE and Chrome.

Chosen solution

Thanks... There were no diagnosed errors in those databases. I played around a bit with those db's making copies and replacing one and/or the other. I also found a snippet of code that forces all favicons to expire which I toyed with. Causing favicons.sqlite to be recreated corrected the underlying issue and new marks worked properly. Renaming places.sqlite didn't seem to make any difference either way.

Unfortunately, creating a new favicons also lost ALL my favorite icons. Getting them back one by one for 4000 links was not acceptable. But, I found an add-on name Checkmarks that refetches all Bookmark URLs /favicons. That fixed about 85% of them, so I've gone with that.

Thanks for your help,

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All Replies (2)

cor-el
cor-el
  • Moderator
  • Top 10 Contributor
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If you use Sync then best is to disconnect Sync temporarily during troubleshooting.

You can check for problems with the places.sqlite and favicons.sqlite files in the Firefox profile folder.

  • use "Verify Integrity" button on the "Help -> Troubleshooting Information" (about:support) page

In case errors are reported with "Verify Integrity" close and restart Firefox and retry.

If "Verify Integrity" cannot repair places.sqlite, rename/remove all places.sqlite and favicons.sqlite files in the Firefox profile folder. Firefox will rebuild places.sqlite and restore the bookmarks from a recent JSON backup in the bookmarkbackups folder.

  • keep a backup copy of places.sqlite in case a new places.sqlite database has to be created

See also:

You can use the button on the "Help -> Troubleshooting Information" (about:support) page to go to the current Firefox profile folder or use the about:profiles page.

MozzieBob
MozzieBob Question owner
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Chosen Solution

Thanks... There were no diagnosed errors in those databases. I played around a bit with those db's making copies and replacing one and/or the other. I also found a snippet of code that forces all favicons to expire which I toyed with. Causing favicons.sqlite to be recreated corrected the underlying issue and new marks worked properly. Renaming places.sqlite didn't seem to make any difference either way.

Unfortunately, creating a new favicons also lost ALL my favorite icons. Getting them back one by one for 4000 links was not acceptable. But, I found an add-on name Checkmarks that refetches all Bookmark URLs /favicons. That fixed about 85% of them, so I've gone with that.

Thanks for your help,