Add a feature to import tabs from previous exports

[smaragdus]

An option to import previously exported tabs would be extremely handy and useful- if this is implemented Export Tabs URLs would also serve as session manager.

[alct]

Hello @CsatiZoltan and @smaragdus ,

Thank you for your feedback!

I have been thinking about how to implement an "import" feature UX wise for a long time but have not figured out yet how to best do it.

I you have any idea on how this could be integrated in the popup, do not hesitate to share it ;-)

Export Tabs URLs would also serve as session manager.

There is more to proper session management than just restoring tabs (cookies, cache, etc.) but I do agree that it could be useful for people who do not need a full blown session manager.

[smaragdus]

@alct

I am not a programmer and I don't know what options WebExtensions API would allow. I could think of two imaginable solutions:

• Use of text file- new button 'Import tabs' which opens 'Open' dialog, the user chooses the exported text file and the extension copies the URLs from the text file and opens them in new tabs;
• Use of proprietary format to save session- perhaps only the URLs are saved, new button 'Import tabs' which opens 'Open' dialog, the user chooses a previously exported session file and the extension opens the saved URLs in new tabs;

All this looks awkward and ugly and I suppose that it is not (easily) implementable. I am aware that such functionality might be well beyond the initial design of the extension. So if no such import functionality will ever be implemented I will not be disappointed at all.

More, there is an abundance of session managers (MySessions, OneTab Pro, Session Boss, Session Sync, Tab Session Manager, Tab Stash, tabzen, etc), they might not be as customizable and powerful as the old XUL add-on Session Manager but they work (some use bookmarks for saving/restoring sessions which I don't like that much). I acknowledge that there is no need for Export Tabs URLs to become a session manager and thus getting bloated (feature creep) and losing focus of its main functionality- to copy and save multiple URLs.

[smaragdus]

@alct

I came upon a Chromium extension - Easy Tab URL (GitHub, Chrome Web Store) which saves tabs to text file and loads tabs from text file. The extension is most likely abandoned but it works fine. If you have a Chromium-based browser you may have a look at it to see how it works.

[0xRustlang]

@smaragdus may be the approach i came up with helps you I explained it in the issue #18

[Allasso]

For my own purposes I worked up an extended version of Import Tab URLs which has import/restore functionality. I don't have the time or energy for collaboration, but if there is something you can glean from this, you can find a signed version here:

kevinallasso.org/extensions/tabs_backup_restore/tabs_backup_restore_lite-0.0.1-fx.xpi

kevinallasso.org/extensions/tabs_backup_restore/tabs_backup_restore_lite.xpi

[Allasso]

ps, be sure to check "format for import" when exporting if you want to use that file for import.

[Allasso]

pss, note that this currently does not have the option to replace a session, so will just import the windows/tabs on top of the current session.

[smaragdus]

@Allasso

Thanks for the extended version, I will have a look when I have time.

[Aliuken]

@alct Is there any plan to develop this functionality soon? Exporting without the ability to import is not very useful.

[CsatiZoltan]

@Aliuken Although it would be convenient to be able import links, it can be done quite easily. Use the command line to open the exported links: firefox link1 link2 ... linkN. I am sure you can use bash to automatically read the text file containing the exported links, and open them. But I agree that a cross-platform solution would be handy.

[0xRustlang]

@Aliuken You can also use this add-on for this functionality that you need: [Github link] [AMO Link]

Although i think you can also use the approach i come up with that i explained in this issue #18 @CsatiZoltan

[alct]

Hello,

@alct Is there any plan to develop this functionality soon?

• A plan to develop this feature? Yes.
• Soon? The answer is neither a "yes" nor a "no" but "when it is ready".

URLs can be tricky to deal with, even more so when you have to account for custom user formatting around them.

I do not want to sacrifice custom formatting for the sole sake of being able to import URLs back again, and the last thing I want to have is a dedicated export format (that is a nice workaround but that is not user friendly).

Finally, I do not want to turn the simple text file that exists into a db of sorts (such as a JSON storage on the cheap).

That being said, there is no question that being able to import "exports" back is a useful feature. I have some leads compatible with the problematics that I have explained above that I haven't had the time to test yet.

Edit: by the way, thank you all for helping each other and playing around with implementation ideas as you have been doing it :+1:

[DJCrashdummy]

i looked a little bit around for an addon with an export function and finally settled with "Export Tabs URLs" because IMHO it is as a whole superior to all similar addons :clap: (and seems to not be abandoned). the only downside is, the import/open function (which some other similar addons have) is missing yet.

as i said, i looked around and thought a little bit about this feature, so here are my suggestions:

• at the UI i wouldn't change anything, simply add an additional "line" with 2 buttons on the bottom of the popup/window for "open" (opens URLs from the text field) and "import" (opens a selector for a file which either gets imported into the text field or its contained URLs get opened immediately - i'm not 100% sure about the UX in this case).
• for the UX and perhaps even some code i suggest to have a look at "Save Tab URLs" (which is pretty cool, but lacks some features and settings of "Export Tabs URLs" and seems abandoned): anyhow, its open-feature works pretty nice which simply phrases the text field, and opens "new" URLs in the current window. IMHO a fancier approach with opening tabs saved from different windows, in different windows again, can be implemented later if really needed (if so, something like #26 will be needed). the only thing i would implement from the beginning is, to not open duplicate tabs at least not in the current window! ...which prevents users from bad consequences of accidentally hitting the open button. - perhaps a notification like "X tabs were read and Y additional unique tabs got opened in this window" (especially in the case of 0 and to easily notice how much tabs got opened) would be reasonable.

PS: if implementing the import feature from a file needs much more effort, i wouldn't mind if it is left out (for now?) because copy&paste is IMHO a pretty easy workaround everybody gets... and i guess most of the users will open the file first anyways to have a look what tabs are going to be restored. :wink:

[DJCrashdummy]

I do not want to sacrifice custom formatting for the sole sake of being able to import URLs back again, and the last thing I want to have is a dedicated export format (that is a nice workaround but that is not user friendly).

@alct that's what i love about this addon: its flexibility and still being pretty easy to use! :+1:

for the problem with the custom formatting, may i suggest to solve resp. workaround it by simply using the chosen format in the settings to phrase the input, if it is too hard to phrase the URLs reliable on its own. - i guess the biggest issue are the non-http(s)-links (if not ignored)...?

at latest if this approach is used, i would also suggest to additionally add the format variable to the header of an export, to make it easier to restore a legacy export even after the user has changed the format. ...because if he didn't use a "usual" format for whatever reason, guessing & recreating the format variable may become tedious.

perhaps at some point, the formatting variable in a file resp. the text field can get phrased automatically by this addon and so the user doesn't need to change it manually in the settings for importing files with different formatting. :wink:

[errantmind]

I added this as a hidden feature to my fork because I need this functionality and don't want to get in the way of a UX debate. Feel free to merge or not. I just thought I'd offer it

[adamency]

@errantmind Your fork doesn't have any additional commits than here. I guess you forgot to push ?

[clach04]

Thanks @errantmind Available under fork https://github.com/clach04/export-tabs-urls-phoenix and in the store https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/export-tabs-urls-phoenix/ (as well as supporting Edge and Chrome)