Why have my bookmarks disappeared in Firefox?

Have you fired up Firefox only to find the strip containing your favourite websites has disappeared? No more one-click access to the Lorraine Kelly Appreciation Society? Fear not. Your access to the fixed rictus grin of Scotland’s First Lady has probably only vanished temporarily. Here’s what to do if your bookmarks have disappeared in Firefox.

Restore the Firefox bookmarks bar

When people say their ‘bookmarks have disappeared’ they’re normally referring to the bookmarks bar that sits at the top of the screen, just beneath the address bar. Sometime accidentally dragging the mouse button across the bookmarks bar or a browser crash is enough to send it into temporary oblivion.

To restore your bookmarks bar, click the menu button (three horizontal lines) in the top-right corner of the browser window. Now click Library, then Bookmarks and then Bookmark Tools. On this screen you should see a button that says View Bookmarks Toolbar. Click that and your bookmarks should be back at the top of the screen.

If you want easier access to your bookmarks in future (going through the Library menu is a bit of a palaver), click the button that says Add Bookmarks Menu to the Toolbar and you’ll also now have a small button in the top-right of the screen that takes you straight to the full bookmarks menu.

Finally, if you like to have access to your bookmarks down the side of the screen instead of a bar running along the top, click Library > Bookmarks > Bookmark Tools again and this time select View Bookmarks Sidebar. If you want that sidebar on the right of the screen instead of the left, click the down arrow next to the Bookmarks title at the top of the sidebar and select Move Sidebar to Right.

Now read this: why can’t I make Firefox the default browser in Windows 10?