Beginners: How to export and import Favorites in Internet Explorer

IE9 Favorites

When web browsing the internet, we all have the tendency to collect many links from web pages that are relevant and over the years they may become thousands. These links are called favorites, also known as bookmarks, and if you are an Internet Explorer user with hundreds of favorites and you use more than one computer, one of the simplest ways to have access to those bookmarks from multiple computers is by having the ability to export and import.

Follow these steps on Windows to export favorites in Internet Explorer 9:

1.  Open IE9, by default IE9 doesn’t display the Menu Bar, so press the ALT key in your keyboard to bring the Menu Bar.

2.  Then click File and select Import and export.

Internet Explorer - Export/Import favorites

3.  In the Import/Export Settings wizard, select Export to a file and click Next.

Internet Explorer - Export/Import to file

4.  Internet Explorer let you Import/Export Favorites, Feeds and Cookies. Choose what you want to export — for this article I am going to select only Favorites — and click Next.

Internet Explorer - Export/Import Favorites, Feeds, Cookies options

5.  Select which folders you want to export your favorites from and click Next.

Internet Explorer - Export/Import choose a folder

6.  Choose the location where to export your favorites, click Export and Finish to complete.

Internet Explorer - Export/Import choose the path to store favorites

To import favorites back to Internet Explorer 9, do the following:

1.  Open IE9, by default IE9 doesn’t display the Menu Bar, so press the ALT key in your keyboard to bring the Menu Bar.

2.  Then click File and select Import and export.

3.  In the Import/Export Settings wizard, select Import to a file and click Next.

4.  Internet Explorer let you Import/Export FavoritesFeeds and Cookies. Choose what you want to import — for this article I am going to select only Favorites — and click Next.

5.  Select which folders where your favorites are stored and click Next.

6.  Choose the location where to export your favorites, click Import and Finish to complete.

Note 1: The Internet Explorer import process is pretty similar to export process, so see the image above for references. 

Note 2: You can use this same method to export/import favorites in Internet Explorer 9, IE8 and in IE7 as well.

About the author

Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert and founder of (est. 2010). With over 21 years as a technology writer and IT Specialist, Mauro specializes in Windows, software, and cross-platform systems such as Linux, Android, and macOS.

Certifications: Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA), Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP), VMware Certified Professional (VCP), and CompTIA A+ and Network+.

Mauro is a recognized Microsoft MVP and has also been a long-time contributor to Windows Central.

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