Bookmarklets - Browser support

Browser support for bookmarklets

These are some of the features a browser should have in order to support bookmarklets well. Many of these features are not specific to bookmarklets. A web browser must support bookmarks, javascript, and several other featuers before it can support bookmarklets well.

Versions tested (all on Win98):

Internet Explorer 6.0
Mozilla nightlies after 1.4
Netscape 4.75
Opera 7.03, free version

Basic bookmarklet support	IE	Moz	NS4	Op7
Support JavaScript	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Support javascript: links	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Allow bookmarking javascript: URLs	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Run javascript: URLs as part of the current page	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Allow long links	2083 (508 in IE 6.0)	>20000	1848	4094
Advanced javascript support	IE	Moz	NS4	Op7
Override "open in new window" for javascript: URLs	No	Opens in same window; 55696	No	No
Continue loading page while I use a bookmarklet	No	Yes (1.4+)	No	Yes
Allow interaction while searching links (threaded JS)	Interact with results only	No (40848)	Interact with results, view original	Interact with results only (regression from Op6, which had "Interact with results and original")
Save changes made by bookmarklets in session history	No	No (38486)	No	Yes
Allow disabling JavaScript pop-up ads without disabling bookmarklets	No	Yes	No	Yes (Op7+)
Notify the user when a JavaScript error occurs	Clickable message in status bar	No (47128)	Unclickable message in status bar	Optional; no by default
Support DOM0 (such as document.links) in XHTML-as-XML	XHTML as XML displays source	Yes (111514)	XHTML as XML tries to download	Yes (Op7+)
Treatment of JavaScript-generated pages	IE	Moz	NS4	Op7
Save document.write-generated pages ex	Yes	Saves page launched from	Yes	Silently fails to create file
SaveComplete document.write-generated pages	Error message	yes	N/A (no SaveComplete)	Silently fails to create file
Print document.write-generated pages	Yes	Yes	Prints page launched from	Yes
Save DOM2-generated pages ex	Saves blank page	Saves blank page	N/A (no DOM2)	N/A (bookmarklet fails)
SaveComplete DOM2-generated pages	Saves blank page	Yes	N/A (no DOM2)	N/A (bookmarklet fails)
Print DOM2-generated pages	Yes	Yes	N/A (no DOM2)	N/A (bookmarklet fails)
Bookmarks menu	IE	Moz	NS4	Op7
Allow user to keep track of webpages	Favorites	Bookmarks	Bookmarks	Bookmarks
Bookmarks sidebar	Ctrl+I	F9, then select Bookmarks (81757) (Phoenix: Ctrl+B)	No	F4
Support mod+click in menu for "open bookmark in new window"	No (shift is used to keep favorites menu open)	No (33761, 72361) (Phoenix: Yes)	No	Shift
Use different icons for webpages and bookmarklets	No	No (72374)	No	No
Fast mouse access to bookmarks	IE	Moz	NS4	Op7
Toolbar for bookmarks	Links Bar	Personal Toolbar	Personal Toolbar	Personal Bar
Mod-click personal toolbar item to open in new window	No	No (59132) (Phoenix: Yes)	No	Shift
Context menu for personal toolbar items	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Drag to personal toolbar	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes (Op7+)
Drag within personal toolbar	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Double-click runs bookmarklet twice	Yes	Yes	No	Yes (Op7+)
Menus/folders within personal toolbar	Yes, but bookmarklets in them must be dragged into document instead of clicked	Yes	Yes, but bookmarklets don't work from these folders	Yes
Drag to personal toolbar folders	Can drop from pages but not from personal toolbar	Yes	Yes	No
Drag from personal toolbar folders	Extra "may not be safe" warning	No (19437) (Phoenix: Yes)	No	No
Allow bookmarks on other toolbars	No	No	No	Yes, but they are unlabeled
Fast keyboard access to bookmarks	IE	Moz	NS4	Op7
Press first letter of bookmark title in menu to select bookmark	Yes	Yes (1.0+)	No	No
Allow setting shortcuts for specific bookmarks	Yes, but doesn't work for bookmarklets	No (47199)	No	No
Accept names of bookmarks in location bar	Only works for top-level favorites	Extra "Custom Keyword" field (117967)	No	Extra "Nickname" field
Bookmarklet development	IE	Moz	NS4	Op7
Allow typing javascript: urls into the location bar	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Give useful messages for JavaScript errors (subjective!)	Rarely	Usually	Not tested enough	Usually

Browser Bugs

Internet Explorer for Windows

IE 6.0 (but not 5.5) limits bookmarklets to 508 characters, which breaks most of my bookmarklets.
No referrer sent for bookmarklets that use document.location=foo (increment, decrement).
Copying nodes from one document to another fails and May Crash Later (clone document).
Moving checkboxes with DOM2 unchecks them (sort table).

Mozilla

101190 Javascript links fail while page is loading if pop-up ads are blocked.
108394 Window created by bookmarklet ends up behind other windows.
103843 Using tabbed browser, bookmarklets such as "search links" open windows instead of tabs.
140681 window.open().document does not inherit base href. (worked around for view scripts and view styles)
111816 function.toString has extra newlines at top and bottom. (view variables)
155521 adding <title> node to head does not set window title (clone document)
184269 "Open in Tabs" folder action should skip JS bookmarks
195678 Reload should appear disabled on pages generated entirely with DOM2
38486 Keep DOM and JS context in session history (at least for pages generated entirely with DOM2)
198154 Can't use bookmarklets in editable documents (example)
243266 - insertBefore of <WBR> does not cause reflow (force wrap)

Opera 7

javascript: URLs aren't %-unescaped before being executed.
Bookmarking a javascript: URL containing "%n]" converts it to "v" (old version of next option) - regression from Opera 6
document.formName not filled for document.written pages (make link (selecting), tip) - regression from Opera 6
window.open().document.body is null (clone document, view style sheets, view scripts, reference bug)
Limits bookmarklets to about 4000 chars (shell)
? (back to first) - regression from Opera 6
142862 Adding a stylesheet to http://simon.incutio.com/ doesn't work (block structure, zap colors, test styles)