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Unused Tags Can't Be Deleted in the Bookmark Library

chesstauren
chesstauren
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I have imported my bookmarks from Firefox 56 and everything seemed fine until I noticed that there are some tags which aren't assigned to any bookmark. I tried to delete them manually but they don't respond to any manipulation. And there's a lot of them, gunking up the database.

I've heard that such tags are supposed to disappear on their own after I exit Firefox, but it doesn't seem to work. The problem persists in the Safe Mode too.

I have imported my bookmarks from Firefox 56 and everything seemed fine until I noticed that there are some tags which aren't assigned to any bookmark. I tried to delete them manually but they don't respond to any manipulation. And there's a lot of them, gunking up the database. I've heard that such tags are supposed to disappear on their own after I exit Firefox, but it doesn't seem to work. The problem persists in the Safe Mode too.

Chosen solution

Thanks for your reply. Yes, the non-linked tags were in the expanded box on on the left side. I couldn't delete them, probably because they had no bookmarks associated with them.

I fixed this problem manually by first making a backup of the bookmarks, then deleting places.sqlite. The first time I tried it, it didn't fix the problem because the bookmarks were automatically restored from Firefox backups. I had to delete the automatic backups and places.sqlite, and that finally killed the unused tags. Then I restored the bookmarks from my backup and the problem seems to be fixed.

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All Replies (3)

jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
  • Top 10 Contributor
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Hmm, as a test, I opened the Library window (Ctrl+Shift+b) and expanded Tags in the left column.

I found a tag called deadsites where I had put a non-working bookmark. When I deleted the bookmark using right-click > Delete, the tag was deleted, too.

Is that the area where you see tags that don't have any matching bookmarks, or do you see them somewhere else?

chesstauren
chesstauren Mwenye swali
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Suluhisho teule

Thanks for your reply. Yes, the non-linked tags were in the expanded box on on the left side. I couldn't delete them, probably because they had no bookmarks associated with them.

I fixed this problem manually by first making a backup of the bookmarks, then deleting places.sqlite. The first time I tried it, it didn't fix the problem because the bookmarks were automatically restored from Firefox backups. I had to delete the automatic backups and places.sqlite, and that finally killed the unused tags. Then I restored the bookmarks from my backup and the problem seems to be fixed.

jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
  • Top 10 Contributor
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Oh, I was going to suggest trying to create a bookmark, tagging it, then removing the bookmark, but your method probably was more thorough.