This site will have limited functionality while we undergo maintenance to improve your experience. If an article doesn't solve your issue and you want to ask a question, we have our support community waiting to help you at @FirefoxSupport on Twitter and/r/firefox on Reddit.

Search Support

Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

Learn More

The Import item is grayed out in the File menu. How do I activate it?

  • 1 phendula
  • 6 inale ngxaki
  • 21 views
  • Impendulo yokugqibela ngu cor-el

more options

I want to import my favorites from Internet Explorer, but under the File menu, the Import item is grayed out. How do I make it available?

I want to import my favorites from Internet Explorer, but under the File menu, the Import item is grayed out. How do I make it available?

All Replies (1)

more options
  • Make sure that you not run Firefox in (permanent) Private Browsing - Use Firefox without saving history mode
  • In Private Browsing mode some menu items are disabled (grayed) and features like visited links are disabled and not showing
  • You are in Private Browsing mode if you see "Tools > Stop Private Browsing", possibly grayed
  • You enter Private Browsing mode if you select: Tools > Options > Privacy > History: Firefox will: "Never Remember History"
  • To see all History settings, choose: Tools > Options > Privacy, choose the setting Firefox will: Use custom settings for history
  • Uncheck: [ ] "Automatically start Firefox in a private browsing session"

You also export the Favorites in IE to an HTML file and import that file in the Firefox Bookmarks Manager.

  • Export the favorites in IE to an HTML file (bookmarks.html): File > Import and Export
  • Import the HTML file in Firefox: Bookmarks > Organize Bookmarks > Import & Backup > Import HTML: From File

See also http://kb.mozillazine.org/Import_bookmarks ("Import from another browser" and "Import from file")