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MSN Favorites Export Toolkit
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Oddly enough, the import feature of IE cannot handle the favorites.xml file that contains your MSN Explorer favorites. Someone recently asked for a solution, so I have prepared a (quick and dirty) toolkit that does the job. It transforms a MSN favorites file (favorites.xml) into a Netscape favorites file (bookmark.htm) that is (ironically) suitable for import into IE.

How to proceed
--------------

1. Unpack the files contained in MSNFAV.ZIP (at least msnfav.vbs and msnfav.xsl) to a folder of your choice. Say, C:\msnfav.

2. Locate favorites.xml:
This file is usually located in C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\MSN6\UserData\{xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxx}. {xxx...xxx} vary with your actual identity.

If you don't find it there, use Windows Explorer to find it (F3). Since this file is marked as hidden / system, you should set the Search options in Windows Explorer accordingly so that Explorer looks for the file in every folder.
Start the search from the root.

x Search system folders
x Search hidden files and folders 
x Search subfolders

If you still don't find favorites.xml, proceed as follows:

a. Go to the Start | Programs | Accessories menu and open the Command Prompt window. 
b. Make sure you are in the root folder (c:\), otherwise, execute the following command: cd \. 
c. Enter the following command: 
	c:\>attrib /s favorites.xml 
    If this file exists on your disk, attrib will find it and tell you where it is. 

3. Once located, copy favorites.xml to the folder where mnsfav.vbs resides (e.g. c:\msnfav).

4. Execute the script:

Either double-click msnfav.vbs in Windows Explorer 
  OR
run the following command in a console (DOS) window after making the directory where msnfav.vbs resides the current directory:

c:\>cd msnfav
c:\msnfav>cscript msnfav.vbs

5. This should have produced a file named bookmark.htm in the same folder.

6 Launch IE, go to "File | Import and export...", click Next, select "Import favorites", click Next, select "Import from a file or address" and select the bookmark.htm file that you have just generated, click Next and select the target folder (usually Favorites), click Next and Finish.

7. You're done.

8. Sometimes, the script executed in step 2 may fail. There are two known reasons that can cause the script to fail.

  8.1. Your copy of MSXML is not up-to-date. Please go to
  
	http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/downloads/list/xmlgeneral.asp

  and download and install either Microsoft XML Parser 3.0 SP4 or preferably Microsoft XML Core Services SP2 (msxml.msi).

  8.2. Some of your Internet Shortcuts may contain foreign characters from non-western languages that can cause the XSL transformation to fail. 
  In that case, try the following solutions:
  
  Solution #1:
  
  - Repeat the steps above but use msnfav2.vbs instead of msnfav.vbs

  Solution #2
  
  - Load favorites.xml into Notepad.
  - Try to locate the favorites having titles containing strange looking characters (non-alphabetic characters).
  - Remove these characters and save favorites.xml
  - Try again.

  In most cases, this will solve the problem. Otherwise, please send us your favorites.xml file.

  Otherwise, everything should work without a hitch.


Patrick Philippot
http://www.mainsoft.fr
07/09/2006
