Can MSN explorer favorites be exported to IE 8?

[sha]

I use MSN premium on XP. Is there a way to export my favorites from MSN
explorer to Internet Explorer 8?

Thanks.

[Earle Horton]

I used to do this from http://favorites.live.com. It could import from MSN
and export to IE, etc.

Earle

Post by sha
I use MSN premium on XP. Is there a way to export my favorites from MSN
explorer to Internet Explorer 8?
Thanks.

[...winston]

MSN Favorites
1. MSN Explorer users had the abililty to convert MSN Favorites(favorites.xml) to Live Favorites and store them on their online
profile Live ID in Windows Live Favorites
2. Windows Live Favorites was discontinued in April of 2009 and replaced with SkyDrive Favorites.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Live_Favorites
3. The ability to convert the MSN Favorites to Windows Live Favorites was prior to April 2009.
4. Existing Favorites on Windows Live Favorites(present from either IE or converting Msn Favorities)were auto-migrated to Sky Drive
Favorites(if not present, nothing was migrated).
5. If MSN Favorites were not converted to Windows Live Favorites the Favorites only existed as a hidden, system file on the user’s
machine in the \MSNx\user data\{…} folder. In this case, Patrick Phillipot’s program/routine would then be necessary to export
the MSN Favorites to a Netscape bookmark.htm file for import into IE.
http://www.mainsoft.fr/en/downloads.htm
6. The current SkyDrive Favorites does not import IE Favorites
7. The current Windows Live Toolbar does sync IE Favorites to the SkyDrive Favorites
--
...winston
ms-mvp mail

I used to do this from http://favorites.live.com. It could import from MSN and export to IE, etc.
Earle

Post by sha
I use MSN premium on XP. Is there a way to export my favorites from MSN
explorer to Internet Explorer 8?
Thanks.

[StephenB]

Post by ...winston
The current Windows Live Toolbar does sync IE Favorites to the SkyDrive Favorites

Actually, it does, when it works. Favorites Sync will sync to the SkyDrive
Favorites. Changes made on any PC that you have this enabled on will reflect
both on SkyDrive and other PCs using the Windows Live Toolbar with Favorites
Sync enabled (signed in with the same LiveID, of course.).
-steve
--
Stephen Boots
MVP Windows Live
Windows Live OneCare/Live Mesh/MSE Forums Moderator
***@mvps.org

[...winston]

Lol..Yes, when I said it does(#7) I chose not to add too much detail, because its not really clear how to facilitate the transfer(sync IE's favorites to SkyDrive) via the online 'Help' and its tiered redirection to go to the forums.
e.g. - To see the Favorites Sync Icon on the installed Live Toolbar one has to first sign on. Once the icon is present, noticed, and clicked then a dialog box pops up. If someone wants additional info(prior to clicking on the Sync button) the logical step is to click 'Learn More', which loads a basically useless online Help FAQ and a link to go to the 'answers' forums. (That Help FAQ does have info on Sharing across a Live ID network but not topic inherent to synching IE Favorites).


I don't have MSN10 installed(nor do a lot of other folks still using 9.6) and unless something has changed in the new version(please, correct me if I'm wrong) one would hope that MSN by this time would make it a lost easier for MSN Premium users/customers to export MSN Favorites into IE(in lieu of Patrick P's third party 3.5 year old method).
--
...winston
ms-mvp mail

Post by StephenB

Post by ...winston
7. The current Windows Live Toolbar does sync IE Favorites to the SkyDrive Favorites

Actually, it does, when it works. Favorites Sync will sync to the SkyDrive
Favorites. Changes made on any PC that you have this enabled on will reflect
both on SkyDrive and other PCs using the Windows Live Toolbar with Favorites
Sync enabled (signed in with the same LiveID, of course.).
-steve
--
Stephen Boots
MVP Windows Live
Windows Live OneCare/Live Mesh/MSE Forums Moderator

[Earle Horton]

MSN Explorer thrives on mystery. People pay for exclusive services and content that they think are available only through MSN. If MSN incorporated features such as export favorites to a file how long do you think they would continue to hold on to the shrinking customer base that they now enjoy? Marketing, I wish I had studied it, because now it appears as fascinating as either Physics or Spanish. I am still getting 235 errors (lame) so it appears that Qwest customers don't get MSN10 yet either.

Merry Christmas all,

Earle
"...winston" <***@gmail.com> wrote in message news:***@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
Lol..Yes, when I said it does(#7) I chose not to add too much detail, because its not really clear how to facilitate the transfer(sync IE's favorites to SkyDrive) via the online 'Help' and its tiered redirection to go to the forums.
e.g. - To see the Favorites Sync Icon on the installed Live Toolbar one has to first sign on. Once the icon is present, noticed, and clicked then a dialog box pops up. If someone wants additional info(prior to clicking on the Sync button) the logical step is to click 'Learn More', which loads a basically useless online Help FAQ and a link to go to the 'answers' forums. (That Help FAQ does have info on Sharing across a Live ID network but not topic inherent to synching IE Favorites).


I don't have MSN10 installed(nor do a lot of other folks still using 9.6) and unless something has changed in the new version(please, correct me if I'm wrong) one would hope that MSN by this time would make it a lost easier for MSN Premium users/customers to export MSN Favorites into IE(in lieu of Patrick P's third party 3.5 year old method).

--
...winston
ms-mvp mail

Post by StephenB

Post by ...winston
7. The current Windows Live Toolbar does sync IE Favorites to the SkyDrive Favorites

Actually, it does, when it works. Favorites Sync will sync to the SkyDrive
Favorites. Changes made on any PC that you have this enabled on will reflect
both on SkyDrive and other PCs using the Windows Live Toolbar with Favorites
Sync enabled (signed in with the same LiveID, of course.).
-steve
--
Stephen Boots
MVP Windows Live
Windows Live OneCare/Live Mesh/MSE Forums Moderator

[sha]

Earle, Winston, Stephen:
Thanks for your replies. I was afraid it wasn't going to be simple, but it
looks like it is possible to transfer favorites from MSN explorer to IE8 if
you are willing to work hard enough for it. I am going to check with MSN
support to see if they have any simpler alternative.

It would be ironic if MSN explorer has no easy way to migrate bookmarks to
IE 8. It's not like IE 8 is produced by a different vendor. :P

I originally started with MSN dialup, liked the MSN explorer UI (compared to
IE6), and when I switched to DSL became a MSN Premium user. I have stayed
with MSN Explorer for a number of years but recently installed IE8 (from
IE6). Looks like there are a lot of useful browser features in IE8 that have
far surpassed MSN explorer. Since MSN explorer seems to be based on IE
functionality, I wondered if installing IE8 would change/improve the MSN
explorer UI. It doesn't look like it has.

I woke up one day and found MSN had installed version 10 on me with no
notice. Version 10 removed my ability to see calendar entries in the MSN
explorer dashboard, which was a nice MSN explorer feature. Support claimed
this feature was removed by version 10 because it wouldnt work with Live
Calendar. Since I had been viewing Live Calendar entries in my msn dashboard
for at least 3 months, that explanation holds no water. They just removed the
feature and didn't bother to tell me about it. At least version 10 upgrade
didn't make me lose MSN service, which some of the previous MSN upgrades did
in the past. Looks like MS doesn't consider MSN and MSN premium strategic
products, which is why they continue to operate under the "MSN Explorer
thrives on mystery approach" which Earle mentioned above. That's too bad in
my opinion, because I think there is a demand for services like MSN and MSN
premium. Another indicator of that lack of concern is MSN not publicizing
this newsgroup as an aid for users, and very infrequent participation by
Microsoft employees in responding to user questions in these MSN groups.

Thanks again for your replies. I will share what I wind up doing.

[...winston]

Sha,
They(MSn) don't...use Patrick Philppot's tool
http://www.mainsoft.fr/en/downloads.htm
Once unzipped, read the readme.txt file, follow the instructions.


Fyi...your agreement with MSN(Terms of Service) allows MSN to upgrade their software without notice
--
...winston
ms-mvp mail

Post by sha
Thanks for your replies. I was afraid it wasn't going to be simple, but it
looks like it is possible to transfer favorites from MSN explorer to IE8 if
you are willing to work hard enough for it. I am going to check with MSN
support to see if they have any simpler alternative.
It would be ironic if MSN explorer has no easy way to migrate bookmarks to
IE 8. It's not like IE 8 is produced by a different vendor. :P
I originally started with MSN dialup, liked the MSN explorer UI (compared to
IE6), and when I switched to DSL became a MSN Premium user. I have stayed
with MSN Explorer for a number of years but recently installed IE8 (from
IE6). Looks like there are a lot of useful browser features in IE8 that have
far surpassed MSN explorer. Since MSN explorer seems to be based on IE
functionality, I wondered if installing IE8 would change/improve the MSN
explorer UI. It doesn't look like it has.
I woke up one day and found MSN had installed version 10 on me with no
notice. Version 10 removed my ability to see calendar entries in the MSN
explorer dashboard, which was a nice MSN explorer feature. Support claimed
this feature was removed by version 10 because it wouldnt work with Live
Calendar. Since I had been viewing Live Calendar entries in my msn dashboard
for at least 3 months, that explanation holds no water. They just removed the
feature and didn't bother to tell me about it. At least version 10 upgrade
didn't make me lose MSN service, which some of the previous MSN upgrades did
in the past. Looks like MS doesn't consider MSN and MSN premium strategic
products, which is why they continue to operate under the "MSN Explorer
thrives on mystery approach" which Earle mentioned above. That's too bad in
my opinion, because I think there is a demand for services like MSN and MSN
premium. Another indicator of that lack of concern is MSN not publicizing
this newsgroup as an aid for users, and very infrequent participation by
Microsoft employees in responding to user questions in these MSN groups.
Thanks again for your replies. I will share what I wind up doing.

[Earle Horton]

My history is similar to Sha's, but I found that Outlook, Outlook Connector,
and IE8 performed all the functions that I had required of MSN Explorer, and
that Chrome in place of IE8 works even better! They put so many obstacles
in the way of using MSN Explorer, that only the most hard-core users must be
left using it.

Cheers,

Earle

Post by ...winston
Sha,
They(MSn) don't...use Patrick Philppot's tool
http://www.mainsoft.fr/en/downloads.htm
Once unzipped, read the readme.txt file, follow the instructions.
Fyi...your agreement with MSN(Terms of Service) allows MSN to upgrade
their software without notice
--
...winston
ms-mvp mail

Post by sha
Thanks for your replies. I was afraid it wasn't going to be simple, but
it looks like it is possible to transfer favorites from MSN explorer to
IE8 if you are willing to work hard enough for it. I am going to check
with MSN support to see if they have any simpler alternative.
It would be ironic if MSN explorer has no easy way to migrate bookmarks
to IE 8. It's not like IE 8 is produced by a different vendor. :P
I originally started with MSN dialup, liked the MSN explorer UI (compared
to IE6), and when I switched to DSL became a MSN Premium user. I have
stayed with MSN Explorer for a number of years but recently installed IE8
(from IE6). Looks like there are a lot of useful browser features in IE8
that have far surpassed MSN explorer. Since MSN explorer seems to be
based on IE functionality, I wondered if installing IE8 would
change/improve the MSN explorer UI. It doesn't look like it has.
I woke up one day and found MSN had installed version 10 on me with no
notice. Version 10 removed my ability to see calendar entries in the MSN
explorer dashboard, which was a nice MSN explorer feature. Support
claimed this feature was removed by version 10 because it wouldnt work
with Live Calendar. Since I had been viewing Live Calendar entries in my
msn dashboard for at least 3 months, that explanation holds no water.
They just removed the feature and didn't bother to tell me about it. At
least version 10 upgrade didn't make me lose MSN service, which some of
the previous MSN upgrades did in the past. Looks like MS doesn't consider
MSN and MSN premium strategic products, which is why they continue to
operate under the "MSN Explorer thrives on mystery approach" which Earle
mentioned above. That's too bad in my opinion, because I think there is a
demand for services like MSN and MSN premium. Another indicator of that
lack of concern is MSN not publicizing this newsgroup as an aid for
users, and very infrequent participation by Microsoft employees in
responding to user questions in these MSN groups.
Thanks again for your replies. I will share what I wind up doing.

[sha]

Below is my reply from MSN technical support when I asked how to transfer
favorites from MSN explorer to IE8. In short their reply was:
--MSN does not provide that feature.
--If I'd like the feature, I need to separately make a suggestion for the
MSN suggestion database - MSN tech support isn't going to take the time to
advise MSN management of this outage and my need.

I do intend to provide my feedback to MSN management on this issue, but not
through the MSN suggestion database. I'm going to contact the Microsoft
executive in charge of MSN and the executive in charge of Internet Explorer
and let them see this non-response.

Microsoft strongly encourages users to download and use IE 8, but not if
they are MSN premium users.

MSN tech support reply follows:

"Thank you for writing to the MSN Premium Technical Support Team. This is
....... and I gather that you want to transfer your MSN Favorites to Internet
Explorer. I understand the importance of resolving your concern. I will be
glad to assist you.

........., please be advised that this feature is not yet available in MSN;
but we consider all of the suggestions and comments sent in by our members,
for your interest in improving MSN is critical to its success. We have
provided a feature so that you can submit feedback and feature requests.
Please provide as much detail as possible and use the feedback form as often
as you like. This feedback is placed in a database used directly by the
product development team. You can be confident that this feedback is actively
monitored to help improve the quality of future releases.

1. Sign in to MSN
2. On the Feedback menu, click 'Send Feedback' then click 'Next
3. Choose the feature that you would like to comment on then click
'Next'
4. Type a detailed message describing the suggested change and its
benefits, click 'Next'. You will be brought to a screen asking if you would
like to comment on another feature. Just repeat steps 3 to 4 if you choose
'Yes'. Otherwise click 'Next.
5. Complete the last part of the feedback form then click 'Next'

We appreciate the opportunity of providing you assistance.

Sincerely,

MSN Premium Technical Support"

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

IOW, get stuffed...

Post by sha
Below is my reply from MSN technical support when I asked how to transfer
--MSN does not provide that feature.
--If I'd like the feature, I need to separately make a suggestion for the
MSN suggestion database - MSN tech support isn't going to take the time to
advise MSN management of this outage and my need.
I do intend to provide my feedback to MSN management on this issue, but not
through the MSN suggestion database. I'm going to contact the Microsoft
executive in charge of MSN and the executive in charge of Internet Explorer
and let them see this non-response.
Microsoft strongly encourages users to download and use IE 8, but not if
they are MSN premium users.
"Thank you for writing to the MSN Premium Technical Support Team. This is
....... and I gather that you want to transfer your MSN Favorites to
Internet Explorer. I understand the importance of resolving your concern.
I
will be glad to assist you.
........., please be advised that this feature is not yet available in MSN;
but we consider all of the suggestions and comments sent in by our members,
for your interest in improving MSN is critical to its success. We have
provided a feature so that you can submit feedback and feature requests.
Please provide as much detail as possible and use the feedback form as often
as you like. This feedback is placed in a database used directly by the
product development team. You can be confident that this feedback is
actively monitored to help improve the quality of future releases.
1. Sign in to MSN
2. On the Feedback menu, click 'Send Feedback' then click 'Next
3. Choose the feature that you would like to comment on then click
'Next'
4. Type a detailed message describing the suggested change and its
benefits, click 'Next'. You will be brought to a screen asking if you would
like to comment on another feature. Just repeat steps 3 to 4 if you choose
'Yes'. Otherwise click 'Next.
5. Complete the last part of the feedback form then click 'Next'
We appreciate the opportunity of providing you assistance.
Sincerely,
MSN Premium Technical Support"

[...winston]

As mentioned previously...
- Patrick Philippot's tool is the only method available, and has been for the last 3.5 yrs(once it was made available to the
public), unless one wishes to recreate each favorite manually one at a time in IE.

The inability to do so has been around for quite some time and known by MSN. That same inability pre-dates Msn 9.6, the prior
version which was released in June 2008. MSN 10 was just released, thus in the past 18 months, nothing was done which also
indicates that nothing 'had' been done while known for 2 prior years(since Patrick released his tool).

Imo, 3.5 yrs is a long time to wait for a simple script or code to be included in the product to accomplish said task. Not sure how
making a suggestion for at least a 3.5 yr old problem(it's been a lot longer) is value added. Yes, someone might read the
suggestion, hopefully it won't be thrown in the same circular file(recycle bin) of previously known(and well documented) requests.

Thus you'll have to decide whether or not to use Patrick's tool or do it manually.

Good luck.
--
...winston
ms-mvp mail

Post by sha
Below is my reply from MSN technical support when I asked how to transfer
--MSN does not provide that feature.
--If I'd like the feature, I need to separately make a suggestion for the
MSN suggestion database - MSN tech support isn't going to take the time to
advise MSN management of this outage and my need.
I do intend to provide my feedback to MSN management on this issue, but not
through the MSN suggestion database. I'm going to contact the Microsoft
executive in charge of MSN and the executive in charge of Internet Explorer
and let them see this non-response.
Microsoft strongly encourages users to download and use IE 8, but not if
they are MSN premium users.
"Thank you for writing to the MSN Premium Technical Support Team. This is
....... and I gather that you want to transfer your MSN Favorites to Internet
Explorer. I understand the importance of resolving your concern. I will be
glad to assist you.
........., please be advised that this feature is not yet available in MSN;
but we consider all of the suggestions and comments sent in by our members,
for your interest in improving MSN is critical to its success. We have
provided a feature so that you can submit feedback and feature requests.
Please provide as much detail as possible and use the feedback form as often
as you like. This feedback is placed in a database used directly by the
product development team. You can be confident that this feedback is actively
monitored to help improve the quality of future releases.
1. Sign in to MSN
2. On the Feedback menu, click 'Send Feedback' then click 'Next
3. Choose the feature that you would like to comment on then click
'Next'
4. Type a detailed message describing the suggested change and its
benefits, click 'Next'. You will be brought to a screen asking if you would
like to comment on another feature. Just repeat steps 3 to 4 if you choose
'Yes'. Otherwise click 'Next.
5. Complete the last part of the feedback form then click 'Next'
We appreciate the opportunity of providing you assistance.
Sincerely,
MSN Premium Technical Support"

[...winston]

None of which are solutions to move MSN Explorer favorites to IE8.

Patrick Philippot's tool is the only method available, and has been for the last 3.5 yrs, unless one wishes to recreate each
favorites manually one at a time.

And yes, alternative solutions are available in lieu of Msn software and partner accounts by continuing to pay for the premium
account and use other available software(OL and the OLConnector, browser) or has the option to change providers and still retain
the account as a free account(may or may not be possible).
--
...winston
ms-mvp mail

My history is similar to Sha's, but I found that Outlook, Outlook Connector, and IE8 performed all the functions that I had
required of MSN Explorer, and that Chrome in place of IE8 works even better! They put so many obstacles in the way of using MSN
Explorer, that only the most hard-core users must be left using it.
Cheers,
Earle

Post by ...winston
Sha,
They(MSn) don't...use Patrick Philppot's tool
http://www.mainsoft.fr/en/downloads.htm
Once unzipped, read the readme.txt file, follow the instructions.
Fyi...your agreement with MSN(Terms of Service) allows MSN to upgrade their software without notice
--
...winston
ms-mvp mail

Thanks for your replies. I was afraid it wasn't going to be simple, but it looks like it is possible to transfer favorites from
MSN explorer to IE8 if you are willing to work hard enough for it. I am going to check with MSN support to see if they have any
simpler alternative.
It would be ironic if MSN explorer has no easy way to migrate bookmarks to IE 8. It's not like IE 8 is produced by a different
vendor. :P
I originally started with MSN dialup, liked the MSN explorer UI (compared to IE6), and when I switched to DSL became a MSN
Premium user. I have stayed with MSN Explorer for a number of years but recently installed IE8 (from IE6). Looks like there are
a lot of useful browser features in IE8 that have far surpassed MSN explorer. Since MSN explorer seems to be based on IE
functionality, I wondered if installing IE8 would change/improve the MSN explorer UI. It doesn't look like it has.
I woke up one day and found MSN had installed version 10 on me with no notice. Version 10 removed my ability to see calendar
entries in the MSN explorer dashboard, which was a nice MSN explorer feature. Support claimed this feature was removed by
version 10 because it wouldnt work with Live Calendar. Since I had been viewing Live Calendar entries in my msn dashboard for
at least 3 months, that explanation holds no water. They just removed the feature and didn't bother to tell me about it. At
least version 10 upgrade didn't make me lose MSN service, which some of the previous MSN upgrades did in the past. Looks like
MS doesn't consider MSN and MSN premium strategic products, which is why they continue to operate under the "MSN Explorer
thrives on mystery approach" which Earle mentioned above. That's too bad in my opinion, because I think there is a demand for
services like MSN and MSN premium. Another indicator of that lack of concern is MSN not publicizing this newsgroup as an aid
for users, and very infrequent participation by Microsoft employees in responding to user questions in these MSN groups.
Thanks again for your replies. I will share what I wind up doing.

[Earle Horton]

What I recommend is to stop using MSN Explorer entirely, preferably I
suppose after extracting all one's favorites and other MSN Explorer specific
information such as e-mail downloaded to local storage. I wouldn't pay for
the premium account, although I did do so at one time, but it is
(grudgingly) supplied by Qwest as part of my subscription now. I can't
think of any reasons to continue to pay for the premium service, considering
the low level of support and development resources that MSFT is investing in
it. I believe that most of the interesting features, except MSN Explorer
access itself, are included in Hotmail Plus for $21.95 a year. Why pay for
MSN Explorer access, when all you get really is MSN Explorer access? I got
my favorites out when that was possible using http://favorites.live.com, but
it sounds as if Philippot's tool is the thing to use now.

MSN is not going to respond to requests to add meaningful features to the
product. I think it took five years for me to get pop3/smtp access, and I
am sure it had nothing to do with my original request for the feature. Sha
is going to wait a very, very long time to get native support for exporting
favorites to IE8.

Earle

Post by ...winston
None of which are solutions to move MSN Explorer favorites to IE8.
Patrick Philippot's tool is the only method available, and has been for
the last 3.5 yrs, unless one wishes to recreate each favorites manually
one at a time.
And yes, alternative solutions are available in lieu of Msn software and
partner accounts by continuing to pay for the premium account and use
other available software(OL and the OLConnector, browser) or has the
option to change providers and still retain the account as a free
account(may or may not be possible).
--
...winston
ms-mvp mail

Post by Earle Horton
My history is similar to Sha's, but I found that Outlook, Outlook
Connector, and IE8 performed all the functions that I had required of MSN
Explorer, and that Chrome in place of IE8 works even better! They put so
many obstacles in the way of using MSN Explorer, that only the most
hard-core users must be left using it.
Cheers,
Earle

Post by ...winston
Sha,
They(MSn) don't...use Patrick Philppot's tool
http://www.mainsoft.fr/en/downloads.htm
Once unzipped, read the readme.txt file, follow the instructions.
Fyi...your agreement with MSN(Terms of Service) allows MSN to upgrade
their software without notice
--
...winston
ms-mvp mail

Post by sha
Thanks for your replies. I was afraid it wasn't going to be simple, but
it looks like it is possible to transfer favorites from MSN explorer to
IE8 if you are willing to work hard enough for it. I am going to check
with MSN support to see if they have any simpler alternative.
It would be ironic if MSN explorer has no easy way to migrate bookmarks
to IE 8. It's not like IE 8 is produced by a different vendor. :P
I originally started with MSN dialup, liked the MSN explorer UI
(compared to IE6), and when I switched to DSL became a MSN Premium
user. I have stayed with MSN Explorer for a number of years but
recently installed IE8 (from IE6). Looks like there are a lot of useful
browser features in IE8 that have far surpassed MSN explorer. Since MSN
explorer seems to be based on IE functionality, I wondered if
installing IE8 would change/improve the MSN explorer UI. It doesn't
look like it has.
I woke up one day and found MSN had installed version 10 on me with no
notice. Version 10 removed my ability to see calendar entries in the
MSN explorer dashboard, which was a nice MSN explorer feature. Support
claimed this feature was removed by version 10 because it wouldnt work
with Live Calendar. Since I had been viewing Live Calendar entries in
my msn dashboard for at least 3 months, that explanation holds no
water. They just removed the feature and didn't bother to tell me about
it. At least version 10 upgrade didn't make me lose MSN service, which
some of the previous MSN upgrades did in the past. Looks like MS
doesn't consider MSN and MSN premium strategic products, which is why
they continue to operate under the "MSN Explorer thrives on mystery
approach" which Earle mentioned above. That's too bad in my opinion,
because I think there is a demand for services like MSN and MSN
premium. Another indicator of that lack of concern is MSN not
publicizing this newsgroup as an aid for users, and very infrequent
participation by Microsoft employees in responding to user questions in
these MSN groups.
Thanks again for your replies. I will share what I wind up doing.

[...winston]

I suspect some dialup and other might not have a chance to completely divorce themselves from the product, thus switching to
something is not 'always available' option.

As far as moving MSN Favorites to IE, Patrick's tool is it and looks like it will remain the only option for the foreseeable future
with Msn 10 not having the ability to do so and not even yet fully deployed.
--
...winston
ms-mvp mail

What I recommend is to stop using MSN Explorer entirely, preferably I suppose after extracting all one's favorites and other MSN
Explorer specific information such as e-mail downloaded to local storage. I wouldn't pay for the premium account, although I did
do so at one time, but it is (grudgingly) supplied by Qwest as part of my subscription now. I can't think of any reasons to
continue to pay for the premium service, considering the low level of support and development resources that MSFT is investing in
it. I believe that most of the interesting features, except MSN Explorer access itself, are included in Hotmail Plus for $21.95
a year. Why pay for MSN Explorer access, when all you get really is MSN Explorer access? I got my favorites out when that was
possible using http://favorites.live.com, but it sounds as if Philippot's tool is the thing to use now.
MSN is not going to respond to requests to add meaningful features to the product. I think it took five years for me to get
pop3/smtp access, and I am sure it had nothing to do with my original request for the feature. Sha is going to wait a very, very
long time to get native support for exporting favorites to IE8.
Earle

Post by ...winston
None of which are solutions to move MSN Explorer favorites to IE8.
Patrick Philippot's tool is the only method available, and has been for the last 3.5 yrs, unless one wishes to recreate each
favorites manually one at a time.
And yes, alternative solutions are available in lieu of Msn software and partner accounts by continuing to pay for the premium
account and use other available software(OL and the OLConnector, browser) or has the option to change providers and still retain
the account as a free account(may or may not be possible).
--
...winston
ms-mvp mail

My history is similar to Sha's, but I found that Outlook, Outlook Connector, and IE8 performed all the functions that I had
required of MSN Explorer, and that Chrome in place of IE8 works even better! They put so many obstacles in the way of using
MSN Explorer, that only the most hard-core users must be left using it.
Cheers,
Earle

Post by ...winston
Sha,
They(MSn) don't...use Patrick Philppot's tool
http://www.mainsoft.fr/en/downloads.htm
Once unzipped, read the readme.txt file, follow the instructions.
Fyi...your agreement with MSN(Terms of Service) allows MSN to upgrade their software without notice
--
...winston
ms-mvp mail

Thanks for your replies. I was afraid it wasn't going to be simple, but it looks like it is possible to transfer favorites
from MSN explorer to IE8 if you are willing to work hard enough for it. I am going to check with MSN support to see if they
have any simpler alternative.
It would be ironic if MSN explorer has no easy way to migrate bookmarks to IE 8. It's not like IE 8 is produced by a
different vendor. :P
I originally started with MSN dialup, liked the MSN explorer UI (compared to IE6), and when I switched to DSL became a MSN
Premium user. I have stayed with MSN Explorer for a number of years but recently installed IE8 (from IE6). Looks like there
are a lot of useful browser features in IE8 that have far surpassed MSN explorer. Since MSN explorer seems to be based on IE
functionality, I wondered if installing IE8 would change/improve the MSN explorer UI. It doesn't look like it has.
I woke up one day and found MSN had installed version 10 on me with no notice. Version 10 removed my ability to see calendar
entries in the MSN explorer dashboard, which was a nice MSN explorer feature. Support claimed this feature was removed by
version 10 because it wouldnt work with Live Calendar. Since I had been viewing Live Calendar entries in my msn dashboard for
at least 3 months, that explanation holds no water. They just removed the feature and didn't bother to tell me about it. At
least version 10 upgrade didn't make me lose MSN service, which some of the previous MSN upgrades did in the past. Looks like
MS doesn't consider MSN and MSN premium strategic products, which is why they continue to operate under the "MSN Explorer
thrives on mystery approach" which Earle mentioned above. That's too bad in my opinion, because I think there is a demand for
services like MSN and MSN premium. Another indicator of that lack of concern is MSN not publicizing this newsgroup as an aid
for users, and very infrequent participation by Microsoft employees in responding to user questions in these MSN groups.
Thanks again for your replies. I will share what I wind up doing.

[Earle Horton]

The first thing I did after obtaining MSN Dialup service six or seven years
ago, was to call customer support and demand from them the magic words to
dial in to their servers without using MSN Explorer. I think it's
"msn/username" and your MSN account password. I then used the service for
years with DirecWay/Hughes dial return satellite service, even though people
at Hughes and MSN had told me it couldn't be done. There is no reason to
use MSN Explorer, unless you like the program. I do like the e-mail client,
but there are just too many problems. Right now, it won't even install on
Windows 7. Those who support and develop MSN are doing so with a serious
personnel and resource shortage. How long did it take to completely fix the
problem of Favorites changes being lost? I think three years. You wouldn't
want to use a program that had that little support.

But hey, I am not against anyone else using the program, if they like it.

Earle

Post by ...winston
I suspect some dialup and other might not have a chance to completely
divorce themselves from the product, thus switching to something is not
'always available' option.
As far as moving MSN Favorites to IE, Patrick's tool is it and looks like
it will remain the only option for the foreseeable future with Msn 10 not
having the ability to do so and not even yet fully deployed.
--
...winston
ms-mvp mail

Post by Earle Horton
What I recommend is to stop using MSN Explorer entirely, preferably I
suppose after extracting all one's favorites and other MSN Explorer
specific information such as e-mail downloaded to local storage. I
wouldn't pay for the premium account, although I did do so at one time,
but it is (grudgingly) supplied by Qwest as part of my subscription now.
I can't think of any reasons to continue to pay for the premium service,
considering the low level of support and development resources that MSFT
is investing in it. I believe that most of the interesting features,
except MSN Explorer access itself, are included in Hotmail Plus for
$21.95 a year. Why pay for MSN Explorer access, when all you get really
is MSN Explorer access? I got my favorites out when that was possible
using http://favorites.live.com, but it sounds as if Philippot's tool is
the thing to use now.
MSN is not going to respond to requests to add meaningful features to the
product. I think it took five years for me to get pop3/smtp access, and
I am sure it had nothing to do with my original request for the feature.
Sha is going to wait a very, very long time to get native support for
exporting favorites to IE8.
Earle

Post by ...winston
None of which are solutions to move MSN Explorer favorites to IE8.
Patrick Philippot's tool is the only method available, and has been for
the last 3.5 yrs, unless one wishes to recreate each favorites manually
one at a time.
And yes, alternative solutions are available in lieu of Msn software and
partner accounts by continuing to pay for the premium account and use
other available software(OL and the OLConnector, browser) or has the
option to change providers and still retain the account as a free
account(may or may not be possible).
--
...winston
ms-mvp mail

Post by Earle Horton
My history is similar to Sha's, but I found that Outlook, Outlook
Connector, and IE8 performed all the functions that I had required of
MSN Explorer, and that Chrome in place of IE8 works even better! They
put so many obstacles in the way of using MSN Explorer, that only the
most hard-core users must be left using it.
Cheers,
Earle

Post by ...winston
Sha,
They(MSn) don't...use Patrick Philppot's tool
http://www.mainsoft.fr/en/downloads.htm
Once unzipped, read the readme.txt file, follow the instructions.
Fyi...your agreement with MSN(Terms of Service) allows MSN to upgrade
their software without notice
--
...winston
ms-mvp mail

Post by sha
Thanks for your replies. I was afraid it wasn't going to be simple,
but it looks like it is possible to transfer favorites from MSN
explorer to IE8 if you are willing to work hard enough for it. I am
going to check with MSN support to see if they have any simpler
alternative.
It would be ironic if MSN explorer has no easy way to migrate
bookmarks to IE 8. It's not like IE 8 is produced by a different
vendor. :P
I originally started with MSN dialup, liked the MSN explorer UI
(compared to IE6), and when I switched to DSL became a MSN Premium
user. I have stayed with MSN Explorer for a number of years but
recently installed IE8 (from IE6). Looks like there are a lot of
useful browser features in IE8 that have far surpassed MSN explorer.
Since MSN explorer seems to be based on IE functionality, I wondered
if installing IE8 would change/improve the MSN explorer UI. It
doesn't look like it has.
I woke up one day and found MSN had installed version 10 on me with
no notice. Version 10 removed my ability to see calendar entries in
the MSN explorer dashboard, which was a nice MSN explorer feature.
Support claimed this feature was removed by version 10 because it
wouldnt work with Live Calendar. Since I had been viewing Live
Calendar entries in my msn dashboard for at least 3 months, that
explanation holds no water. They just removed the feature and didn't
bother to tell me about it. At least version 10 upgrade didn't make
me lose MSN service, which some of the previous MSN upgrades did in
the past. Looks like MS doesn't consider MSN and MSN premium
strategic products, which is why they continue to operate under the
"MSN Explorer thrives on mystery approach" which Earle mentioned
above. That's too bad in my opinion, because I think there is a
demand for services like MSN and MSN premium. Another indicator of
that lack of concern is MSN not publicizing this newsgroup as an aid
for users, and very infrequent participation by Microsoft employees
in responding to user questions in these MSN groups.
Thanks again for your replies. I will share what I wind up doing.

[...winston]

The form of MSN/username has been the norm for dialup connectoids for quite some time(iirc, circa 1997 when pop3 first became
available and coincident with the release of IE4/OE6.
--
...winston
ms-mvp mail

The first thing I did after obtaining MSN Dialup service six or seven years ago, was to call customer support and demand from
them the magic words to dial in to their servers without using MSN Explorer. I think it's "msn/username" and your MSN account
password. I then used the service for years with DirecWay/Hughes dial return satellite service, even though people at Hughes and
MSN had told me it couldn't be done. There is no reason to use MSN Explorer, unless you like the program. I do like the e-mail
client, but there are just too many problems. Right now, it won't even install on Windows 7. Those who support and develop MSN
are doing so with a serious personnel and resource shortage. How long did it take to completely fix the problem of Favorites
changes being lost? I think three years. You wouldn't want to use a program that had that little support.
But hey, I am not against anyone else using the program, if they like it.
Earle

Post by ...winston
I suspect some dialup and other might not have a chance to completely divorce themselves from the product, thus switching to
something is not 'always available' option.
As far as moving MSN Favorites to IE, Patrick's tool is it and looks like it will remain the only option for the foreseeable
future with Msn 10 not having the ability to do so and not even yet fully deployed.
--
...winston
ms-mvp mail

What I recommend is to stop using MSN Explorer entirely, preferably I suppose after extracting all one's favorites and other
MSN Explorer specific information such as e-mail downloaded to local storage. I wouldn't pay for the premium account, although
I did do so at one time, but it is (grudgingly) supplied by Qwest as part of my subscription now. I can't think of any reasons
to continue to pay for the premium service, considering the low level of support and development resources that MSFT is
investing in it. I believe that most of the interesting features, except MSN Explorer access itself, are included in Hotmail
Plus for $21.95 a year. Why pay for MSN Explorer access, when all you get really is MSN Explorer access? I got my favorites
out when that was possible using http://favorites.live.com, but it sounds as if Philippot's tool is the thing to use now.
MSN is not going to respond to requests to add meaningful features to the product. I think it took five years for me to get
pop3/smtp access, and I am sure it had nothing to do with my original request for the feature. Sha is going to wait a very,
very long time to get native support for exporting favorites to IE8.
Earle

Post by ...winston
None of which are solutions to move MSN Explorer favorites to IE8.
Patrick Philippot's tool is the only method available, and has been for the last 3.5 yrs, unless one wishes to recreate each
favorites manually one at a time.
And yes, alternative solutions are available in lieu of Msn software and partner accounts by continuing to pay for the premium
account and use other available software(OL and the OLConnector, browser) or has the option to change providers and still
retain the account as a free account(may or may not be possible).
--
...winston
ms-mvp mail

My history is similar to Sha's, but I found that Outlook, Outlook Connector, and IE8 performed all the functions that I had
required of MSN Explorer, and that Chrome in place of IE8 works even better! They put so many obstacles in the way of using
MSN Explorer, that only the most hard-core users must be left using it.
Cheers,
Earle

Post by ...winston
Sha,
They(MSn) don't...use Patrick Philppot's tool
http://www.mainsoft.fr/en/downloads.htm
Once unzipped, read the readme.txt file, follow the instructions.
Fyi...your agreement with MSN(Terms of Service) allows MSN to upgrade their software without notice
--
...winston
ms-mvp mail

Thanks for your replies. I was afraid it wasn't going to be simple, but it looks like it is possible to transfer favorites
from MSN explorer to IE8 if you are willing to work hard enough for it. I am going to check with MSN support to see if they
have any simpler alternative.
It would be ironic if MSN explorer has no easy way to migrate bookmarks to IE 8. It's not like IE 8 is produced by a
different vendor. :P
I originally started with MSN dialup, liked the MSN explorer UI (compared to IE6), and when I switched to DSL became a MSN
Premium user. I have stayed with MSN Explorer for a number of years but recently installed IE8 (from IE6). Looks like there
are a lot of useful browser features in IE8 that have far surpassed MSN explorer. Since MSN explorer seems to be based on
IE functionality, I wondered if installing IE8 would change/improve the MSN explorer UI. It doesn't look like it has.
I woke up one day and found MSN had installed version 10 on me with no notice. Version 10 removed my ability to see
calendar entries in the MSN explorer dashboard, which was a nice MSN explorer feature. Support claimed this feature was
removed by version 10 because it wouldnt work with Live Calendar. Since I had been viewing Live Calendar entries in my msn
dashboard for at least 3 months, that explanation holds no water. They just removed the feature and didn't bother to tell
me about it. At least version 10 upgrade didn't make me lose MSN service, which some of the previous MSN upgrades did in
the past. Looks like MS doesn't consider MSN and MSN premium strategic products, which is why they continue to operate
under the "MSN Explorer thrives on mystery approach" which Earle mentioned above. That's too bad in my opinion, because I
think there is a demand for services like MSN and MSN premium. Another indicator of that lack of concern is MSN not
publicizing this newsgroup as an aid for users, and very infrequent participation by Microsoft employees in responding to
user questions in these MSN groups.
Thanks again for your replies. I will share what I wind up doing.

[Earle Horton]

Well afaik MSN/user is all you would really need to divorce yourself from
the MSN product line, while keeping your reliable MSN Dialup connection. I
used their service for years, and no complaints there. I now use Qwest/MSN
DSL, and no complaints with the service there either. My only complaint is
that they initially led me to believe that MSN Explorer was something that
enjoyed an acceptable level of product support, or that was necessary to
have it to use their service, and it is not. Still getting 235 errors on
Windows 7 trying to install MSN Explorer.

When I first subscribed to MSN it was probably 2002 or thereabouts, and
everything was shrouded in mystery. In your network connections window
there was an MSN icon that didn't even have properties. I needed tunneling
to use DirecWay, and so it was completely useless until the phone call. I
don't read zines all the time and so I didn't know what the "norms" were.
Other ISPs that I had used didn't use that one.

MSN Dialup really is a reliable service. They have eight local numbers I
can use from this remote location (zip 81433) and they are not going out of
business all the time like your local Mom and Pop outfits. They charge
$21.95 monthly and tend to be a dollar or two more than other vendors, but
maybe you get something for that extra dollar. Don't be penny wise and
pound foolish.

Earle

Post by ...winston
The form of MSN/username has been the norm for dialup connectoids for
quite some time(iirc, circa 1997 when pop3 first became available and
coincident with the release of IE4/OE6.
--
...winston
ms-mvp mail

Post by Earle Horton
The first thing I did after obtaining MSN Dialup service six or seven
years ago, was to call customer support and demand from them the magic
words to dial in to their servers without using MSN Explorer. I think
it's "msn/username" and your MSN account password. I then used the
service for years with DirecWay/Hughes dial return satellite service,
even though people at Hughes and MSN had told me it couldn't be done.
There is no reason to use MSN Explorer, unless you like the program. I
do like the e-mail client, but there are just too many problems. Right
now, it won't even install on Windows 7. Those who support and develop
MSN are doing so with a serious personnel and resource shortage. How
long did it take to completely fix the problem of Favorites changes being
lost? I think three years. You wouldn't want to use a program that had
that little support.
But hey, I am not against anyone else using the program, if they like it.
Earle

Post by ...winston
I suspect some dialup and other might not have a chance to completely
divorce themselves from the product, thus switching to something is not
'always available' option.
As far as moving MSN Favorites to IE, Patrick's tool is it and looks
like it will remain the only option for the foreseeable future with Msn
10 not having the ability to do so and not even yet fully deployed.
--
...winston
ms-mvp mail

Post by Earle Horton
What I recommend is to stop using MSN Explorer entirely, preferably I
suppose after extracting all one's favorites and other MSN Explorer
specific information such as e-mail downloaded to local storage. I
wouldn't pay for the premium account, although I did do so at one time,
but it is (grudgingly) supplied by Qwest as part of my subscription
now. I can't think of any reasons to continue to pay for the premium
service, considering the low level of support and development resources
that MSFT is investing in it. I believe that most of the interesting
features, except MSN Explorer access itself, are included in Hotmail
Plus for $21.95 a year. Why pay for MSN Explorer access, when all you
get really is MSN Explorer access? I got my favorites out when that
was possible using http://favorites.live.com, but it sounds as if
Philippot's tool is the thing to use now.
MSN is not going to respond to requests to add meaningful features to
the product. I think it took five years for me to get pop3/smtp
access, and I am sure it had nothing to do with my original request for
the feature. Sha is going to wait a very, very long time to get native
support for exporting favorites to IE8.
Earle

Post by ...winston
None of which are solutions to move MSN Explorer favorites to IE8.
Patrick Philippot's tool is the only method available, and has been
for the last 3.5 yrs, unless one wishes to recreate each favorites
manually one at a time.
And yes, alternative solutions are available in lieu of Msn software
and partner accounts by continuing to pay for the premium account and
use other available software(OL and the OLConnector, browser) or has
the option to change providers and still retain the account as a free
account(may or may not be possible).
--
...winston
ms-mvp mail

Post by Earle Horton
My history is similar to Sha's, but I found that Outlook, Outlook
Connector, and IE8 performed all the functions that I had required of
MSN Explorer, and that Chrome in place of IE8 works even better!
They put so many obstacles in the way of using MSN Explorer, that
only the most hard-core users must be left using it.
Cheers,
Earle

Post by ...winston
Sha,
They(MSn) don't...use Patrick Philppot's tool
http://www.mainsoft.fr/en/downloads.htm
Once unzipped, read the readme.txt file, follow the instructions.
Fyi...your agreement with MSN(Terms of Service) allows MSN to
upgrade their software without notice
--
...winston
ms-mvp mail

Post by sha
Thanks for your replies. I was afraid it wasn't going to be simple,
but it looks like it is possible to transfer favorites from MSN
explorer to IE8 if you are willing to work hard enough for it. I am
going to check with MSN support to see if they have any simpler
alternative.
It would be ironic if MSN explorer has no easy way to migrate
bookmarks to IE 8. It's not like IE 8 is produced by a different
vendor. :P
I originally started with MSN dialup, liked the MSN explorer UI
(compared to IE6), and when I switched to DSL became a MSN Premium
user. I have stayed with MSN Explorer for a number of years but
recently installed IE8 (from IE6). Looks like there are a lot of
useful browser features in IE8 that have far surpassed MSN
explorer. Since MSN explorer seems to be based on IE functionality,
I wondered if installing IE8 would change/improve the MSN explorer
UI. It doesn't look like it has.
I woke up one day and found MSN had installed version 10 on me with
no notice. Version 10 removed my ability to see calendar entries in
the MSN explorer dashboard, which was a nice MSN explorer feature.
Support claimed this feature was removed by version 10 because it
wouldnt work with Live Calendar. Since I had been viewing Live
Calendar entries in my msn dashboard for at least 3 months, that
explanation holds no water. They just removed the feature and
didn't bother to tell me about it. At least version 10 upgrade
didn't make me lose MSN service, which some of the previous MSN
upgrades did in the past. Looks like MS doesn't consider MSN and
MSN premium strategic products, which is why they continue to
operate under the "MSN Explorer thrives on mystery approach" which
Earle mentioned above. That's too bad in my opinion, because I
think there is a demand for services like MSN and MSN premium.
Another indicator of that lack of concern is MSN not publicizing
this newsgroup as an aid for users, and very infrequent
participation by Microsoft employees in responding to user
questions in these MSN groups.
Thanks again for your replies. I will share what I wind up doing.