What is an AO3 bookmark?
An AO3 bookmark is a record of a work you want to remember, find more easily, or record a note about. Bookmarks created on the Archive can also serve as recommendations to other users.
Bookmarks are different from subscriptions. For information on the difference between bookmarks and subscriptions, please refer to What is the difference between bookmarks, "Mark for Later", and subscriptions? If you want to be updated when a particular user posts a new work, check out How do I subscribe to, or unsubscribe from, a user?
For more information on how bookmarking works on the Archive, refer to What can I bookmark?
What can I bookmark?
Any work or series posted on the Archive can be bookmarked. You can also create bookmarks for works posted on external websites.
For more information on how to create bookmarks, refer to How do I bookmark a work on the Archive? and How do I bookmark a work not posted on the Archive?
How do I bookmark a work on the Archive?
Works on the Archive can be bookmarked using the "Bookmark" button. When using the default site skin, the "Bookmark" button is located at the top and bottom of the work's page. For a series, the "Bookmark Series" button is located at the top of the series' page.
The creator's description and tags are added to the bookmark automatically. You can also add your own personal notes or tags for the work. The notes can be anything, such as brief reviews or reminders to yourself. Tags can be used to make your bookmarks easier to sort and filter. For more information on tagging bookmarks, visit How should I tag my bookmarks?
Enter any optional information you want recorded on the bookmark. If you have multiple pseuds, you can change which pseud the bookmark belongs to from the menu at the top of the bookmark section. Your default pseud is selected automatically. For further information on pseuds, please refer to the Pseuds FAQ.
To add a bookmark to an existing collection, start entering the name of the desired collection in the "Add to collections" field, and then select it from the list. For more information, check out the Collections FAQ.
Bookmarks can be marked as private. If you mark a bookmark as private, no one other than you can access it. Even the creator of the work will only know that a bookmark was added—they won't know who bookmarked the work, or any comments or tags they have included. When accessing your bookmarks, any that have been marked as private will display with a lock icon on the blurb. For more information, please refer to How do I manage who can access my bookmarks?
You can also mark a bookmark as a Rec (Recommendation). If you mark a bookmark as a Rec, it will be included in search results when a user searches for Recs. When viewing bookmarks, any that have been marked as a Rec will display with a heart icon on the blurb. For more information about Recs, please refer to What is the difference between a bookmark and a Rec?
If you mark a bookmark as both Private and a Rec, only the lock icon will be displayed, and the Rec will not be visible in search results. Therefore, if you would like to make a bookmark available as a Rec, it is best to make it a public bookmark. A bookmark that is not marked as Private or a Rec will appear in your bookmarks and be visible to others when they browse your Bookmarks.
After choosing your desired settings for the bookmark, select the "Create" button to create your new bookmark.
How do I bookmark a work not posted on the Archive?
External works can be bookmarked by following the "My Bookmarks" link under the "Hi, [username]!" menu at the top of any Archive page. From your Bookmarks page, select the "Bookmark External Work" button, located at the upper right of the page when using the default skin.
If you have multiple pseuds, you can change which pseud the bookmark belongs to from the menu at the top of the bookmark section. Your default pseud is selected automatically. For further information on pseuds, please refer to the Pseuds FAQ.
Information recorded in the next two sections (External Work and Creator's Tags) cannot be changed after the bookmark is created.
In the External Work section, there are fields for the work's URL, the creator's name, and the title of the work. These fields are required. You can also add the creator's original description in the "Creator's Summary" field if you wish.
In the Creator's Tags section, you can record information about the work from the creator, such as the work rating and category, as well as relationship and character tags. You must enter at least one fandom tag in the "Fandoms" field. If a desired tag does not yet exist on the Archive, you can create it by entering it in the appropriate field. Please refer to Why isn't a tag I want to use in the Archive already? or the Tags FAQ for further information on how to create tags.
In the Write Comments section, you can add your personal notes and tags for the work. You can also add this bookmark to an existing collection within the Archive. For information on how to do this, please refer to How do I make a collection of bookmarks?
Lastly, in the Choose Type and Post section, you can mark the bookmark as Private and/or a Rec (Recommendation). For more information on these options, please refer to How do I manage who can access my bookmarks? and What is the difference between a bookmark and a Rec?
Make sure to review the External Work and Creator's Tags sections, as the information there cannot be changed after the bookmark is created. Then, when you're done filling in the form, select the "Create" button to save the bookmark.
If you decide not to create the bookmark, selecting the "My Bookmarks" button will take you back to your Bookmarks page without creating the bookmark.
What is the External Bookmarks Bookmarklet and how does it work?
The AO3 External Bookmarks Bookmarklet is a JavaScript link that you can add to your browser bookmarks. It can be accessed on the Bookmark an External Work page, which is available by following the "My Bookmarks" link under the "Hi, [username]!" menu at the top of any Archive page. From your Bookmarks page, select the "Bookmark External Work" button, located at the upper right of the page when using the default skin.
The bookmarklet lets you quickly create Archive bookmarks for works which are posted on another site. When you select the bookmarklet while viewing a work on another site, it launches the Bookmark an External Work page with some information automatically filled in about the work (where possible). You will need to be logged in to your Archive account to use the bookmarklet.
Adding bookmarklets is handled differently by each browser. Most browsers can add the bookmarklet to your bookmarks or favorites bar, just like any other bookmark or favorite, and all you have to do is select it to run it. To find out how to add the bookmarklet in your browser, consult the browser's help files.
For more information on bookmarking an external work, or to learn how to get to the New External Work page, please refer to How do I bookmark a work not posted on the Archive?
How do I edit a bookmark?
There are two ways to edit a bookmark: directly from the bookmarked work or series, or from your Bookmarks page.
When you are on the page of a work or series that you have bookmarked, there will be an "Edit Bookmark" button at the top and bottom of the work, or the top of a series page. Selecting that button will direct you to the bookmark form, where you can make your desired changes.
When editing from your Bookmarks page, first find the bookmark you want to edit. (The Bookmarks page can be accessed from the "Hi, [username]!" menu.) Select the "Edit" button under the "Bookmarked by [username/pseud]" statement. This will display a form similar to the bookmark creation form, where you can modify the bookmark as desired. For information on how to access your Bookmarks page, please refer to How can I access my bookmarks?
How do I delete a bookmark?
You can delete bookmarks from your Bookmarks page:
- When you're logged in, select "My Bookmarks" from the "Hi, [username]!" menu at the top of the page.
- From your Bookmarks page, find the bookmark you want to delete. Note the following:
- Your Bookmarks page can be sorted and filtered, just like any set of results on AO3, using the Sort and Filter form at the side of the page. On a mobile device, select "Filters" to access the form.
- Depending on how many bookmarks you have, your bookmarks may run to multiple pages. The bookmark you are looking for might not be on the first page displayed.
- Select the "Delete" button under the "Bookmarked by [username/pseud]" statement.
- You will be prompted to confirm the deletion of the bookmark, with a dialog box asking, "Are you sure you want to delete this bookmark?"
- If you select "OK", the bookmark will be deleted and the page will refresh with a "Bookmark was successfully deleted." message at the top.
- If you select "Cancel", the bookmark will not be deleted.
You must do this for all the bookmarks you wish to delete. At the moment, it is not possible to delete multiple bookmarks at once.
If you want to keep your bookmark but change its properties, you can refer to How do I edit a bookmark?
How can I access my bookmarks?
When you're logged in, select "My Bookmarks" from the "Hi, [username]!" menu at the top of the page. If you're on your Dashboard, you can also choose "Bookmarks" in the navigation sidebar (found at the top of the page when you're using a mobile device).
How can I find other users' bookmarks?
You can find other users' bookmarks in several ways: by searching, by browsing, or from other users' Dashboards.
You can search for bookmarks by selecting the "Bookmarks" option from the "Search" menu at the top of the page in the default skin. You can enter the term you're looking for in the "Any Field" section, which will search for the term in all fields. You can narrow down your bookmark search by adding terms or search criteria in the other fields.
You can browse the latest bookmarks by selecting the "Bookmarks" option from the "Browse" menu at the top of the page in the default skin. This will display the 20 most recently created bookmarks. Alternatively, you can follow the "Bookmarks" link on any list of works. Following an Archive tag will display a list of all bookmarks of works that are associated with that tag.
To get to a user's Dashboard, you can do one of the following:
- Do a People Search by selecting the "People" option from the "Search" menu at the top of the page in the default skin. Enter the person's username/pseud or part of their username/pseud in the search field, and select from the search results.
- Select the user's linked name—this can be on one of their works or comments on another work, or perhaps another bookmark.
You can then select the "Bookmarks" link from the navigation sidebar (found at the top of the page when you're using a mobile device).
For more information on searching for bookmarks that have been marked as Recs by other users, check out How do I search for Recs?
What is the difference between bookmarks, "Mark for Later", and subscriptions?
The Archive's Bookmarks feature allows you to access works at a later date, but also lets you provide Recs or lists of works to other users who might be interested in similar works as you, unless you choose to make them private. For more information on how to make bookmarks private, please go to How do I manage who can access my bookmarks?
Unlike a bookmark, your Marked for Later list is available only to you, accessible via the History page on your Dashboard. You can flag works as "Marked for Later" if you want to return to them another time, without necessarily creating a separate bookmark. For more information on how the Marked for Later feature works, go to the History and Mark for Later FAQ.
Your Subscriptions are also not available to other users. Subscriptions alert you to new works or chapters of works. To learn more about Subscriptions, please refer to the Subscriptions and Feeds FAQ.
What is the difference between a bookmark and a Rec (Recommendation)?
Recs are a subset of Bookmarks. Marking a bookmark as a Rec indicates that the work is recommended by the user.
To mark a bookmark as a rec, select the "Rec" checkbox when creating or editing your bookmark. When viewing bookmarks, any that have been marked as Recs will display with a heart icon on the blurb. Your bookmark will also be included in search results when a user searches for Recs. Please refer to How do I search for Recs? for more information on this topic.
How do I search for Recs?
Recs are a subset of bookmarks. The difference between bookmarks and Recs is explained in What is the difference between a bookmark and a Rec?
To search for Recs, select the "Bookmarks" option from the "Search" menu at the top of the page in the default skin. On the Bookmark Search page, check the "Rec" checkbox when entering your search criteria. This will limit the search results to bookmarks marked "Rec".
To search for Recs while browsing an individual user's bookmarks, select the "Recs Only" checkbox in the Sort and Filter form, at the side of the page (which can be accessed by selecting the "Filters" button on a mobile device), and then select the "Sort and Filter" button.
For more information on how to search for or find other users' bookmarks, refer to How can I find other users' bookmarks? For more information on searching and browsing, please refer to the Search and Browse FAQ.
How do I manage who can access my bookmarks?
By default, a bookmark is public and can be accessed by anyone. To make a bookmark private, select the "Private bookmark" checkbox when creating or editing the bookmark. If you mark a bookmark as private, no one but you can access it. Bookmarks that have been marked as private will display with a lock icon on the blurb.
For more information on editing bookmarks, please refer to How do I edit a bookmark?
How do I make a collection of bookmarks?
To add a bookmark to a collection, the collection must already exist. For more on creating a collection, refer to How do I create a collection?
You can add a bookmark to a collection when you are creating or editing the bookmark. Begin entering the name of the collection(s) in the "Add to collections" field. An autocomplete list of collection names will appear for you to choose from. Select the desired collection from the list, and then select "Edit" or "Create". For more information on editing bookmarks, please refer to How do I edit a bookmark?
If you wish to learn more about collections, refer to the Collections FAQ.
Where can I get more information if my question isn't answered here?
Some frequently asked questions about the Archive are answered in other sections of the Archive FAQ, and some common terminology is defined in our Glossary. Questions and answers about our Terms of Service can be found in the Terms of Service FAQ. You may also like to check out our Known Issues. If you need more help, please submit a Support request.