How to Import Bookmarks From Internet Explorer to Chrome

Internet Explorer has been retired since 2022, so on a current Windows PC, Chrome usually will not list it as an import source. The dependable route is to get your old favorites into an HTML file first, then import that file into Chrome. If you still have a machine where Internet Explorer opens, the export takes a moment; if not, your favorites still live on disk and can be recovered.

First: where your Internet Explorer favorites live

Internet Explorer stored each favorite as a small shortcut file, not in one database. They sit in your user Favorites folder, normally at:

C:\Users\YourName\Favorites

Subfolders there mirror the folder structure you saw in the browser. This matters for two reasons: it is your backup, and it is the source you will turn into an HTML file. Copy this whole folder somewhere safe before you do anything else.

Export favorites to an HTML file (if IE still opens)

On a machine where Internet Explorer still launches, use its built-in export wizard:

1. Open Internet Explorer.
2. Click the star (Favorites) button, then the arrow next to Add to favorites.
3. Choose Import and export.
4. Select Export to a file, then Next.
5. Tick Favorites, leave the top-level Favorites folder selected to include everything, then Next.
6. Choose where to save the HTML file, then Export and Finish.

You now have one HTML file holding your full favorites tree.

If Internet Explorer no longer opens

On modern Windows, Internet Explorer may not launch at all. You still have the shortcut files in C:\Users\YourName\Favorites. The cleanest way to turn them into an importable file is to bring them into a browser that can export HTML. Microsoft Edge can read the old Internet Explorer favorites and then export them, and our guide to exporting bookmarks from Edge walks through producing that HTML file. Once you have the HTML file, the Chrome import below is the same.

Import the HTML file into Chrome

With an HTML file in hand, switch to Chrome:

1. Open Chrome and click More (the three dots, top right).
2. Choose Bookmarks and lists, then Import bookmarks and settings.
3. In the dropdown, select Bookmarks HTML File.
4. Click Choose file, pick your exported file, and click Open.
5. Click Done.

If a machine still has Internet Explorer installed, that same dropdown may also list Microsoft Internet Explorer directly; choosing it and ticking Favorites/Bookmarks imports without a file. Either way, Chrome rebuilds your folders. If Chrome already held bookmarks, the imported set lands in the Other bookmarks folder (on Chromebooks, a folder named Imported); if not, they go onto the bookmarks bar.

Check and tidy the result

Open Bookmark Manager with Ctrl+Shift+O and confirm the import:

• The Other bookmarks folder (or the bar) holds your favorites.
• Folders appear nested as they were in Internet Explorer.
• Counts roughly match the originals.

Old favorites collections tend to carry dead links and duplicates. After importing, sort a folder by name with the three-dot menu's Sort by name option, then remove obvious duplicates once you confirm the URLs match. Our guide to removing duplicate bookmarks covers doing that without losing anything you meant to keep.

Keep a copy of the migrated set

Migrating from a retired browser is usually a one-time effort you would not want to repeat. Once the favorites are in Chrome, a backup is worth a moment. TrueBookmark can save a versioned backup of the imported collection and flag duplicates across the whole library, so the bookmarks you just rescued stay recoverable and tidy.