Add and Edit Gnome File Manager Bookmarks in Ubuntu 22.04

The Gnome Files or Nautilus is easy to use, clutter-free and simple-looking file manager which comes as the default file manager for Gnome desktops. It has many features starting from basic features like copy-pasting, icon zooming, bookmarks and one-click file opening to advanced features like attaching remote network storage locations to the Gnome file manager even without installing additional plugins or tools. Besides those things, one little feature the Gnome file manager lacks is the inability to edit the location of bookmarks. That is right, the Gnome file manager let you edit the bookmark name, but not the location.

If you want to edit the location of a bookmark, you will need to remove the bookmark and add it again with the updated location. So let’s see how to edit Gnome file manager bookmarks without recreating them.

Fortunately, the bookmarks in the Gnome file manager are stored in a configuration file. We can use it to edit the locations or re-arrange the order of bookmarks.

First, open the Gnome file manager.

Then click the three lines hamburger icon at the top of the window and check “Show Hidden Files” if you have not already done it. Now you will be able to see hidden files.

Go to the .config/gtk-3.0 directory in your home directory and then there you will see a file called bookmarks. Open it using any text editor.

Now you will see the default bookmarks list for the directories in your home directory. If you have already created bookmarks, they will also appear at the bottom of this bookmarks file.

Add Or Edit Bookmarks in Gnome File Manager

You do not need to edit the bookmarks file if you just need to add bookmarks. Instead, you can simply go to the required directory using the Gnome file manager and press the [Ctrl] + [D] keys at the same time. However, if you need to do it manually, you can add path locations to the bookmarks file as well.

When you manually add or edit a path location to a directory, make sure to add file:// prefix into the full path location. If you add or edit a remote SSH location, make sure to add sftp:// prefix so it should be looking something like sftp://user@host:port/directory.

Add A File As A Bookmark In Gnome File Manager

Usually, we use Gnome file manager bookmarks to quickly access a local or remote location. But if you have a particular file which is frequently required, you can bookmark that file as well. Just add the full path of that file name into the bookmarks file in the .config/gtk-3.0 directory. Now when you click that bookmark, Gnome file manager will follow the path and select the bookmarked file.

Use Aliases For Bookmarks In Gnome File Manager (Renaming Bookmarks)

Again, you can use the rename feature in the GUI (Graphical User Interface) of the Gnome file manager to do this. However, if you need you can do it manually as well. Open the bookmarks file in the .config/gtk-3.0 directory and add the bookmark as usual. Then put a space and mention the bookmark name that you needed like below.

Once you saved the bookmark file, your custom-renamed bookmark will appear in the bookmarks list.