Show Bookmarks Menu in Safari

Michael Graubart · Mar 5, 2016

Apologies for being naive, but I have just moved up to an iPhone 5s and am having trouble with Safari. I used to have the Bookmarks Menu visible, but I seem now to have done something that I cannot reverse and now I cannot get the Bookmarks Menu back. Please help!

J. A. · Mar 5, 2016

The icon for your bookmarks looks like this in Safari:

When you tap it, you'll find your favorites, as well as all the other bookmarks you saved.

Michael Graubart · Mar 5, 2016

Thanks v. much, J.A., and I apologise for occupying so much of your time —with this and with my other, iCloud, problems. But my problem with the bookmarks was that the icon (which I know well) had disappeared, along with the other one or two icons in that bar at the bottom of the screen, and I could not get it back. Somehow, after much manipulating, I have now got it back, but I do not know how I managed that and am worried that if I lose it again, I shall not be able to get it back yet again.

J. A. · Mar 5, 2016

I'm glad the icon appeared again.

If this happens once more, try the usual fixes:
Force close Safari, restart your iPhone, and reboot your device. This should help getting it back.

Michael Graubart · Mar 9, 2016

And it's disappeared again! But I don't think this represents something gone wrong that needs 'the usual fixes': it's just something I don't understand. I attach a screen-shot of Safari as it now appears: no bar at the bottom with the bookmarks icon. If I put something into the search bar at the top, I can make the bottom bar appear; but that seems rather clumsy. Is there not a simple, direct way of making it appear?

J. A. · Mar 9, 2016

Did you also try tapping at the bottom of the screen, where the toolbar should usually be?

Michael Graubart · Mar 10, 2016

At the bottom of the screen I see '123' (which changes the keyboard to a numeric one); a globe (which changes to an alternative alphabetic keyboard or to emoticons); a curious icon somewhat like a candlestick, which hides the keyboard; 'space'; period; and 'Go', which does nothing, of course, unless an URL has been entered at the top. Tapping on any of these does not restore the bottom toolbar.

Tapping on one of the large, highlighted, square icons of popular websites further up on the screen enters its URL in the top bar, and then the toolbar appears at the bottom. But (as I suggested in my last post) that seems a clumsy, roundabout way of restoring the toolbar. After all, one wants access to the bookmark menu before one enters an URL. Is there no other way?

I have another, unrelated question. But I shall ask that in a separate post.

J. A. · Mar 10, 2016

Without the keyboard, at the bottom of Safari's page, that's what I meant.

Michael Graubart · Mar 10, 2016

J. A. said:
Without the keyboard, at the bottom of Safari's page, that's what I meant.
View attachment 25290

The only way I can get rid of the keyboard (other than by entering an URL in the upper search bar) is by swiping up on the upper half of the screen. When I do that, I am left with the big, square icons — and no keyboard — but tapping anywhere does nothing further.