Profile Folder: Difference between revisions

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If you don't want to go though all that, though, there are a some [[Browser will not start up|other things you can try]] first that might save the old profile.
If you don't want to go though all that, though, there are a some [[Browser will not start up|other things you can try]] first that might save the old profile.


==What is in my profile?==
==Files and folders in the profile==
[http://www.gemal.dk/mozilla/files.html gemal.dk] has a useful listing of files in a Mozilla Suite profile, as do the [http://www.mozilla.org/releases/mozilla1.7.11/installation.html#files Mozilla Suite Release Notes] and the [http://www.mozilla.org/start/1.5/faq/profile.html Profile FAQ]. Some of the important ones are listed below. Not all of these files will be found in a Firefox or Thunderbird profile: Firefox will not include the mail- and news-specific files, and Thunderbird will not include the browser-specific files.


To edit these files, it is highly recommended that you use built-in user interfaces (Bookmark Manager, Cookie Manager, etc.), when possible. See also: [[Editing configuration| Editing your configuration files]].
Note: it's not recommended to edit these files directly. Instead, use their respective interfaces.


{| border="1" cellpadding="5" rules="all"
===Folders===
! Folder !! Description
{| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #fcfcfc; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse;"
!Name
!Application
!Description
|-
|-
|valign="top"| Mail<br>ImapMail<br>News || Each of your mail/news accounts will have its own subfolder inside the Mail, ImapMail or News folder in the profile folder, and your data will be stored in this subfolder unless otherwise configured (in Thunderbird you can use the [[Global Inbox]] feature to have your mail stored in [[Local Folders]] instead). Note that the *.msf files are index files and '''do not''' contain your actual messages. For instance, if you see an "Inbox" and an "Inbox.msf", the file containing the messages is "Inbox".
| Cache
| Firefox, Mozilla Suite
| Cached Internet files. You can't open these files directly, use [[About protocol links | about:cache]]
|-
| chrome
| Firefox, Thunderbird, Mozilla Suite
|
|-
| extensions
| Firefox, Thunderbird, Mozilla Suite
| Installed extensions
|-
| ImapMail
| Mozilla Suite, Thunderbird
| Mail from IMAP sources
|-
| Mail
| Mozilla Suite, Thunderbird
| Mail from POP sources and Local Folders
|-
| News
| Mozilla Suite, Thunderbird
| News from newsgroups
|-
| searchplugins
| Firefox
|
|}
|}
<br>
 
-----
===Files===
<br>
{| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #fcfcfc; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse;"
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" rules="all"
! Name
! File !! Description
! Application
! Description
|-
| .parentlock (MacOS X)
| Firefox, Mozilla Suite, Thunderbird
| See parent.lock
|-
| abook.mab
| Mozilla Suite, Thunderbird
| Personal Address Book
|-
| bookmarks.bak
| Firefox, Mozilla Suite
| Backup of bookmarks.html
|-
| bookmarks.html
| Firefox, Mozilla Suite
| Bookmarks
|-
| cert8.db
| Firefox, Mozilla Suite, Thunderbird
| Security certificates
|-
| compatibility.ini
| Firefox, Thunderbird
|
|-
| components.ini
| Firefox, Thunderbird
|
|-
| compreg.dat
| Firefox, Thunderbird
|
|-
| cookies.txt
| Firefox, Mozilla Suite
| [[Cookies]]
|-
| defaults.ini
| Firefox, Thunderbird
|
|-
| downloads.rdf
| Firefox, Thunderbird
| Download history
|-
| extensions.cache
| Firefox
|
|-
| extensions.ini
| Firefox
|
|-
| extensions.rdf
| Firefox
| Installed extension information
|-
| extensions-startup.manifest
| Firefox
|
|-
| formhistory.dat
| Firefox
| Saved form data
|-
| key3.db
| Firefox, Mozilla Suite, Thunderbird
|
|-
| history.dat
| Firefox
| Browsing history
|-
| history.mab
| Firefox, Mozilla Suite
| Collected Addresses
|-
|-
|valign="top"| somenumber.s ||  Password data file (replaced by signons.txt in Firefox).  The  "somenumber.s" filename is set in the prefs.js "signon.SignonFileName" preference, for example:  user_pref("signon.SignonFileName", "12345678.s");
| hostperm.1
| Firefox, Mozilla Suite
| Per-site preferences for allowing [[cookies]] and popups.
|-
|-
|valign="top"| somenumber.w || Fill Form data file.   
| localstore.rdf
| Firefox, Thunderbird
| Toolbar and window positioning/sizing settings
|-
|-
|valign="top"| abook.mab<br>history.mab || These are the default address books created by Mozilla Suite/Thunderbird: abook.mab is the Personal Address Book and history.mab is Collected Addresses. Other address books that you create will likewise have the .mab extension.
| lock (Linux)
| Firefox, Mozilla Suite, Thunderbird
| See parent.lock
|-
|-
|valign="top"| bookmarks.html<br>bookmarks.bak || This is where bookmarks are stored.  This includes [[Using keyword searches | keyword searches]], update alerts, and the bookmarks on your personal toolbar.  Since the bookmarks are stored in HTML, you can view this file in a browser and see your bookmarks in a hierarchical tree-like view.
| mimeTypes.rdf
| Firefox, Mozilla Suite, Thunderbird
| Action to perform when downloading certain types of files
|-
|-
|valign="top"| cert8.db || Client Certificate database
| msgFilterRules.dat in ImapMail, Mail, News
| Mozilla Suite, Thunderbird
| Message filters
|-
|-
|valign="top"| [[Cookies|cookies.txt]] || This is where all of your cookies are stored.  This includes login information, session data, preferences, and things of that nature.
| panacea.dat
| Thunderbird
|
|-
|-
|valign="top"| cookperm.txt || This is where all of your preferences are stored as far as what sites are allowed to set cookies and which ones aren't, as well as which domains can display images, and which sites can display popups. Replaced by hostperm.1
| parent.lock (Windows)
| Firefox, Mozilla Suite, Thunderbird
| Marker showing that the current [[profile in use || profile is in use]]
|-
|-
|valign="top"| hostperm.1 || Replaces cookperm.txt. Includes per-site preferences for cookie/popup whitelisting.
| popstate.dat in Mail
| Mozilla Suite, Thunderbird
| Keeps track of which messages have been downloaded from the server
|-
|-
|valign="top"| key3.db || Key database.
| prefs.js |
| Firefox, Mozilla Suite, Thunderbird
| All preferences. See: [[about:config]]
|-
|-
|valign="top"| msgFilterRules.dat || Contains the message filter definitions for a single mail account. Each account will have its own msgFilterRules.dat file, kept together with the mail files for that account, by default in the account subfolder in the Mail or ImapMail folder in the profile folder.
| search.rdf
| Firefox
|
|-
|-
|valign="top"| mimeTypes.rdf || Defines recognized MIME-types for Helper Applications.
| secmod.db
| Firefox, Thunderbird
|
|-
|-
|valign="top"| parent.lock<br>lock<br>.parentlock || This empty file tells Mozilla Suite (or Firefox/Thunderbird) that the profile is currently in use so that the application won't try to use it more than once at the same time. If you are sure that the application's processes are closed and your default profile still won't open, check to see if this file is located in your profile folder. If it is, delete it. If it exists, it means that the application forgot to delete the file after it closed, and its existence will prevent the profile from being accessed. Deleting it fixes this.
| signons.txt
| Firefox
| Encrypted saved passwords, requires key3.db to work
|-
|-
|valign="top"| popstate.dat || For POP3 mail accounts, this file keeps track of which messages have been downloaded from the server. Each POP3 account will have its own popstate.dat file, kept together with the mail files for that account, by default in the account subfolder in the Mail folder in the profile folder.
| training.dat
 
| Mozilla Suite, Thunderbird
| Custom training for [[Junk Mail Controls]]
|-
|-
|valign="top"| prefs.js || This file stores settings for your preferences, such as your home page, security, and the locations of certain other necessary files. '''Avoid editing this file''' if possible as it can cause Mozilla Suite (or Firefox/Thunderbird) to malfunction. Instead, first try clicking "Edit -> Preferences" in Mozilla Suite ("Tools -> Options" in Firefox and Thunderbird).  If you don't see the preference you want there, try using the [[Firefox : FAQs : About:config Entries|about:config]] page for Mozilla Suite and Firefox. (For Thunderbird, you might try the [http://aboutconfig.mozdev.org/ aboutconfig] extension.) If that doesn't work, see the "user.js" section below.  You can also try the [http://preferential.mozdev.org/ Preferential] extension made by a third party, which edits the preferences with a friendlier interface and documentation.
| [[user.js]]
| Firefox, Mozilla Suite, Thunderbird
| User-set preferences
|-
|-
|valign="top"| registry.dat<br>profiles.ini || Stored a few levels up in the directory hierarchy from your profile folder, this file keeps track of where your profiles are located so that Mozilla Suite (or Firefox or Thunderbird) can find them when it starts up.
| [[userChrome.css]] in chrome (does not exist by default)
| Firefox, Mozilla Suite, Thunderbird
| User-set CSS to change the way the application looks
|-
|-
|valign="top"| signons.txt || This file stores remembered usernames and passwords in Firefox.
| [[userContent.css]] in chrome (does not exist by default)
| Firefox, Mozilla Suite, Thunderbird
| User-set CSS to change the way webpages look
|-
|-
|valign="top"| training.dat || This is where Mozilla Suite/Thunderbird puts your custom "training" data for [[Junk Mail Controls]].
| virtualfolders.dat
| Thunderbird
| Virtual folder settings
|-
|-
|valign="top"| [[user.js]] || If you must add entries to pref.js by hand, edit this file. Preferences in it will be loaded at the next startup, and then saved into prefs.js. Deleting entries from this file will not delete the entries in prefs.js.
| xpti.dat
| Firefox, Thunderbird
|
|-
|-
|valign="top"| chrome/[[userChrome.css]] || This file controls the appearance of the program in question. Because of the way the user interface is written, the look of Mozilla Suite (or Firefox/Thunderbird) can be controlled using CSS.
| xul.mfasl (Linux)
| Firefox, Mozilla Suite, Thunderbird
| See XUL.mfl
|-
|-
|valign="top"| chrome/[[userContent.css]] || This file stores user styles. Everything you write in here (in CSS) will be applied to web pages that you visit, according to the [http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-CSS2/cascade.html#cascade rules of precedence] in CSS. To help ensure that your rules override rules specified by the web page, use the [http://www.w3.org/TR/CSS21/cascade.html#important-rules !important rule].
| XUL.mfl (Windows)
| Firefox, Mozilla Suite, Thunderbird
| Cached user interface data
|-
|-
|valign="top"| xul.mfl<br>xul.mfasl (Linux)<br>XUL FastLoad File (Mac OS X) || This is just a cache file for the files describing user interface (XUL/JavaScript and others). It's used to cache the internal representation of data so it doesn't have to be reparsed. Sometimes, this file can become corrupted, and in such cases, it's always okay to delete it, because it's a cache and it will be recreated on next startup (though the said startup may take a little longer). 
| XUL FastLoad File (MacOS X)
 
| Firefox, Mozilla Suite, Thunderbird
'''Tip:''' If you're having problems upgrading or downgrading Mozilla Suite, Firefox or Thunderbird (for example, it won't start), try deleting this file.
| See XUL.mfl
|}


===Files without specific names===
{| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #fcfcfc; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse;"
! Name
! Application
! Description
|-
| ''(number)''.s
| Mozilla Suite, Thunderbird
| Password data
|-
| ''(number)''.w
| Mozilla Suite
| Saved form data
|-
| *. in ImapMail, Mail, and News
| Mozilla Suite, Thunderbird
| Mail messages
|-
| *.mab other than abook.mab and history.mab
| Mozilla Suite, Thunderbird
| User-created address books
|-
| *.msf in ImapMail, Mail, and News
| Mozilla Suite, Thunderbird
| Index files for mail messages
|-
| *.src in searchplugins
| Firefox
|
|}


===Other files outside of the profile===
{| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #fcfcfc; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse;"
! Name
! Application
! Description
|-
| pluginreg.dat
| Firefox, Thunderbird
|
|-
| profiles.ini in the Application Data folder
| Firefox, Thunderbird
| Keeps track of where your profiles are located
|-
| registry.dat
| Firefox, Thunderbird
|
|}
|}
'''Note:''' Not all your settings are in the profile, however. The [[Search Bar|search engines]] and [[:Category:plugins|plugins]] are in your Firefox [[installation directory]].


==See also==
==See also==

Revision as of 03:56, 10 September 2005

This article applies to the Mozilla Suite, Firefox, Thunderbird and some other Mozilla-based applications.

The Mozilla Suite, Firefox, and Thunderbird each store a user's personal information such as bookmarks, e-mail, address books, extensions, and user preferences in a unique profile. The first time you start the Mozilla Suite (or Firefox or Thunderbird), it will automatically create a default profile; additional profiles can be created using the Profile Manager.

Each profile is stored in its own folder. See the What is in my profile? section below for tips on making changes to files in your profile folder.

Where is my profile folder?

By default, profiles are created in the folders listed below. When creating a profile with the Profile Manager, you can choose to place it elsewhere. In this case, you can read "...\Application Data\Thunderbird\profiles.ini" to find out where it is stored. Note that by default, profiles are stored in a completely different location than the application installation directory.

For Windows 2000 and XP users

If you cannot find your profile folder: Windows 2000 and XP sometimes hide the profile folders because "Application Data" is a hidden folder. In Explorer (i.e. double-click My Computer) click: Tools -> Folder Options -> View (tab) -> Show Hidden files and folders.

For those curious, the "%APPDATA%" phrase for Windows 2000/XP is an environment variable that automatically updates for login username changes and will quickly locate your Application Data folder.

Mozilla Suite

Operating system Folder(s)
Windows 9x/Me C:\Windows\Application Data\Mozilla\Profiles\<Profile name>\********.slt\
Windows 9x/Me, alternate C:\Windows\Profiles\<Windows login/user name>\Application Data\Mozilla\Profiles\<Profile name>\********.slt\
Windows NT 4.x C:\Winnt\Profiles\<Windows login/user name>\Application Data\Mozilla\Profiles\<Profile name>\********.slt\
Windows 2000/XP C:\Documents and Settings\<Windows login/user name>\Application Data\Mozilla\Profiles\<Profile name>\********.slt\

%APPDATA%\Mozilla\Profiles\<Profile name>\********.slt\

Unix ~/.mozilla/<Profile name>/********.slt
Mac OS X ~/Library/Mozilla/Profiles/<Profile name>/********.slt

~/Library/Application Support/Mozilla/Profiles/<Profile name>/********.slt

Notice: Firefox and Thunderbird have default profile folder names of "********.default" where "********" is eight random letters and numbers.

Firefox

Operating system Folder(s)
Windows 9x/Me C:\Windows\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\<Profile name>\
Windows 9x/Me, alternate C:\Windows\Profiles\<Windows login/user name>\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\<Profile name>\
Windows NT 4.x C:\Winnt\Profiles\<Windows login/user name>\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\<Profile name>\
Windows 2000/XP C:\Documents and Settings\<Windows login/user name>\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\<Profile name>\

%APPDATA%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\<Profile name>\

Unix ~/.mozilla/firefox/<Profile name>/
Mac OS X ~/Library/Mozilla/Firefox/Profiles/<Profile name>/

~/Library/Application Support/Mozilla/Firefox/Profiles/<Profile name>/

Sunbird

Like Firefox above, but replace the directory name "Firefox" with "Sunbird" in the paths.

Thunderbird

Operating system Folder(s)
Windows 9x/Me C:\Windows\Application Data\Thunderbird\Profiles\<Profile name>\
Windows 9x/Me, alternate C:\Windows\Profiles\<Windows login/user name>\Application Data\Thunderbird\Profiles\<Profile name>\
Windows NT 4.x C:\Winnt\Profiles\<Windows login/user name>\Application Data\Thunderbird\Profiles\<Profile name>\
Windows 2000/XP C:\Documents and Settings\<Windows login/user name>\Application Data\Thunderbird\Profiles\<Profile name>\

%APPDATA%\Thunderbird\Profiles\<Profile name>\

Unix ~/.thunderbird/<Profile name>/ or possibly ~/.mozilla-thunderbird<Profile name>
Mac OS X ~/Library/Thunderbird/Profiles/<Profile name>/

~/Library/Application Support/Thunderbird/Profiles/<Profile name>/

Managing profiles

  • You can select a profile to use, create a new profile, and delete or rename an existing profile using Profile Manager. See the linked article for detailed instructions.
  • See Profile backup for instructions on backing up your profile.
  • If you get a "profile is already in use" message it means that the profile is locked. See Profile in use for details.

What do I do if my profile's corrupted?

If your profile is corrupted, try creating a new profile. (If you still have problems with a new profile, then try uninstalling and reinstalling the application.) Assuming the new profile is working, you can copy selected files from the old profile into the new one. Below are some suggested files (note that some of these files may not exist).

  • bookmarks.html
  • cookies.txt
  • hostperm.1
  • user.js
  • cert8.db
  • key3.db
  • signons.txt
  • mimeTypes.rdf
  • chrome/userContent.css
  • chrome/userChrome.css

You can rescue your mail, address books, and other important files in a similar manner. You can also copy "pref.js", but it contains absolute paths, so you'll need to manually edit it to reflect the new profile location. More Thunderbird/Mozilla Mail specific tips can be found at Thunderbird FAQs page.

If you don't want to go though all that, though, there are a some other things you can try first that might save the old profile.

Files and folders in the profile

Note: it's not recommended to edit these files directly. Instead, use their respective interfaces.

Folders

Name Application Description
Cache Firefox, Mozilla Suite Cached Internet files. You can't open these files directly, use about:cache
chrome Firefox, Thunderbird, Mozilla Suite
extensions Firefox, Thunderbird, Mozilla Suite Installed extensions
ImapMail Mozilla Suite, Thunderbird Mail from IMAP sources
Mail Mozilla Suite, Thunderbird Mail from POP sources and Local Folders
News Mozilla Suite, Thunderbird News from newsgroups
searchplugins Firefox

Files

Name Application Description
.parentlock (MacOS X) Firefox, Mozilla Suite, Thunderbird See parent.lock
abook.mab Mozilla Suite, Thunderbird Personal Address Book
bookmarks.bak Firefox, Mozilla Suite Backup of bookmarks.html
bookmarks.html Firefox, Mozilla Suite Bookmarks
cert8.db Firefox, Mozilla Suite, Thunderbird Security certificates
compatibility.ini Firefox, Thunderbird
components.ini Firefox, Thunderbird
compreg.dat Firefox, Thunderbird
cookies.txt Firefox, Mozilla Suite Cookies
defaults.ini Firefox, Thunderbird
downloads.rdf Firefox, Thunderbird Download history
extensions.cache Firefox
extensions.ini Firefox
extensions.rdf Firefox Installed extension information
extensions-startup.manifest Firefox
formhistory.dat Firefox Saved form data
key3.db Firefox, Mozilla Suite, Thunderbird
history.dat Firefox Browsing history
history.mab Firefox, Mozilla Suite Collected Addresses
hostperm.1 Firefox, Mozilla Suite Per-site preferences for allowing cookies and popups.
localstore.rdf Firefox, Thunderbird Toolbar and window positioning/sizing settings
lock (Linux) Firefox, Mozilla Suite, Thunderbird See parent.lock
mimeTypes.rdf Firefox, Mozilla Suite, Thunderbird Action to perform when downloading certain types of files
msgFilterRules.dat in ImapMail, Mail, News Mozilla Suite, Thunderbird Message filters
panacea.dat Thunderbird
parent.lock (Windows) Firefox, Mozilla Suite, Thunderbird Marker showing that the current [[profile in use profile is in use]]
popstate.dat in Mail Mozilla Suite, Thunderbird Keeps track of which messages have been downloaded from the server
Firefox, Mozilla Suite, Thunderbird All preferences. See: about:config
search.rdf Firefox
secmod.db Firefox, Thunderbird
signons.txt Firefox Encrypted saved passwords, requires key3.db to work
training.dat Mozilla Suite, Thunderbird Custom training for Junk Mail Controls
user.js Firefox, Mozilla Suite, Thunderbird User-set preferences
userChrome.css in chrome (does not exist by default) Firefox, Mozilla Suite, Thunderbird User-set CSS to change the way the application looks
userContent.css in chrome (does not exist by default) Firefox, Mozilla Suite, Thunderbird User-set CSS to change the way webpages look
virtualfolders.dat Thunderbird Virtual folder settings
xpti.dat Firefox, Thunderbird
xul.mfasl (Linux) Firefox, Mozilla Suite, Thunderbird See XUL.mfl
XUL.mfl (Windows) Firefox, Mozilla Suite, Thunderbird Cached user interface data
XUL FastLoad File (MacOS X) Firefox, Mozilla Suite, Thunderbird See XUL.mfl

Files without specific names

Name Application Description
(number).s Mozilla Suite, Thunderbird Password data
(number).w Mozilla Suite Saved form data
*. in ImapMail, Mail, and News Mozilla Suite, Thunderbird Mail messages
*.mab other than abook.mab and history.mab Mozilla Suite, Thunderbird User-created address books
*.msf in ImapMail, Mail, and News Mozilla Suite, Thunderbird Index files for mail messages
*.src in searchplugins Firefox

Other files outside of the profile

Name Application Description
pluginreg.dat Firefox, Thunderbird
profiles.ini in the Application Data folder Firefox, Thunderbird Keeps track of where your profiles are located
registry.dat Firefox, Thunderbird

See also

External links

Retrieved from "http://kb.mozillazine.org/index.php?title=Profile_Folder&oldid=17291"