Profile Folder: Difference between revisions

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(added tip: Windows Start menu shortcut to Profile Manager)
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That's called "salting". It's a random combination of letters and numbers. Having a random element to the directory name makes it harder for malicious users or programs to read or execute things stored in your profile in the event of some other security failure. You can [[Firefox : Tips : Profile without .slt | get rid of it]], if you want.
That's called "salting". It's a random combination of letters and numbers. Having a random element to the directory name makes it harder for malicious users or programs to read or execute things stored in your profile in the event of some other security failure. You can [[Firefox : Tips : Profile without .slt | get rid of it]], if you want.


===How do I launch the Profile Manager?===
===How do I access the Profile Manager?===
For the Mozilla Suite only: go to Tools > Switch Profile then click Manage Profiles.  From there you can create new profiles, rename them, or just plain delete them.
The Profile Manager lets you create new profiles, rename or delete profiles, or select the profile you want to use. For the Mozilla Suite only: go to Tools > Switch Profile then click Manage Profiles.


If you are using Windows, there might already be a shortcut to the Profile Manager that was created when you installed the application. Look in the Start menu, in the programs list, and then in the appropriate folder for Mozilla, Firefox, or Thunderbird.
If you are using Windows, there might already be a shortcut to the Profile Manager that was created when you installed the application. Look in the Start menu, in the programs list, and then in the appropriate folder for Mozilla, Firefox, or Thunderbird.

Revision as of 12:31, 30 May 2004

This page is also meant for Firefox and Thunderbird too. With Firefox, the folder that contains your profile is named "Phoenix" or "Firefox" (in newer builds) and not "Mozilla". With Thunderbird, the folder that contains your profile is named "Thunderbird". All other differences between Firefox, Thunderbird, and Mozilla should be self-evident.

Your profile is a folder is where Mozilla store settings, bookmarks, user styles, chrome styles, themes, extensions, cache, mail (in the case of the Mozilla Suite), and more. Note that you should never edit any of the files in your profile directory without either exiting Mozilla or switching to a different profile first. If you don't, your settings will be overwritten.

Where is my profile directory?

By default, Mozilla installs profiles in these folders. When creating a profile, you can place it elsewhere.

For Firefox, the folder is "Phoenix", not "Mozilla" or "Firefox" (it's "Firefox" in recent nightlies). For Thunderbird, the folder is "Thunderbird", not "Mozilla".

Operating system Directory
Windows 9x/Me C:\Windows\Application Data\Mozilla\Profiles\<Profile name>\********.slt\
Windows NT 4.0 C:\Winnt\Profiles\<Windows user name>\Application Data\Mozilla\Profiles\<Profile name>\********.slt\
Windows 2K/XP C:\Documents and Settings\<Windows user name>\Application Data\Mozilla\Profiles\<Profile name>\********.slt\

Windows XP sometimes hides the profile folders. In Explorer (i.e. double-click My Computer) click: Tools >> Folder Options >> View (tab) >> Show Hidden files and folders.

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

What's that .slt folder?

That's called "salting". It's a random combination of letters and numbers. Having a random element to the directory name makes it harder for malicious users or programs to read or execute things stored in your profile in the event of some other security failure. You can get rid of it, if you want.

How do I access the Profile Manager?

The Profile Manager lets you create new profiles, rename or delete profiles, or select the profile you want to use. For the Mozilla Suite only: go to Tools > Switch Profile then click Manage Profiles.

If you are using Windows, there might already be a shortcut to the Profile Manager that was created when you installed the application. Look in the Start menu, in the programs list, and then in the appropriate folder for Mozilla, Firefox, or Thunderbird.

You can also get to the Profile Manager by launching Mozilla (or Firefox or Thunderbird) with the "-P" switch. This is useful in cases such as a corrupted profile which prevents you from launching normally. On Windows, you can just go to Start > Run and type:

\path\to\mozilla.exe -P

Where "\path\to" is replaced by the installation folder of Mozilla. (If using Firefox or Thunderbird, replace "mozilla.exe" above with "firefox.exe" or "thunderbird.exe", respectively).

If that doesn't work, you'll have to either make a shortcut to Mozilla (or Firefox or Thunderbird) with the "-P" switch, or browse to the Mozilla directory in a command prompt (Start > Run > "cmd" on Windows 2k/XP,"command" on Windows 9x/Me) and launch it manually.

How do I create a new profile?

Follow the above steps to access the profile manager. From there, click on "Create Profile" and follow the instructions. You may have to click on "Manage Profiles..." first, though.

What do I do if my profile's corrupted?

First, try a new profile. If it's still acting weird, then try reinstalling with a new profile. Sometimes rogue extensions can corrupt Mozilla at the installation level. Assuming it works OK, you can copy over the bookmarks.html file from the old profile into the new one to get your bookmarks. Same goes for cookies.txt, cookperm.txt, userContent.css, and userChrome.css (see below). If you don't want to go though all that though, there are a few things you can do that might save the old profile. For example, deleting xul.mfl from the old profile can help (see below).

How do I copy my profile to another computer?

Don't copy just the .slt folder. Copy the entire profile structure (for example, C:\Windows\Application Data\Firefox) and all subdirectories.

In the top directory of the profile structure is a file registry.dat which is important. That's what tells Mozilla, Firefox, and Thunderbird where to look for everything in the profile subdirectories.

What's in my profile?

gemal.dk has a useful listing of files in a Mozilla profile as do the Mozilla Release Notes and the Profile FAQ. Some of the important ones are listed below. Using built in user interface to edit these files (Bookmark Manager, Cookie Manager, etc.) is highly recommended.

File Description
bookmarks.html This is where bookmarks are stored. This includes 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.
cookies.txt This is where all of your cookies are stored. This includes login information, session data, preferences, and things of that nature.
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.
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 as it can cause Mozilla to malfunction. Instead, first try clicking "Edit -> Preferences" in Mozilla ("Tools -> Options" in Firefox and Thunderbird). If you don't see the preference you want there, try using the about:config page (will only work for Mozilla and Firefox). If that doesn't work, see the user.js section below. You can also try the Mozilla Preferential extension made by a third party, which edits the preferences with a friendlier interface and documentation.
training.dat This is where Mozilla/Thunderbird puts your custom spam training settings.
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.
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 Firefox/Mozilla can be controlled using CSS.
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 rules of precedence in CSS. To help ensure that your rules override rules specified by the web page, use the !important rule.
xul.mfl
xul.mfasl (Linux/BSD)
This is just a cache file for the bookmarks, cookies, settings, and the like. 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 almost 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 few milliseconds longer).

Tip: If you're having problems upgrading or downgrading Mozilla or Firefox (for example, it won't start) try deleting this file.

The chromEdit extension allows you to edit userChrome.css, userContent.css, and user.js without having to find your profile.