A guide to running multiple profiles at the same time in Firefox

Ever since Mozilla Firefox was introduced in 2004, it’s slowly been ending the monopoly that Internet Explorer has had over the internet browsing domain.  Five years since, it’s undoubtable which of the two browsers is considered better by users and critics alike. The only question that remains is, can it be made even better? Don’t fret, add-ons are here.

Well, if you haven’t tried Firefox Add-ons yet, then you’re missing the most fun part of having firefox installed in the first place . In this tutorial, we explain how to use one of the most basic, yet one of the most useful Firefox Add-ons, ProfileSwitcher. Before we get to the “how?”, I think it’s safe if we cover the “why?”.

Imagine sharing a computer with your room-mate or your family. While most of them mean you no harm, it’s safe to say that they have little or no regard of your privacy. The best bet to solving this problem is using profiles/accounts while accessing Web content. While this can be used to avoid the nosy, you’ll be surprised to find how useful this tool is even if you’re going to be the only person using your computer. You don’t have to install all your add-ons and toolbars into the same profile anymore. Making them profile specific increases the visual appeal and more importantly, it speeds up the browser. Using  separate profiles for work related stuff and others gives a more organized sense to your browser.

As I said in the beginning, the add-on we’ll be using for this is called ProfileSwitcher. Apart from providing all the features mentioned above, this add-on allows quick switching between profiles and multiple profiles to be run at the same time.

1. Click Here and follow the requested procedures to install the add-on.

2.  Select File -> Open Profile Manager.

3.  The first time you run firefox after installing the add-on, there’ll be just one profile listed in profile manager – default. To create a new profile, click on Create Profile.

4. This action will take you to the Introduction screen, which gives a brief overview of the add-on. Click Continue.

5. Create a new profile. You can choose where you want to save the user settings. However, it’s recommended that it be left to the default folder. Click Done.

6.Highlight your new profile, and click Start Firefox.

7.By doing this, the new profile will run concurrent to the old profile. All add-ons in the old profile will be unavailable in the new profile and should be installed separately.

8.If you want to choose a different profile at any time, select File -> Launch and choose another profile and click on the one you want to open.

9.Select Tools -> Add-ons and from there click Preferences in the ProfileSwitcher and you are done to set your preferences. By setting the ProfileSwitcher to close the open profile when opening new one, you can make sure that not more than one profile is active at the same time.         So that completes the tutorial. It is recommended that you install the add-on ProfileSwitcher on all the created profiles to allow quick switching between profiles.