Apr 04, 2019. If you want to manually choose the download location every time then switch on the option ‘Ask where to save each file before downloading’. Related: Block popups in Chrome. Change Default Downloads Folder in Firefox. Open Firefox and go to the URL about:preferences in address bar.

From MozillaZine Knowledge Base

This article is about Firefox's profile folder. See also Profile folder - Thunderbird and Profile folder - SeaMonkey.

Firefox stores a user's personal information such as bookmarks, extensions, and user preferences in a unique profile. The first time you start Firefox, it will automatically create a default profile; additional profiles can be created using the Profile Manager. The settings which form a profile are stored in files within a special folder on your computer — this is the profile folder.

1Finding the profile folder
- 1.2Navigating to the profile folder
- 1.3Other methods of finding a profile
4Files and folders in the profile

Finding the profile folder

The Firefox profile containing your user data and settings is not found in the installation directory but rather in a separate location on your computer. Use the information given below to find your Firefox profile folder.

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Using the Help menu

(Firefox 3.6 and above) You can open your profile folder directly from the Firefox Help menu, as follows: [1][2]

In the Firefox menu, click on the 'Help' menu item ('?' in current versions) and select 'Troubleshooting Information'. (Alternatively, enter about:support in the address bar.) The about:support page will open.
Under 'Application Basics',
- On Windows and Linux, depending on Firefox version, click on 'Show Folder' (Windows) 'Open Directory' (Linux) or 'Open Containing Folder'.
- On Mac OS, click on 'Show in Finder'.

Note: On Windows, you can also press the 'Alt' key to temporarily show the Firefox menu bar, which contains the Help menu item. [3][4]

Navigating to the profile folder

Profile folders are placed in a common location by default but are named randomly for additional security (e.g., 'xxxxxxxx.default' is the profile folder name for the 'default' profile, where xxxxxxxx represents a random strung of characters). Turbotax premier 2019 for mac download. If you created a new profile and chose a custom location, see Other methods of finding a profile below.

On Windows 2000 and above, Linux, and starting in Mac OS X 10.7 Lion, the parent folder containing your profile folder is hidden by default and you will need to show hidden files and folders to navigate to the profile folder.

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Windows

On Windows 2000 and Windows XP, profile folders are in this location, by default:

C:Documents and Settings<Windows login/user name>Application DataMozillaFirefoxProfiles<profile folder>

The Application Data folder is a hidden folder; to show hidden folders, open Windows Explorer and choose 'Tools → Folder Options → View (tab) → Show hidden files and folders'.

On Windows Vista and above, profile folders are in this location, by default:

C:Users<Windows login/user name>AppDataRoamingMozillaFirefoxProfiles<profile folder>.

The AppData folder is a hidden folder; to show hidden folders, open a Windows Explorer window and choose 'Organize → Folder and Search Options → Folder Options → View (tab) → Show hidden files and folders'.

You can also use this path to find the profile folder, even when it is hidden:

%APPDATA%MozillaFirefoxProfiles<profile folder>

%APPDATA% is a variable represents the C:Documents and Settings<user name>Application Data folder on Windows 2000/XP and the C:Users<user name>AppDataRoaming folder on Windows Vista and above.

To find a profile folder in the default location on Windows:

Press 'Windows key + R' to open the Run box
(or, you can click 'Start → Run..' on Windows 2000/XP)
In the Run box, type in %APPDATA%
Click OK. A Windows Explorer window will appear.
In this window, choose Mozilla → Firefox → Profiles.

Each folder in the 'Profiles' folder (e.g., 'xxxxxxxx.default') is a profile on your computer.

Windows Vista and above:You can open the Run box to find the profile folder, as explained above, or you can open the Windows Start menu and use the Windows search box, as shown below on Windows Vista:

Click the Start button or press the Windows key to open the Start menu.
In the search box, type in:
- %APPDATA%MozillaFirefoxProfiles
Click on any of the profiles (e.g., xxxxxxxx.default) to open it with Windows Explorer.

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Linux

Profile folders are located here:

~/.mozilla/firefox/<profile folder>

The '.mozilla' folder is a hidden folder. See this article for more information. To show hidden files in Nautilus (Gnome desktop's default file browser), choose 'View -> Show Hidden Files'.

Mac

Profile folders are in one of these locations:

~/Library/Application Support/Firefox/Profiles/<profile folder>
~/Library/Mozilla/Firefox/Profiles/<profile folder>

The tilde character (~) refers to the current user's Home folder, so ~/Library is the /Macintosh HD/Users/<username>/Library folder.

For OS X 10.7 Lion and above, the ~/Library folder is hidden by default. See this article to make it appear.

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Other methods of finding a profile

File search

Specific files in profiles can be found by using the file and folder search feature of your operating system. This is also useful for finding profile folders that are not in the default location. In Windows 2000 and later, you must ensure that you're including hidden files and folders in the search, as detailed in this article.

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Using the JavaScript or Error Console

You can use the following technique to find the location of the profile that you are currently using. This is useful, for example, if you are using a profile that is not in the default location.

From the Firefox menu bar, choose 'Tools -> Error Console' (Firefox 2 and above) or 'Tools -> JavaScript Console' (Firefox 1.5). Copy the following code. It is one very long line ending in path—make sure that you get all of it:

Components.classes['@mozilla.org/file/directory_service;1'].getService( Components.interfaces.nsIProperties).get('ProfD', Components.interfaces.nsIFile).path

In the Error Console or JavaScript Console window, paste the code in the field near the top. Click the Evaluate button. The console should display the location of the profile that is currently in use. If you don't see it, make sure you have the 'All' button pushed.

Using an Extension

The easiest method is with an extension. Open Profile Folder will open your current profile folder from 'Tools' menu or toolbar button bringing it up with your system, or optionally with another application.

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Viewing profile directory structure from above

Up one directory from your profile is the Profiles directory which contains one or more profiles, and one directory above that is the Firefox directory which contains Crash Reports directory, Profiles directory, and profiles.ini file. The profiles.ini is a map of profiles used by the Profile Manager.

Managing profiles

You can select a profile to use, create a new profile, and delete or rename an existing profile using the Profile Manager. Profiles can become corrupted, in which case you need to create a new profile then transfer your data and settings to the new profile. To safeguard your important data you should make a backup copy of up your profile.

It is possible to change the location of the Firefox profile folder but you should read this article for instructions. If you delete, rename or move the profile folder, Firefox may report that it is 'already running, but is not responding' when you next start the application (bug 278860). See this article for more information.

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From MozillaZine Knowledge Base

Contents

Finding the profile folder

Using the Help menu

Navigating to the profile folder

Windows

Linux

Mac

Other methods of finding a profile

File search

Using the JavaScript or Error Console

Using an Extension

Viewing profile directory structure from above

Managing profiles

Firefox Default Download Location Mac