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# Managing Profiles

If you use the Internet at home and at work, you may want to have access to a different set of bookmarks, preferences, address books, email accounts, Sidebar setup, and so on. Similarly, family members may want to share a copy of the same browser software but keep their Internet identities separate.

The Profile Manager lets you create different profiles, each with its own bookmarks, preferences, email settings, and so on. You automatically create a default profile when you first install your browser software. After you create one or more additional profiles, you will be asked which you want to use each time you launch the browser.

In this section:

- Creating a New Profile
- Deleting or Renaming a Profile

## Creating a New Profile

To create a profile:

1. Open the Profile Manager:
   - If &brandShortName; is running: Open the Tools menu and select Switch Profile.
   - If &brandShortName; is closed: Open the Start menu and choose Programs, then &brandShortName;, then Profile Manager. Hold down the `Option` key while you're starting &brandShortName; from the Finder or the Dock. Type the following at the command line: `./mozilla -profilemanager`
2. Click Create Profile, read the Profile description, and then click Next.
3. Enter a profile name. This can be anything you like, such as your real name or a name that's related to what you use the profile for, such as School.
4. Accept the default location for the new profile, or click the Choose Folder button and navigate to the location you want.
5. If you have additional Language Packs installed, click Select Language and choose the language you want.
6. Click Finish.

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## Deleting or Renaming a Profile

You may want to delete profiles that you don't normally use. To delete or rename an existing profile:

1. Open the Profile Manager:
   - If &brandShortName; is running: Open the Tools menu and select Switch Profile. Note: You can't delete the profile that is in use.
   - If &brandShortName; is closed: Open the Start menu and choose Programs, then &brandShortName;, then Profile Manager. Hold down the `Option` key while you're starting &brandShortName; from the Finder or the Dock. Type the following at the command line: `./mozilla -profilemanager`
2. To delete a profile, select its name and click Delete Profile. In the confirmation box, choose one of the following options:
   - Delete files: Deletes the whole profile folder with its stored data (bookmarks, preferences, email accounts, and so on). Make sure that you won't need anything from the profile in the future before you choose this option.
   - Don't delete files: Removes the profile from the list of available profiles, but keeps the profile folder. By choosing this option none of your profile's stored data will be deleted.
3. To rename a profile, select its name, click Rename Profile, and follow the instructions.

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