Parts of this bug are covered by existing bugs but none if them really adresses what I have in mind. Right now the transfer of a profile is a real pain in the ass. It is doable but not something Joe Average wants do to. As suggested in http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=22689#c12 we need to ability to move complete or or parts of profiles. >If you need to upgrade your hard disk or start using another computer, moving >all your settings with you to the new environment can be a pain. Mozilla should >support export/import function to save to a file/load from a file all settings >and data Mozilla records, either locally or in servers (LDAP etc.). This >includes bookmarks, address books, mail account settings, cookies etc. > >The UI to this function should allow to select what information is exported or >imported. It should be possible to e.g. merge bookmarks by exporting them from >another computer and importing into another Mozilla. > >The file format for the exported data should be textual, standards based and be >able to store the aggregate data of any or all of the settings into a single >file. Some XML based format seems an obvious choice. Some Bugs related to this: Bug 124029 Roaming - 4.xx-HTTP-compatible Bug 22689 Import/Export Profile (Backup/Restore) Bug 166842 [RFE] Ability to import and export message filters Bug 97759 When importing or moving mails Moz should recognise identical Mails Bug 63389 Need options for importing 4.x and Mozilla mails (mbox)

This is a workaround- basic - for moving profiles between machines- until a backup or import /export feature becomes available

Seems like bug 66259 covers the gist of this.

Bug 66259 certainly delievers the basics for this, but I'm thinking about an UI where you can select what parts of your profile you want to import/export. For example there's a good chance that I only want to move some mailboxes or that I want to give somone my junk filter data etc. So this probably depends on Bug 66259, maybe this should become a meta bug.

Is this a dupe for bug #77924 ?

I don't think they're really dupes, but they're certainly related. If I understand this correctly Bug #77924 is about moving a complete profile, which is only part of what this bug is about. What I want in the end is the possibility to easily move every part of your personal information easily between different profiles/locations. For example: right now it is easier to import mails from Eudora than from Mozilla. I want an import option for Mozilla mails where I can specify what folders I want to have imported. I also want the ability to only move my passwords, my filter, my trained junk file etc., depending on my needs. All this can be done by copying the specific files, but it's unelegant and sometimes also not trivial. An UI for all this kind of actions would definitely increase Moz's usability. Maybe this is too mich for a single bug, maybe this should be a meta bug, I don't know.

Understand, maybe you will want to change the summary of this bug and replace the word "move" with "import/export". Or use both terms. Attachment #110585 [details] sugest that what you want is bug #77924

Changing summary to distinguish better from bug #77924.

Is this not the same as the following bug? http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=22689

Yup, look like it. PS Bruno: There's no need to put the full URL to other bugs -- just write "bug ###" and Bugzilla will auto-linkify it :). *** This bug has been marked as a duplicate of 22689 ***

This is *not* a dupe a of 22689. I filed this bug explicitely because it goes beyond the scope of bug 187564 (see the discussion there, comments 12, 13, 27-29). 22789 is only about importing/exporting profiles, this is about offering some kind of mechanism that let's me easily import parts of a profile. It's about an UI that allows you select the parts of a profile you want to export/import. Maybe this is now considered to be part of 22689, but the discussion there doesn't really indicate it.

All right, reopening.

mass re-assign.

I've tried the steps outlined in grace's attachment, and various other permutations of copying my old profile to the new installation. Perhaps where I went wrong was not backing it up first, but still, copying all the content from my old profile dir (blahx.slt) to the new profile dir (blahy.slt) just doesn't work. It copies bookmarks fine, it copies prefs fine, it reads in the name of my three mail accounts fine, but the mail itself? nada It also can't even use the mail accounts it has read, they have no folders, can't compose, can't check, nothing! I'm at a complete loss on how to get my old profile back, and would greatly appreciate any assistance. Cheers, Karl P

never mind, I've worked this out. It's always the way, you spend all day bashing your head against it, but as soon as you ask for help, you manage to get it fixed yourself. What did I need to do: * Delete all profiles (well, I did, but you really don't have to) * Make a new profile (new) * Copy all my old profile into that dir (everything from the salted.name dir down) * edit prefs.js (which is the one that was in the old profile) * replace the old salted name (seeing as it came from my old profile) with the salted name mozilla cooked up for the new profile for all occurrences * I also had to edit the drive paths seeing as my driver lettering changed after I reinstalled. Cheers, Karl P

*** Bug 220509 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***

*** Bug 236948 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***

sorry for the spam. making bugzilla reflect reality as I'm not working on these bugs. filter on FOOBARCHEESE to remove these in bulk.

This bug is filed in a bugzilla component related to pre-Firefox code which no longer exists. I believe it is no longer relevant and I am therefore closing it INCOMPLETE. If you believe that this bug is still valid and needs to be fixed, please reopen it and move it to the Toolkit:Startup and Profile System product/component.