University Computer Help Desk

Thunderbird Profile Manager

Thunderbird can be configured with multiple profiles that use different email settings. Using the Thunderbird Profile Manager, you can set up Thunderbird with more than one email account. This is useful if more than one person wants to use Thunderbird to check and send email.

Create New Thunderbird Shortcut

To create and use profiles in Thunderbird, you must create a shortcut to access the Thunderbird Profile Manager.

1. Right-click on the Thunderbird shortcut you currently use; select Properties from the pop-up menu.
2. Copy the directory path found in the Target: field. The contents of the Target: field may already be highlighted in blue. Right-click on the highlighted text and select Copy from the pop-up menu.
3. Click Cancel to close the window.
4. Right-click on the desktop and click New > Shortcut. The Create Shortcut wizard will appear.
5. Right-click in the box provided and click Paste. You should see the directory path you copied from your existing shortcut appear in this box. For example, the directory path may look like this:
   "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Thunderbird\thunderbird.exe"
6. Put a space after the last quotation mark at the end of the directory path and type -ProfileManager. For example, the modified directory path may look like this:
   "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Thunderbird\thunderbird.exe" -ProfileManager
7. Click Next.
8. Type Thunderbird Profile Manager as the name of the shortcut and click Finish.

Using Profiles in Thunderbird

When you double-click the new Thunderbird shortcut, the Thunderbird Profile Manager opens. The Thunderbird Profile Manager allows you to pick a profile to use and also allows you to create new profiles. From now on, you should use the new shortcut you created to launch Thunderbird so you can select the appropriate profile to use.

The "default" profile contains your current email settings. If you choose to create a new profile, you need to enter a name for the profile, and then select it and start Thunderbird. Before you can use the new profile, you must set it up. For more information, refer to 1002: Configuring Thunderbird with typical mail settings.