In order to start K-Meleon browser with specific profile folder it offers followed command line option:
-profilesDir "path"
Unfortunately every time I try to use it K-Meleon crashes...

Here is scenario:
1. Let say I've copied profile folder (folder that has "prefs.js" in its root) into this location: "D:\tmp\KM\p".

2. Then I try to launch browser from shortcut with this target:
D:\Sys\bin\K-Meleon\k-meleon.exe -profilesDir D:\tmp\KM\p

3. The DWatson message I'm getting is:

AppName: k-meleon.exe	 AppVer: 75.1.0.0	 ModName: k-meleon.exe
ModVer: 75.1.0.0	 Offset: 00021b8c

How to make it work?

I need to run K-Meleon using different profile folders located in different places (including even %TEMP%\KM folder as yet another example).

Thank you in advance!

Am no expert, but have a vague feeling that directory means the main profile folder... the one that holds the "profileS.ini"...
Take a look into this file, it can specify also external paths for every single profile...
And it may be necessary to add to the commandline also the profile NAME with -P
Or rather, if you've set the different paths all inside the profileS.ini, the commandline only needs the name parameter...

---

(sig) New unofficial K-Meleon 76.4 (KMG76.4) available, in own subforum.
Based on Goanna engine, called 'test' builds forever but more stable as 75.1 acc. forum members. It's 1-2 generations ahead of predecessor KM76RC-2016
K-Meleon FAQ (link missing in forum sidebar)
Tips&Tricks - Learning new stuff every day
New to K-Meleon? What do you like? What not?

@siria, thank you for suggestion. I tried that (pointing to folder, containing "profiles.ini") and got the same result - K-Meleon crashes.

What I did is I copied the whole "Profiles" folder (from root of portable installation) to another location and pointed to it with "-profilesDir" command line option. Got the same crash again...

I'm using different profiles all the time running Firefox and Iron browsers. For example, I run Firefox with this command line option: -profile "D:\Tmp\FF\p" (profile folder, containing "prefs.js" file inside). And it works well. I'd expect the ability to do the same with K-Meleon too. But it's just keep crashing...

What's wrong with its option "-profilesDir"? Is there any way to make it work?

Yeah, it crashes, would be a good idea to post this bug in the 76 beta thread in the Announcements forum just in case the error persists in that version to let Dorian fix it.

Back to the topic.

If the thing is just to run different profiles from different locations, instead have the profiles folder changing the location from here to there, you could edit the profiles.ini file inside the profiles folder and set, instead relative paths, full paths for each profile toggling the value of IsRelative from 1 to 0.

Example:

[Profile0]
Name=test1
Path=c:\temp\whatever
IsRelative=0
Default=1
[Profile1]
Name=test2
Path=c:\program files\K-meleon test\test2
IsRelative=0
Default=0

Then run k-meleon as "K-meleon -P test1" or "K-meleon -P test2".

They will run from their locations with their settings.

BTW, make backups first. Once, playing with profiles.ini, I lost my profile



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/13/2015 02:42AM by JohnHell.

@JohnHell, thank you for confirmation that there is a problem with the program and not with the way I try to use it. It's important to know.

My goal is to run browser (perhaps even several sessions at the same time) with temporary profiles. How do I want to do it? It's easy and it's based on the idea, that I found on the Internet here.

Here is what I'm doing:
--- Before I do my browsing I create my base profile with my settings and extensions installed. Cookies that I want to use I keep there as well.

--- I launch new instance of browser (let's assume it's Firefox) with BAT file that:
1. It creates temporary folder with random component in its name, e.g. "%TEMP%\FF_random"
2. It copies my base profile into that folder
3. It launches browser pointing to that profile folder (command line option for Firefox is "-profile %TEMP%\FF_random")
4. I do my browsing using that profile and then I exit the browser
5. BAT file removes temporary profile folder and then exits

As you see this way I can use completely separated and independent browsing sessions, which don't keep any history or any other trash that it may accumulate during its run. Due to that separation I may even login to one web site (e.g. Google) using different accounts without anyhow linking those accounts there. It's working well for me and I found it as a convenient way to run multiple instances of the same browser, keeping my privacy and security to high standards.

And now I try to do the same thing with K-Meleon (as I do with Firefox and Iron). The only thing that stops me now is the ability to launch new instance of K-Meleon, pointing to a specific folder (as its profile) with command line option like "-profile path"... Thus I'm looking to a way to do it here.

Like that approach
Wondering, does it also crash if the new random folder is contained in profileS.ini?

---

(sig) New unofficial K-Meleon 76.4 (KMG76.4) available, in own subforum.
Based on Goanna engine, called 'test' builds forever but more stable as 75.1 acc. forum members. It's 1-2 generations ahead of predecessor KM76RC-2016
K-Meleon FAQ (link missing in forum sidebar)
Tips&Tricks - Learning new stuff every day
New to K-Meleon? What do you like? What not?

Yes, @Siria, it crashes.

@km88, the process of randomize the path is absolutely unnecessary for privacy purposes. If someone gets access to your system it won't be a difference with a random path or not, unless "wipping" instead deleting.

Following my previous profiles.ini example, you could make a copy of your main profile to the second profile and delete its contents after closing the session(keeping the folder, that should hold the copied profile in the future, as if it is missing K-meleon won't open).


But this way, you should run the profiles simultaneously by these commands:
K-meleon -new -P test1 <--- the main profile
K-meleon -new -P test2 <--- the temporary profile

And the said, after close the temporary profile, delete the folder contents.


But, to be fair, it's enough to have a secondary profile with restricted preferences for cookies and other privacy elements, or just deleting the history, cookies files and others.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/13/2015 04:26PM by JohnHell.

The main goal of randomizing path to temporary profile is to run many profiles simultaneously, not to make it harder to find out the path to that profile. If the path is something like this - "%TEMP%\KM_3861" (where 3861 is random component), than you may run 9999 profiles at the same time without getting potential collisions of sessions.

With your option "-P test2", you may run only one temporary profile and then you have to remember that it's used (or not). With my approach - I don't care (or should remember) which profile I'm using. There are plenty and they're all equal and ready to use at any time. I'm lazy and, as a result, I made BAT file once and then I forget about profile collision problem...

> But, to be fair, it's enough to have a secondary profile with restricted preferences for cookies and other privacy elements, or just deleting the history, cookies files and others.

@JohnHell, I;m sick and tired watching how developers of modern browsers dance around setting/keeping cookies policies. They make it harder and harder to provide users with very simple and effective strategy (which I always use, BTW) - allow only session cookies (with my set of exceptions to keep some of them permanent) and block all third party cookies all the times. My first impression is that K-Meleon does the job well, but I have not checked it against third party cookies yet (and it will take a time to come to a conclusion). On the other hand, approach, that I'm using, is universal for all major browsers (e.g. Firefox, Iron, Chromium) regardless of their cookie policies, that they may currently push on us.

That's why using a temporary profile was the first thing I encounter starting using M-Meleon. I need to run it using profile from a specific folder.

@JohnHell, I'm not familiar with this Forum yet. Could you please move the crash issue via appropriate channels here? Crashing is not an acceptable way for any program to react on its problems. Sending some brief but descriptive enough message to users is... Thanks!

Quote
km88
@JohnHell, I'm not familiar with this Forum yet. Could you please move the crash issue via appropriate channels here? Crashing is not an acceptable way for any program to react on its problems. Sending some brief but descriptive enough message to users is... Thanks!

The channel can be this post, but Dorian, the main and only developer right now, has more chances to read it or in Bugs subforum, or (and better) in the K-meleon 76 beta thread. I can't test version 76 behavior (because OS version), but if you test it and has the same issues, post there. After all he won't fix non latest versions or out of development ones.

Bugs subforum. Just open a thread explaining how to reproduce it.

K-meleon 76 beta thread. Test it before report.

OK, thanks! Here is the bug report - Launching KM with profile folder is not wokring.