My recommendations for edits to the Thunderbird "Profiles" section: "Restoring".
Dear Thunderbird "Help" team:
My recommendations for edits to the Thunderbird "Profiles" section:
Things that are not clear, on the page of Thunderbird "...Restoring to a different location..." https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profiles-tb#w_restoring-to-a-different-location . and... https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profiles-tb
A.a) Existing: "...Each profile is stored on your hard drive in a profile folder. The folder is named using the following convention:
<random_string>.<profile_name>
...where "<random_string>" is eight digits randomly generated by Thunderbird and "<profile_name>" is the name you assigned to the profile. ..."
A.b) Please replace "digits" with "characters". In common US English, digits are numerical, 0 to 9. (You have it right, in the later paragraph: "Restoring a profile backup". )
B) At "Moving a profile", it is not clear the difference between that and "Restoring to a different location". Please split the two cases, so that each one is complete unto itself. Write separate instruction sets (there is no advantage to economy of words, in a webpage like this.)
B.a) Explain first how to find the file "profiles.ini", by using the Windows Explorer window.
B.b) Recommend that the user first make a backup copy of that file "profiles.ini", in case the work does not succeed, so that the messed-up file can be replaced with the original.
B.c) In the descriptors of "Moving a profile", for the actions to be taken, it is not clear whether each step is... at the location of the backup, or... at the location for the desired new installation. Especially uncertain for Step 3 and Step 4.
B.d) In Step 5, give a better explanation for the path options: - relative or non-relative. How does the user know if the path option has been switched?
Marian Beddill
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Please be my guest, make what edits your can (even if you skip the technical stuff) and leave a note in the documents discussion section so that others might know what you think needs to be done. We need all the help we can get in the documentation. Especially a proof reader.
As a volunteer project we struggle on the finer points as, at least in my case, I ramble and do not write well.
Just bear in mind that usage is English worldwide really. There is no British or Australian or South African English version. So do not use American assumptions and limit US idiosyncratic usage of the English Language.
Things like there are more way to write a date than mm/dd/yy and decimal separators are not all a "period" the British reader would object to that word as well I think. Other common issues are terms like "pacific" do not denote an automatic assumption of US pacific time outside the US.
Having read what you might construe as negative I do agree that the Character/Digits does appear to have issues and more clarity would help.
You spoke to my first item - "digits".
But my BIG problem is the second one. -- "Moving a profile". I cannot understand the instructions. (*) The reason, is that it tries to cover TWO CASES/SITUATIONS , jumbled into ONE instruction set.
My request to Mozilla, is to split those instructions into TWO (or more) distinct and separate instruction sets, but with each set dealing ONLY with one case.
Write one set for "Moving a profile". Write one set for "Restoring to a different location". This way, the user does not have to try to interpret the "if"-descriptors, while in the middle of trying to accomplish the task at hand.
Doing as I ask, makes for more words, and a longer page. But there is no cost for length of a page, and a great advantage to the user, since the steps to be followed for each case are distinct and are not ambiguous. Do not have any "If-this" detours in the sequence of operations.
(*) PS: I am not dumb on programming. I have been writing code since 1966, and have taught programming in several other nations.
(**) PPS: I still have not been able to move ("replicate") my old profile and message files, from the external backup copy, into the new, clean machine, so that I may continue corresponding from where I left off, when the motherboard crashed.
it is really very simple. On windows the %appdata% environment variable points to the "application data" folder so %appdata%\Roaming\Thunderbird will be the root location of the thunderbird profiles ( there can be more than one)
That folder also contains the profiles.ini file which by default contains a relative path to the profile that is in use.
so you copy that folder and all sub folders onto your usb drive
On your new computer you again go to appdata open the appropriate folder and past in the Thunderbird appdata folder and its sub folders.
You start Thunderbird.
If you have any difficulty locating the location being used on your new machine, Select the troubleshooting information on the help menu. click the show button in the troubleshooting information page an press the up button in Windows explorer until you get the the thunderbird folder.
Now restoring restoring to a different location and a whole host of other backup and restore type things are covered by my instructions However if I was to dare suggest copying from %appdata%\Roaming\Thunderbird in the article you refer to someone would edit within days, to change it back. The reason I am not moving a profile, I am moving all of them.