1499388 - Duplicate default profile when last profile used is a custom profile

Status: RESOLVED FIXED

(Toolkit :: Startup and Profile System, defect)

Description

[Adrian Florinescu [:aflorinescu]]

[Environment:]
Windows 8.1 / Mac Osx 10.13

[Steps:]
1. Simulate clean environmnet  
  (open any Firefox, about:support, open profile location - navigate up and delete/rename the Mozilla folder that contains profile directory)
2. Install/Run Firefox official Beta (62.0.3 /20181001155545)
3. Open Firefox Beta. (default profile is created)
4. Close Firefox Beta.
5. Open Firefox Beta -p, create my_custom_profile_beta
6. Close Firefox Beta and simulate update to beta with dedicated profiles. 
(delete the Firefox Beta content and replace it with Fireofx beta with dedicated profiles)

[Actual Result:]
A. my_custom_profile_beta is taken over by dedicated profiles
B. "default" profile && "dev-edition-default" profiles are created for older versions
C. there are now two "default" profile (initial default profile and the dedicated default profile created)

(see attachments)

[Expected Result:]
I would say that dedicated profiles should not assume that "default" profile is the one in use and thus the one taken over by the dedicated profile logic.

However, the above excludes the logic by which we add the downgrade link into prefs.js. 
Dave (:mossop), in this case, in which we are not taking over the default profile, what should happen?

Comment 1

[Adrian Florinescu [:aflorinescu]]

Attachment: profiles.ini

Comment 2

[Adrian Florinescu [:aflorinescu]]

Attachment: installs.ini

Comment 3

[Dave Townsend [:mossop]]

(In reply to Adrian Florinescu [:adrian_sv] from comment #0)
> [Environment:]
> Windows 8.1 / Mac Osx 10.13
> 
> [Steps:]
> 1. Simulate clean environmnet  
>   (open any Firefox, about:support, open profile location - navigate up and
> delete/rename the Mozilla folder that contains profile directory)
> 2. Install/Run Firefox official Beta (62.0.3 /20181001155545)
> 3. Open Firefox Beta. (default profile is created)
> 4. Close Firefox Beta.
> 5. Open Firefox Beta -p, create my_custom_profile_beta

So at this point, my_custom_profile_beta has become the default profile, the profile that will be used by default whenever you launch Firefox.

> 6. Close Firefox Beta and simulate update to beta with dedicated profiles. 
> (delete the Firefox Beta content and replace it with Fireofx beta with
> dedicated profiles)
> 
> [Actual Result:]
> A. my_custom_profile_beta is taken over by dedicated profiles
> B. "default" profile && "dev-edition-default" profiles are created for older
> versions
> C. there are now two "default" profile (initial default profile and the
> dedicated default profile created)
> 
> (see attachments)
> 
> [Expected Result:]
> I would say that dedicated profiles should not assume that "default" profile
> is the one in use and thus the one taken over by the dedicated profile logic.

I disagree, we should use the profile that is the one used by default by Firefox. It's confusing here because it isn't the profile named "Default" but for all we know that could be an ancient profile that hasn't been used in a long time. The user is currently using my_custom_profile_beta as their profile and to choose anything else would probably look like data-loss, switching them to a different profile to that that they're used to.

Comment 4

[Adrian Florinescu [:aflorinescu]]

(In reply to Dave Townsend [:mossop] (he/him) from comment #3)
> (In reply to Adrian Florinescu [:adrian_sv] from comment #0)
> > [Expected Result:]
> > I would say that dedicated profiles should not assume that "default" profile
> > is the one in use and thus the one taken over by the dedicated profile logic.
> 
> I disagree, we should use the profile that is the one used by default by
> Firefox. It's confusing here because it isn't the profile named "Default"
> but for all we know that could be an ancient profile that hasn't been used
> in a long time. The user is currently using my_custom_profile_beta as their
> profile and to choose anything else would probably look like data-loss,
> switching them to a different profile to that that they're used to.

We don't dissagree at all. It's just that I missed stating in the [Expected result:] section that indeed the fact that dedicated takes over my_custom_profile_beta as the default profile is correct. This is what is expected to happen. 

This bug is about the end result of two profiles named 'default', which are obviouslly different profiles per se, but in the profile manager they appear as duplicates and I didn't explore any additional user scenarios of what happens with 2 default named profiles: off the top of my head, I would say that other than profile manager listing, I wouldn't expect anything major with this.

Comment 5

[Dave Townsend [:mossop]]

I've changed things so now if another profile named "default" exists the stub profile created will be "default-1" and so on.