223251 - Mozilla needs a way to avoid using [random string].slt in the path to the profile

Status: VERIFIED DUPLICATE of bug 70931

(SeaMonkey :: Startup & Profiles, enhancement)

Description

[Matt Miller]

User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.5) Gecko/20031007
Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.5) Gecko/20031007

It seems there is no way to create a Mozilla profile that does not contain the
[random string].slt in its full path.  My environment would work best if Mozilla
profiles could be stored in P:\Mozilla\Profiles\default.slt, with no [random
string].slt appended to it.

I have tried using the Profile Manager to create a profile, but the [random
string].slt is always appended to whatever I specify as the path + profile name.
 Hacking out the random string appears to be impossible without confusing Mozilla.

I have also tried using mozilla's command line to create the profile (without
using the Profile Manager GUI), but the same problem exists.

Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
Using Profile Manager:
1. Attempt to create a profile stored in any location
2. Specify "default.slt" as the profile name (or anything for that matter)
3. The profile will be created in the specified location, but with the [random
string].slt appended

Using Mozilla's command line:
1. mozilla -nosplash -CreateProfile "default.slt P:\Mozilla\Profiles"
2. The profile will be created in the specified location, but with the [random
string].slt appended

No apparent way exists to remove the [random string].slt from the path to the
profile.
Actual Results:  
In both cases, I attempted to hack the [random string].slt out of
%USERPROFILE%\Application Data\Mozilla\registry.dat, but Mozilla gets confused
the next time I start it and creates an entirely new profile in
%USERPROFILE%\Application Data\Mozilla\Profiles\default\[random string].slt,
which completely ignores what is specified in registry.dat.

Of course, hacking registry.dat wouldn't be necessary if an easy way to omit the
random string existed.

Expected Results:  
Mozilla should have an option for omitting the random string in the profile path
when creating a profile.  This makes it more friendly for administrators in
large, multi-user environments when mass changes need to be made (via a script,
for example).


I have found a workaround.  I can use a registry.dat file that was created with
a previous version of Netscape to specify the location of the profile (which
allows me to omit the default.slt).

I understand the security benefits of the random string, but security through
obscurity isn't, so administrative concerns should also be factored in.  My
environemt provides each user with their own unique P: drive (to continue the
drive lettering in the example above), so security is still provided, albeit
through design of other systems (not Mozilla's).

Comment 1

[Bill Mason]

*** This bug has been marked as a duplicate of 70931 ***

Comment 2

[timeless]

vrfy dupe