Profiles

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Home icon grey.png   ▶ General topics
▶ Extras
▶ Settings
▶ Multiple users
▶ Profiles
Profile0.png

XBMC supports multiple user profiles, much the same as setting up individual users on your home computer. These individual profiles allow you to customize the environment for multiple users, allowing for such functionality as:

  • Customized view settings such as skins for each user
  • The ability to lock folders, such as network shares on a per-user basis
  • Separate media libraries for each user
  • Unique RSS feeds for each user
  • Unique keymapping for each user
  • Unique network settings

All options stored in the userdata folder can be customized per profile, allowing for an amazing amount of flexibility.

Note: There are many references to the Master Code below. See Settings/System>Master lock for more information.

Profile settings

Profile1.png

Selecting Profiles from the main settings window will bring you to the screen pictured to the right. In this screen you have the following options:

Login screen
Enables/disables the login screen
Add profile
Add a new profile

Selecting a profile and bringing up the contextual menu press guide on remote or C or  Win on a keyboard will bring up the option to delete a profile.

Adding a profile

Profile2.png

In order to add a profile, simply choose Add Profile.

First, you will be prompted to enter a name for your profile. Enter the name for your profile. Then, it will prompt you for your profile directory. This is where your personalized settings will be stored. Choose New Folder and add a folder with the same name as your profile (this is the default). Then select the new directory and choose OK.

You should then see a screen much like the one to the left. The following options are available:

Profile name
Change the name of your profile
Profile picture
Allows you to associate a picture with your profile
Profile directory
Allows you to choose the folder in which your individual settings are stored
Lock preferences
Allows you to lock many of your preferences. This is detailed below.
Media info
Allows you to have separate information saved for your media, i.e. IMdB, AllMusic, etc. The options are
  • Separate - Profiles have separate media info with full control
  • Shares with Default - Shares media info with the default user with full control
  • Shares with Default (Read Only) - Shares media info with the default user, and is locked by the master code
  • Separate (Locked) - Profile has separate media info, but you can only change it by enabling master mode.
Media sources
Allows you to have separate media sources for the profiles. The options are
  • Separate - Profiles have separate media sources with full control
  • Shares with Default - Shares media sources with the default user with full control
  • Shares with Default (Read Only) - Shares media sources with the default user, and is locked by the master code
  • Separate (Locked) - Profiles have separate media sources, but you can only change them by enabling master mode.


The profile lock preferences

Profile3.png
Profile Lock
Allows you to set a password for the profile. Locking a profile is essentially the same as setting a password on your computer; it disallows other users from using your profile, modifying your settings or viewing your media shares if they are configured separately from other users. The options are:
  • Numeric password - Enter a Numeric Password using the On Screen Keyboard
  • Gamepad button combo - Enter a series of buttons using the Gamepad
  • Full-text password - Enter a plain-text password using the On Screen Keyboard
Lock music section
Lock video section
Lock pictures section
Lock programs and scripts section
Lock file manager
Lock settings
Restricts access for the selected profile to the selected sections when selected


Switching profiles

Profile login screen.png

You you choose a profile from the login screen (if enabled above), call up the context menu while in Profile Settings and select "Load Profile", or some skins will have a log-out button (often in the shutdown menu).

profiles.xml and profiles folder

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It is important to mention that this section exists so that users have some documentation to refer to in the event of profile related issues occur like profile corruption. This does not constitute a invitation to novice users to start messing around with said files/folders and cause inadvertent problems that would not otherwise exist.

Emblem-important-yellow.png WARNING::
Do not edit the any of the xml files in question unless indicated by a XBMC developer or for backup purposes only


The master user (default XBMC user) depends on guisettings.xml to for XBMC settings, default userdata contents and is stored inside the userdata folder ?

Any additional user(s) XBMC settings' or data, are stored separately inside the main profiles folder within respectively profile-named folder, e.g. /userdata/profiles/TEST/.

profiles.xml

The master user and any additionally created users information lockcodes and locked sections is stored inside /userdata/profiles.xml

Profiles folder contents

The profiles folder contains separate XBMC settings or data related to the profiles created e.g. /userdata/profiles/TEST/guisettings.xml The profiles folder may also contain unique userdata contents depending on what settings you use, when Adding a Profile. So dont be surprised to find this folder populated with userdata related contents (logically unique and non-transmissible to other users) in case of databases these are not shared and are unique to the user in question.