Other browsers such as Firefox and SeaMonkey allow you to have multiple profiles but not Chrome…at least not until now. If you want to use multiple profiles and create backups for them then join us as we look at Google Chrome Backup.

Note: There is a paid version of this program available but we used the free version for our article.

Google Chrome Backup in Action

During the installation process you will run across this particular window. It will have a default user name filled in as shown here…you will not need to do anything except click on Next to continue installing the program.

When you start the program for the first time this is what you will see. Your default Chrome Profile will already be visible in the window.

A quick look at the Profile Menu…

In the Tools Menu you can go ahead and disable the Start program at Windows Startup setting…the only time that you will need the program running is if you are creating or restoring a profile.

When you create a new profile the process will start with this window. You can access an Advanced Options mode if desired but most likely you will not need it.

Here is a look at the Advanced Options mode. It is mainly focused on adding Switches to the new Chrome Shortcut.

The drop-down menu for the Switches available…

To create your new profile you will need to choose:

• A profile location
• A profile name (as you type/create the profile name it will automatically be added to the Profile Path)
• Make certain that the Create a new shortcut to access new profile option is checked

For our example we decided to try out the Disable plugins switch option… Click OK to create the new profile.

Once you have created your new profile, you will find a new shortcut on the Desktop. Notice that the shortcut’s name will be Google Chrome + profile name that you chose.

Note: On our system we were able to move the new shortcut to the “Start Menu” without problems.

Clicking on our new profile’s shortcut opened up a fresh and clean looking instance of Chrome.

Just out of curiosity we did decide to check the shortcut to see if the Switch set up correctly. Unfortunately it did not in this instance…so your mileage with the Switches may vary. This was just a minor quirk and nothing to get excited or upset over…especially considering that you can create multiple profiles so easily.

After opening up our default profile of Chrome you can see the individual profile icons (New & Default in order) sitting in the Taskbar side-by-side.

And our two profiles open at the same time on our Desktop…

Backing Profiles Up

For the next part of our tests we decided to create a backup for each of our profiles. Starting the wizard will allow you to choose between creating or restoring a profile.

Note: To create or restore a backup click on Run Wizard.

When you reach the second part of the process you can go with the Backup default profile option or choose a particular one from a drop-down list using the Select a profile to backup option. We chose to backup the Default Profile first…

In the third part of the process you will need to select a location to save the profile to.

Once you have selected the location you will see the Target Path as shown here. You can choose your own name for the backup file…we decided to go with the default name instead since it contained the backup’s calendar date.

A very nice feature is the ability to have the cache cleared before creating the backup. We clicked on Yes…choose the option that best suits your needs.

Once you have chosen either Yes or No the backup will then be created. Click Finish to complete the process.

The backup file for our Default Profile at 14.0 MB in size.

And the backup file for our Chrome Fresh Profile…2.81 MB.

Restoring Profiles

For the final part of our tests we decided to do a Restore. Select Restore and click Next to get the process started.

In the second step you will need to browse for the Profile Backup File (and select the desired profile if you have created multiples). For our example we decided to overwrite the original Default Profile with the Chrome Fresh Profile.

The third step lets you choose where to restore the chosen profile to…you can go with the Default Profile or choose one from the drop-down list using the Restore to a selected profile option.

The final step will get you on your way to restoring the chosen profile.

The program will conduct a check regarding the previous/old profile and ask if you would like to proceed with overwriting it. Definitely nice in case you change your mind at the last moment.

Clicking Yes will finish the restoration. The only other odd quirk that we noticed while using the program was that the Next Button did not function after restoring the profile. You can easily get around the problem by clicking to close the window.

Which one is which? After the restore process we had identical twins.

Conclusion

If you have been looking for a way to create multiple profiles in Google Chrome, then you might want to add this program to your system.

Links

Download Google Chrome Backup