Profiles

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.

Profile settings
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 on remote or  or  on a keyboard will bring up the option to delete a profile.

Adding a profile
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

 * 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
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
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.

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.