Search plugins in new profile

[Mr David]

Re: FF ESR 52.6.0 portable.

I've set up a new instance of FF Portable with it's profile set to erase browsing history on exit. I'd like to use my existing collection of search plugins in the new profile.

From my main profile, in another instance of FF Portable, I copied the "searchplugins" folder into the profile folder of the new instance of FF Portable. Unfortunately the new instance when launched does not pick up the search plugins.

How can I get the new instance of FF Portable to use the transferred search plugins?

[smsmith]

See if you have a search.json file in your profile folder and copy that file to the new profile with both instances of firefox closed. That file was introduced starting with Firefox 45. I believe you would only have one if you have added an search engines.

File may even be called search.json.mozlz4

[Frank Lion]

How can I get the new instance of FF Portable to use the transferred search plugins?

Go to your profile, exit Firefox, and rename the search.json.mozlz4 to search1.json.mozlz4 and restart. A new one will be created and pick up your search engines this time.

[Mr David]

Thanks for these replies.

Renaming the file as Frank suggested did the trick.

Any chance of a brief explanation of why this is necessary when it used not be? It seems like the usefulness of my elementary understanding of how to transfer data from one profile to another has waned with recent changes to FF.

[Frank Lion]

Any chance of a brief explanation of why this is necessary when it used not be?

No good explanation, no. It came in around v.45 (?) and is just one of many examples since Firefox 4 (big directional changes then) of Firefox devs and their 'Wow! I didn't see that one coming! attitude.

They probably didn't think/realise people would want to add their own search engines or something.