How can I start two FF instances under two Windows accounts at once w/o -no-remote? I need to be able to send URLs to them.
I have one FF (36.0) installation and two Windows user accounts: one for work (w/o internet access but with access to domain resources like JIRA) and one for internet access (w/o access to local resources). I need two instances of FF running at the same time with different resources. I've created profiles with different names under both accounts and specify profile names using -p parameter. However when I try to start both instances of FF (second one is started via RUNAS), second instance can't be started, new tab in already running instance is opened instead:
firefox.exe -p profile runas.exe /profile /savecred /user:user_i "\"firefox.exe\" -p profile_i"
When I start one of them with -no-profile, I can start both at once... but when I try to execute firefox.exe with an URL in order to open a tab with this URL in one of running instances (local URLs I open by starting firefox.exe under work account and remote URLs I open by starting FF via RUNAS), it can't sent URL to already running instance of same user, it always sends URLs to an instance that is runnung w/o -no-remote.
firefox.exe -p profile -url "url" runas.exe /profile /savecred /user:user_i "\"firefox.exe\" -p profile_i -url \"url\""
So, I need to have two instances under two different Windows user accounts, and when firefox.exe is started again, it should only communicate with instance that is running under same user account, it must not communicate with instance that is running under different Windows account.
All Replies (9)
I've called the big guys to help you. Good luck.
This feature was removed and unfortunately I do not have any ETA or work around for this.
Work around mentioned in the bug was:
firefox -P "$1" -new-tab "$2"
Does the profile manager detect the profile of the other windows' profile?
Modified by guigs
Well, when one instance is already running (for testing I've started one via runas and w/o any arguments, so it loaded default profile for that user; I'll name it FFR), and I try to start another one (under my current account; I'll name it FFC),
firefox firefox -P firefox -P profile firefox -P -new-tab ya.ru Opens new tab in FFR.
firefox -no-remote firefox -no-remote -new-tab ya.ru Opens FFC with correct profile. But I can't then open new tabs/windows in it when starting new FF with URLs (FFR always catches them instead).
firefox -P -no-remote firefox -P -no-remote -new-tab ya.ru Opens FFC with profile manager that shows local user profiles (as expected, since different users have different AppData folders). Can't receive new URLs.
When two instances running, one w/o no-remote and other one with -no-remote, first one always opens new URLs. So there is no way to chose instance that should open URL (neither by profile name nor by Windows user account).
It would be great to learn FF to communicate with its user account instances, or maybe to have an option to distinguish window class/profile name of instance that should receive URL.
Or maybe there is a way to send some Windows message with URL to a specific window of running FF?
Modified by MVV_
guigs2 said
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Mozilla/Command_Line_Options#-no-remote This feature was removed and unfortunately I do not have any ETA or work around for this.
It was the different -remote switch that was removed and not the -no-remote
You would have to start two instances in different Windows user accounts to be able to start them without using -no-remote. Otherwise you would have to use a different browser like SeaMonkey. I don't know if you can make changes to a Firefox executable to make the program report differently and prevent Firefox detecting that it is already running.
Modified by cor-el
cor-el said
You would have to start two instances in different Windows user accounts to be able to start them without using -no-remote.
Actually it is what I do. I start two instances in different Windows user accounts but within same desktop.
Otherwise you would have to use a different browser like SeaMonkey. I don't know if you can make changes to a Firefox executable to make the program report differently and prevent Firefox detecting that it is already running.
This is what I want to avoid. I think correct behaviour shouldn't imply communicating with other users' instances.
Modified by MVV_
Also a heads up, in version 36.1 the remote option was added back.
Another heads up, the -remote switch was removed again in the 36.0.3 chemspill update today. https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/36.0.3/releasenotes/
The 36.0.2 was skipped as there was a mobile Firefox 36.0.2.
From the bug report it seems that the docs aren't updated and that -remote has been restored in Firefox 36.0.1 and later.
See comments 75 and further:
- bug 1080319 - Remove the -remote option