Key Takeaways:
- Chrome lets you separate your browsing activities using profiles.
- You can switch between profiles by clicking on your user icon in the Chrome browser.
- You can create a Chrome profile shortcut on your desktop by enabling the “Create desktop shortcut” option on the profile management page.
When you create a new shortcut, Chrome creates a profile shortcut on the desktop. If you delete that shortcut, you can manually create a user-specific Chrome profile shortcut on the desktop whenever you want.
Creating a user-specific Chrome profile shortcut on your Windows desktop can be useful to easily and quickly access a profile of your choice. This is especially true when sharing the computer with multiple users. If you want, you can also pin the Chrome profile shortcut to the taskbar.
Let me show you how to create a desktop shortcut for any Chrome profile.
Table of contents:
- How to create a Chrome profile shortcut on the desktop
- What is a Chrome profile?
- Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
- Conclusion
How to create a Chrome profile shortcut on the desktop
There are multiple ways to create a desktop shortcut for any Chrome profile of your choice. The easiest way is to use the built-in “create desktop shortcut” option.
Here’s how to create a Chrome profile shortcut on the desktop:
- Open the Chrome browser.
- Click on the “User” icon in the top right corner.
- Click the “Edit” icon.
- Scroll down to the bottom of the page.
- Enable the “Create desktop shortcut” option.
- With that, you’ve created the Chrome profile shortcut on the desktop.
Steps with more details:
First, open the Chrome browser. You can either click the Chrome icon on the taskbar or search for it in the Start menu.
After opening the Chrome browser, click on the user icon in the top right corner. Generally, the user account icon will be your Google account icon or a random profile icon and appears before the Menu icon (three vertical dots) next to the address bar.
If you are already in the Chrome profile of your choice, then skip this step. Otherwise, click on the profile of your choice to open a new Chrome browser window with that profile. Next, click on the user icon on the address bar.
Click on the “Edit” icon in the user info pop-up. This action opens a new tab and takes you to the “Customize Profile” page. You can get to this by typing “chrome://settings/manageProfile” in the address bar.
Once you are here, scroll down to the bottom of the page and enable the “Create desktop shortcut” option.
As soon as you do that, Chrome creates the profile shortcut on the desktop. Following the same steps, you can create desktop shortcuts for all your Chrome profiles.
If you are wondering, the name of the newly created Chrome shortcut on the desktop has the profile name in it, making it easy to recognize if you have multiple Chrome shortcuts.
What is a Chrome profile?
A profile in Chrome is a way to have different settings, bookmarks, and browsing history for different users on the same device. This allows you to separate your browsing activities, like keeping your personal browsing separate from your work browsing.
Each profile will have its own set of browser data, bookmarks, extensions, and settings. You can also sign into different Google accounts in different profiles to sync all the profile data.
To put it simply, Chrome profiles help keep your browsing activity organized and separate.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Here are a few frequently asked questions about creating a user-specific Chrome profile shortcut on a Windows desktop.
Yes, you can create a desktop shortcut for any Chrome profile you want. Open the profile management page in the Chrome browser and enable the “Create desktop shortcut.”
Yes, you can have multiple Chrome profile shortcuts on your Windows desktop. All you have to do is enable the “Create desktop shortcut” option in each profile. The steps to do that are provided above.
After creating the Chrome profile shortcut on your desktop, double-click on it to open it. Next, right-click on the browser icon on the taskbar and select the “Pin to Taskbar” option. This action pins that specific Chrome profile to the taskbar.
To open a Chrome profile with a keyboard shortcut, you must assign the shortcut first. To do that, right-click on the Chrome profile desktop shortcut and select “Properties.” Next, select the “Shortcut” field, press the keyboard shortcut you want to assign, and click the “Ok” button.
A Chrome browser shortcut is a shortcut that opens the Chrome browser with the default or last used profile, while a Chrome profile shortcut is a shortcut that opens the Chrome browser with a specific profile.
Easily create Chrome profile desktop shortcut – Conclusion
In conclusion, creating a Chrome profile shortcut on your Windows desktop can be a useful way to quickly and easily switch between Chrome profiles. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can create a shortcut for each of your Chrome profiles and have them easily accessible directly from your desktop. This can save you valuable time and effort, especially if you frequently switch between profiles. Additionally, this technique can be used on Windows, Mac, and Linux systems.
I hope this simple and easy Chrome how-to guide helped you.
If you are stuck or need help, send an email, and I will try to help as much as possible.