profile Element (ASP.NET Settings Schema) 

Configures parameters for managing user profile values by using the ASP.NET profile.

This element is new in the .NET Framework version 2.0.

<profile
    enabled="true|false"
    inherits="fully qualified type reference"
    automaticSaveEnabled="true|false"
    defaultProvider="provider name">
    <properties>...</properties>
    <providers>...</providers>
</profile>

Attributes and Elements

The following sections describe attributes, child elements, and parent elements.

Attributes

Attribute	Description
enabled	Optional Boolean attribute. Specifies whether ASP.NET user profiles are enabled. If true, ASP.NET user profiles are enabled. The default is true.
defaultProvider	Optional String attribute. Specifies the name of the default profile provider. For more information, see Provider. The default is AspNetSqlProfileProvider.
inherits	Optional String attribute. Contains a type reference for a custom type that derives from the ProfileBase abstract class. ASP.NET dynamically generates an ProfileCommon class that inherits from this type and places it in the Profile property of the current HttpContext.
automaticSaveEnabled	Optional Boolean attribute. Specifies whether the user profile is automatically saved at the end of the execution of an ASP.NET page. If true, the user profile is automatically saved at the end of the execution of an ASP.NET page. The ProfileModule object saves a user profile only if the module detects that the profile has been modified. That is, the IsDirty property is true. For more information, see ASP.NET Profile Properties. The default is true.

Child Elements

Element	Description
properties	Required element. Defines a collection of user profile properties and property groups.
providers	Optional element. Defines a collection of profile providers.

Parent Elements

Element	Description
configuration	Specifies the required root element in every configuration file that is used by the common language runtime and the .NET Framework applications.
system.web	Specifies the root element for the ASP.NET configuration section.

Remarks

For information about accessing and modifying configuration values for the profile element in application code, see ProfileSection.

Default Configuration

The following default profile element is configured in the Machine.config file in the .NET Framework version 2.0.

<profile>
  <providers>
        <add name="AspNetSqlProfileProvider" connectionStringName="LocalSqlServer" applicationName="/" type="System.Web.Profile.SqlProfileProvider, System.Web, Version=2.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a" /> 
  </providers>
</profile>

Example

The following code example shows how to configure the Web.config file for an ASP.NET application to use a SqlProfileProvider provider.

<configuration>
  <connectionStrings>
    <add name="SqlServices" connectionString="Data Source=localhost;Integrated Security=SSPI;Initial 
         Catalog=aspnetdb;" />
  </connectionStrings>

  <system.web>
    <authentication mode="Forms" >
      <forms loginUrl="login.aspx" name=".ASPXFORMSAUTH" />
    </authentication>

    <authorization>
      <deny users="?" />
    </authorization>

    <membership defaultProvider="SqlProvider" userIsOnlineTimeWindow="15">
      <providers>
        <clear/>
        <add name="SqlProvider" 
             type="System.Web.Security.SqlMembershipProvider" 
             connectionStringName="SqlServices"
             applicationName="SampleApplication"
             enablePasswordRetrieval="true"
             enablePasswordReset="true"
             passwordFormat="Encrypted"
             requiresQuestionAndAnswer="true" />
      </providers>
    </membership>

    <profile defaultProvider="SqlProvider">
      <providers>
        <clear />
        <add name="SqlProvider"
             type="System.Web.Profile.SqlProfileProvider"
             connectionStringName="SqlServices"
             applicationName="SampleApplication"
             description="SqlProfileProvider for SampleApplication" />
      </providers>

      <properties>
        <add name="ZipCode" />
        <add name="CityAndState" />
      </properties>
    </profile>
  </system.web>
</configuration>

Element Information

Configuration section handler	System.Web.Configuration.ProfileSection
Configuration member	System.Web.Configuration.SystemWebSectionGroup.Profile
Configurable locations	Machine.config Root-level Web.config Application-level Web.config
Requirements	Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) version 5.0, 5.1, or 6.0 The .NET Framework version 2.0 Microsoft Visual Studio 2005

See Also

Tasks

How to: Lock ASP.NET Configuration Settings

Reference

system.web Element (ASP.NET Settings Schema)
<configuration> Element
properties Element for profile (ASP.NET Settings Schema)
providers Element for profile (ASP.NET Settings Schema)
ProfileSection
System.Configuration
System.Web.Configuration

Concepts

ASP.NET Configuration Overview
ASP.NET Web Server Controls and Browser Capabilities
Securing ASP.NET Configuration
ASP.NET Configuration Scenarios

Other Resources

ASP.NET Profile Properties
ASP.NET Configuration Files
ASP.NET Configuration Settings
General Configuration Settings (ASP.NET)
ASP.NET Configuration API