A mechanism for switching between multiple copies of a software program on a computer system is provided. The mechanism includes detecting a plurality of copies of the software program on a computer system, receiving input selecting one of the detected plurality of copies of the software program to be a default copy, and determining whether the selected copy of the software program is a current default copy on the computer system. If the selected copy of the software program is not the current default copy on the computer system then, the mechanism further includes demoting the current default copy to be an alternate copy, and promoting the selected copy of the software program to be a next current default copy.