3/17/2021
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`Special folder - Wikipedia
`
`Special folder
`
`This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Lisamh (talk | contribs) at 02:43, 22 September
`2006 (→ File system directories). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision,
`which may differ significantly from the current revision.
`
`On Microsoft Windows operating systems, Special Folders are folders which are presented to the user through an
`interface as an abstract concept, instead of an absolute folder path. This makes it possible for an application to ask the
`operating system where an appropriate location for certain kinds of files can be found, regardless of what version or
`language of operating system is being used.
`
`Contents
`Overview
`List of special folders
`File system directories
`Virtual folders
`See also
`References
`External links
`
`Overview
`
`Windows uses the concept of special folders to help present the contents of the
`computer to the user in a fairly consistent way that frees the user from having to
`deal with absolute file paths, which can (and often do) change between operating
`system versions, and even individual installations. The idea has evolved over
`time, with new special folders being added in every version of Windows since
`their introduction in Windows 95.
`
`Microsoft's "Designed for Windows" logo requirements[1] state that an application
`must make use of Special Folders locations to locate the appropriate folders in
`which documents and application settings should be stored.
`
`A Special Folder can either be a reference to a physical file system directory, or a
`reference to a "virtual" folder. In the former case, they are analogous to
`environment variables — in fact, many of the environment variables that are set
`in a user's session are defined by where the special folders are set to point to.
`
`Virtual folders, however, do not actually exist on the file system; they are instead
`presented through Windows Explorer as a tree of folders that the user can
`navigate. This is known as the Shell namespace. At the root of this namespace is
`the Desktop virtual folder, which contains the My Documents, My Computer, My
`Network Places (Network Neighborhood in Windows 95 and 98) and Recycle Bin
`virtual folders. Some virtual folders (like Desktop) have an accompanying special
`folder that is a reference to a physical file system. Windows Explorer displays the
`combined contents of a virtual folder and its associated file system folder to the
`user. This can be seen in Figure 1, which shows the Folder view in Windows XP's
`Explorer; in the Desktop virtual folder, the four standard virtual folders can be seen, as well as an additional folder, "a
`folder on the desktop", which is a real folder located in the Desktop directory in the user's profile. Some third-party
`programs add their own virtual folders to Windows Explorer.
`
`Figure 1: Windows Explorer's folder view
`in Windows XP uses virtual folders as the
`root.
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`List of special folders
`
`Special folder - Wikipedia
`
`The following tables list most of the file system and virtual folders that are available as of Windows XP. The OS version in
`which each special folder was introduced is given as well.
`
`File system directories
`
`Special Folder
`
`Represents
`
`Default Location
`(in English. Non-English versions of Windows will use directory names
`appropriate to that language.)
`
`OS
`
`Application
`Data
`Cookies
`Desktop
`Directory
`Favorites
`Fonts
`
`User's Favorites
`Container folder for installed fonts
`
`History
`
`User-specific browser history
`
`Internet Cache
`
`User-specific Temporary Internet Files
`
`Per-user application-specific files
`
`C:\Documents and Settings\%username%\Application Data
`
`Internet Explorer browser cookies
`
`C:\Documents and Settings\%username%\Cookies
`
`Files stored on the user's desktop
`
`C:\Documents and Settings\%username%\Desktop
`
`C:\Documents and Settings\%username%\Favorites
`C:\WINDOWS\Fonts
`C:\Documents and Settings\%username%\Local
`Settings\History
`C:\Documents and Settings\%username%\Local
`Settings\Temporary Internet Files
`
`98
`
`98
`
`95
`
`98
`98
`
`98
`
`98
`
`Local
`Application
`Data
`
`User-specific and computer-specific
`application settings
`
`C:\Documents and Settings\%username%\Local
`Settings\Application Data
`
`2000/ME
`
`My Documents
`
`User's documents, i.e. My Documents
`
`My Music
`
`User's music
`
`My Pictures
`
`User's pictures
`
`User-specific "(All) Programs" groups
`and icons
`User-specific "My Recent Documents"
`User-specific "Send To" menu items
`User-specific "Start Menu" items
`The Windows system directory
`User-specific document templates
`
`Programs
`
`Recent
`Send To
`Start Menu
`System
`Templates
`
`Notes:
`
`C:\Documents and Settings\%username%\My Documents (WinNT
`line)
`C:\My Documents (Win98-ME)
`C:\Documents and Settings\%username%\My Documents\My
`Music
`C:\Documents and Settings\%username%\My Documents\My
`Pictures
`
`C:\Documents and Settings\%username%\Start Menu\Programs
`
`C:\Documents and Settings\%username%\Recent
`C:\Documents and Settings\%username%\SendTo
`C:\Documents and Settings\%username%\Start Menu
`C:\WINDOWS\system32
`C:\Documents and Settings\%username%\Templates
`
`98
`
`XP
`
`XP
`
`95
`
`98
`98
`98
`2000
`98
`
`1. The "Desktop" virtual folder is not the same thing as the "Desktop" special folder. The Desktop virtual folder is the root
`of the Windows Shell namespace, which contains other virtual folders.[2]
`2. "Local Application Data" differs from "Application Data" in that files located in the "Local" variant are also intended to
`be specific to the machine it is on. This only has relevance if the user's profile is a Roaming Profile in a Windows
`Server domain environment.
`3. As with Desktop, the "My Documents" virtual folder differs from the "My Documents" special folder. If the virtual folder
`variant is asked for, it will appear in a file dialog as a sub-directory of the "Desktop" virtual folder, instead of the user's
`profile directory as it physically exists on the hard drive.
`
`Virtual folders
`
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`Special folder - Wikipedia
`
`Represents
`
`The aggregated contents of the Recycle Bin on all drives
`
`Icons for Control Panel (Windows) applets
`
`Virtual
`Folder
`Recycle
`Bin
`Control
`Panel
`Desktop
`Drives
`Internet
`My
`Documents Virtual folder of the user's My Documents folder; used as a child of the Desktop virtual folder
`Network Neighborhood (Windows 95 and 98) or My Network Places (Windows 2000 and later); contains virtual folders for
`representing all network resources
`
`The Windows Desktop
`My Computer; contains virtual folders representing everything on the local machine, as well as mapped network drives
`Resources located on the Internet; WebDAV connections, etc.
`
`Network
`
`Listing of the results of the last search of the computer (appears only after a search)
`
`Container folder for installed printers
`
`Search
`Results
`Printers
`
`Notes:
`
`OS
`
`98
`
`95
`
`95
`98
`95
`
`98
`
`98
`
`?
`
`95
`
`1. The "Desktop" virtual folder is not the same thing as the "Desktop" special folder. The Desktop virtual folder is the root
`of the Windows Shell namespace, which contains other virtual folders.[3]
`2. As with Desktop, the "My Documents" virtual folder differs from the "My Documents" special folder. If the virtual folder
`variant is asked for, it will appear in a file dialog as a sub-directory of the "Desktop" virtual folder, instead of the user's
`profile directory as it physically exists on the hard drive.
`
`See also
`
`Microsoft Windows
`Windows Explorer
`TweakUI
`
`References
`
`1. http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/winlogo/ Windows Logo Program
`2. The Shell Namespace (http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/shellcc/platform/shell/programm
`ersguide/shell_basics/namespace.asp)
`3. [1] (http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/shellcc/platform/shell/programmersguide/shell_basi
`cs/namespace.asp)
`
`External links
`
`Shell Programmer's Guide - The Shell Namespace (http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/she
`llcc/platform/shell/programmersguide/shell_basics/shell_basics_programming/folder_info.asp) — MSDN
`documentation on Shell namespaces
`CSIDL Values (http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/shellcc/platform/Shell/reference/enums/csidl.asp) — MSDN
`documentation containing a complete list of all available special folders and virtual folders
`Microsoft PowerToys for Windows XP (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx)
`— TweakUI is available for download on this page
`Environment.SpecialFolder Enumeration (http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/cpref/html/frlr
`fsystemenvironmentspecialfolderclasstopic.asp) — MSDN documentation on accessing special folder values in the
`.NET Framework
`
`Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special_folder&oldid=77102597"
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`3/17/2021
`
`Special folder - Wikipedia
`
`This page was last edited on 22 September 2006, at 02:43 (UTC).
`This version of the page has been revised. Besides normal editing, the reason for revision may have been that this version contains factual
`inaccuracies, vandalism, or material not compatible with the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.
`
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