Special directory

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In the operating system Windows of the provider Microsoft will be the user conceptual objects, such as the desktop, in the form of special directories ( English special folders provided) as abstract constructs an interface to the file system instead of an absolute directory path available (virtualization). This allows an application to ask the operating system for the right location for certain files regardless of its version or language.

overview

Windows uses the concept of special directories to display the content of storage media connected to the computer in a consistent way so that the user does not have to worry about absolute file paths, which on the one hand change frequently between the different versions of the operating system , as well as can be specified differently for the individual installations. This concept has evolved over time, which is why each new version of Windows has shown new special directories since its introduction in Windows 95 .

In order to obtain the Microsoft “Designed for Windows” logo , an application had to use the special directories to locate the directories in which the documents and application settings are located.

A special directory can nevertheless either be a reference to a directory in the file system or a reference to a “virtual” directory. In the first case they would be an analogy to the environment variables - de facto many environment variables determined in a computer session ( user's session ) are set according to the specifications of the special directories.

Virtual directories do not actually exist in the file system. Instead, they are displayed as a directory tree via Windows Explorer , with / to which the user can navigate. This is also known as the namespace of the Windows user interface (English shell namespace ). In Windows XP , the root of this namespace is the virtual folder Desktop , from which the virtual folders My Documents , My Computer , Network Connections ( network environment under Windows 95 and 98) and Recycle Bin branch off and are accessible. Some virtual directories (like the desktop) have an associated special directory that is related to a specific directory in the real file system. In this way, Windows Explorer always offers the user the combined content of a virtual directory and its associated file system directory. You can see the explorer if you click on the workstation in Windows or use the key combination WIN + E (an illustration of this would affect Microsoft's rights). In the virtual directory “Desktop” you can also see the virtual standard directories. If the well-known “New Folder” is located there, then it would be a real directory and would be located in the desktop directory in the profile of the respective user.

Important internal special directories of Windows are the virtual directories "Local Settings" and "Application Data", which can be found for every user. Both directories are used by various applications to run and manage them. That is why there are many other directories under it.

Unfortunately, it is a convention that programmers often disregard, that the special directory "Local Settings" should only be used for data relating to the computer on which the directory of the application itself is located. Whereas the "application data" should contain the information that is related to the logged in user and his settings. This is particularly disregarded by the fact that other virtual directories are used and added to Windows Explorer.

The background: In a network domain , so a network that Active Directory used user identities actively manage active at the network level rather than on the user's system, users often "mitwandernde" Profiles ( english roaming profiles ) that are downloaded to your computer to which the authorized user logs on. The entire “application data” directory tree is downloaded onto the computer - as part of the profile that moves with it; but not the "local settings", which are stationary.

List of special directories

The following two tables list most of the system and virtual directories that apply to Windows Vista . The version of the operating system under which the respective directories were introduced is also specified (OS version).

File system directories

Special directory stands for Intended location
(in English; adapted in the other languages.) 		BS
version
Application Data Application-specific files, user-related %USERPROFILE%\Application Data
%APPDATA% 		98
XP
Cookies Internet Explorer browser cookies %USERPROFILE%\Cookies 98
Desktop directory Files stored on the user's desktop %USERPROFILE%\Desktop 95
Favorites User's favorites %USERPROFILE%\Favorites 98
Fonts Directory of installed fonts %windir%\Fonts 95
course User-specific course of the browser %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\History 98
Internet cache User-specific temporary internet files %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files 98
Local application data User- and computer-specific application data (application settings) %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data 2000 / ME
My Documents
(My Documents) 		Documents of the user %USERPROFILE%\My Documents (WinNT line)
C:\My Documents (Win98-ME) 		98
My Music
(My Music) 		User's music files %USERPROFILE%\My Documents\My Music XP
My Pictures
(My Pictures) 		Images saved by the user %USERPROFILE%\My Documents\My Pictures XP
My videos
(My videos) 		Videos or movies saved by the user %USERPROFILE%\My Documents\My Videos XP
Programs
(Programs) 		"All programs" (groups and icons user-specific) %USERPROFILE%\Start Menu\Programs 95
Recently
(Recent) 		Recently edited documents of the user %USERPROFILE%\Recent 98
Send To
(Send To) 		User-specific context menu entries "Send to" %USERPROFILE%\SendTo 98
Start menu The user's specific start menu %USERPROFILE%\Start Menu 98
Windows
(system) 		The system directory (of) Windows %windir%\system32 2000
Saved games
(Saved Games) 		User saved game (s) e %USERPROFILE%\Saved games Vista
Templates
(templates) 		User document templates %USERPROFILE%\Templates 98

Hints:

  1. The virtual directory "Desktop" is not the same object as the special directory Desktop; the virtual directory "Desktop" is the root of the user interface , under which there are further virtual folders.
  2. "Local application data" differs from "application data" in that the files in the "local" variant are also only intended and valid for the computer on which the directory is located. This is only important if the user profile (roaming) moves in a (English) Windows Server domain network environment.
  3. As already explained for “Desktop”, the virtual directory “My Documents” also differs from the special directory My Documents. If you are asked for the virtual directory variant, it appears in a file dialog (open, save) as a subdirectory of the virtual directory “Desktop” and NOT as the directory of the (loaded) user profile, as this is located on the local hard drive.
  4. If the “My Documents” directory is moved (to a network drive, for example), any further attempt to access it via the shell variable will lead to the original position provided by the system.

Virtual directories

Virtual directory stands for BS
Trash
(Recycle Bin) 		The accumulated contents of the Recycle Bin of all fixed drives accessible to the current user 95
Control Panel
(Control Panel) 		Icons for applets the Control Panel 95
Desktop The Windows desktop 95
Drives Workplace ; contains virtual directories that represent everything on the local computer, including mapped network drives 95
Internet Resources that are on the Internet; WebDAV connections; today we speak of the cloud 95
Own files Virtual directory of the user's "own documents"; branches off from the virtual directory "Desktop" 98
network Network Neighborhood (Windows 95 and 98) or (English) My Network Places (Windows 2000 and later); contains the virtual directories representing all network resources 95
Search results List of the results of the last search carried out on the computer (can only be seen after a successful search) 2000
Printer
(printer) 		Container directory of the installed printers 95

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Michael S. Meyers-Jouan: Local setting and application data folders . ( Memento of the original from August 20, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. July 18, 2011 (English) - wonderfully simple explanation of the differentiation and tasks of local settings and application data from a SAP forum @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / windows.ittoolbox.com
  2. ^ The Shell Namespace
  3. ^ Raymond Chen: The Old New Thing . 1st edition. Pearson Education, 2006, ISBN 0-321-44030-7 , Taxes, pp. 451 .
  4. ↑ Windows 2000 Professional Beta 3 Reviewed . Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows