An environment variable is a dynamic "object" on a computer, containing an editable value, which may be used by one or more software programs in Windows. Environment variables help programs know what directory to install files in, where to store temporary files, and where to find user profile settings. They help shape the environment in which programs run on your computer.
The variable name shown in the picture, %appdata%, is one of the environment variables used by Microsoft Windows. It points to the application data folder, where many programs store data specific to your user. Its value is the name of a directory. Just like any directory name, you can open it in a File Explorer window by entering it in the Windows Run box or Windows Search Box. For example, to get into the Application Data folder type %appdata% and then press Enter in the Run box. This variable is just one example of how environment variables can make your life a little more convenient.
Tip: From the Windows command line, you can the set command to view all Windows environment variables, and their current values.
DEFAULT ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES:
In Microsoft Windows, environment variablescontain configuration values for the entire system, as well as the current user. In this document, you'll find the default names and values of the environment variables used by Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, and 10.
%ALLUSERSPROFILE%
The full path of the All Users profile directory, which contains default profile information shared by every user.
| Defaults |
|---|
| Windows XP: | C:\Documents and Settings\All Users |
| Vista/7/8/10: | C:\ProgramData |
%APPDATA%
Location of AppData hidden folder, used by some installed programs to store user application data.
| Defaults |
|---|
| Windows XP: | C:\Documents and Settings\UserName\Application Data |
| Vista/7/8/10: | C:\Users\UserName\AppData\Roaming |
%CommonProgramFiles%
Location of the Common Files directory. This folder contains files for common programs and utilities on a computer, mostly system and services related.
| Defaults |
|---|
| Windows XP/Vista/7/8/10: | C:\Program Files\Common Files |
%CommonProgramFiles(x86)%
Location of the Common Files directory used by 32-bit programs. Only used in 64-bitversions of Windows.
| Defaults |
|---|
| Windows XP/Vista/7/8/10: | C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files |
%CommonProgramW6432%
Only used in 64-bit versions of Windows.
| Defaults |
|---|
| Windows Vista/7/8/10: | C:\Program Files\Common Files |
%COMPUTERNAME%
The name of your computer, as set in Control Panel → System → Computer Name.
| Defaults |
|---|
| Windows XP/Vista/7/8/10: | ComputerName |
%ComSpec%
| Defaults |
|---|
| Windows XP/Vista/7/8/10: | C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe |
%HOMEDRIVE%
| Defaults |
|---|
| Windows XP/Vista/7/8/10: | C: |
%HOMEPATH%
The path, minus the drive letter, of the current user's profile directory.
The %local% environment variable points to where the security policies & rules are located for the user's account. This environment variable is native to Windows 7.
| Defaults |
|---|
| Windows XP: | \Documents and Settings\UserName |
| Vista/7/8/10: | \Users\UserName |
%LOCALAPPDATA%
Location of the Local subfolder of AppData, used by some installed programs to store user data. Common temporary files to be stored here are desktop themes, Windows error reporting, program caching and Internet browser profiles.
| Defaults |
|---|
| Windows Vista/7/8/10: | C:\Users\UserName\AppData\Local |
%LOGONSERVER%
The network location of the logon server. In corporate settings, DomainLogonServer is a Windows logon server on the corporate network domain. For regular users, DomainLogonServer is %COMPUTERNAME%.
| Defaults |
|---|
| Windows XP/Vista/7/8/10: | \\DomainLogonServer |
%PATH%
List of paths, delimited by a semicolon, to be automatically searched for files. Specifically, files with an extension listed in %PATHEXT% are looked for in %PATH%if they are not found in the current directory. Paths are searched in the order listed.
| Defaults |
|---|
| Windows XP/Vista/7/8/10: | C:\Windows\system32;C:\Windows;C:\Windows\System32\Wbem;[AdditionalPaths] |
%PATHEXT%
Files with these extensions, if not found in the current directory, are looked for in %PATH%.
| Defaults |
|---|
| Windows XP: | .COM;.EXE;.BAT;.CMD;.VBS;.VBE;.JS;.WSF;.WSH |
| Vista/7/8/10: | .com;.exe;.bat;.cmd;.vbs;.vbe;.js;.jse;.wsf;.wsh;.msc |
%ProgramData%
Location of the ProgramData hidden folder, used by some installed programs to store user data.
| Defaults |
|---|
| Windows Vista/7/8/10: | %SystemDrive%\ProgramData |
%ProgramFiles%
Location of the Program Files directory, the default location of installed programs. On 64-bit versions of Windows, this directory is the default location of 64-bit programs.
| Defaults |
|---|
| Windows XP/Vista/7/8/10: | %SystemDrive%\Program Files |
%ProgramFiles(x86)%
The default location of 32-bit programs. This variable is only present in 64-bit versions of Windows.
| Defaults |
|---|
| Windows XP/Vista/7/8/10: | %SystemDrive%\Program Files (x86) |
%ProgramW6432%
This variable is used by the WOW64 emulation layer, and is only present in 64-bit versions of Windows.
| Defaults |
|---|
| Windows Vista/7/8/10: | %SystemDrive%\Program Files |
%PROMPT%
A string of special codes that define the current command prompt. Here, $P represents the current drive and directory, and $G represents the greater-than symbol. (For more information, see the PROMPT command.)
| Defaults |
|---|
| Windows XP/Vista/7/8/10: | $P$G |
%PSModulePath%
| Defaults |
|---|
| Windows Vista/7/8/10: | %SystemRoot%\system32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\Modules\ |
%PUBLIC%
Location of the Public user profile.
| Defaults |
|---|
| Windows Vista/7/8/10: | %SystemDrive%\Users\Public |
%SystemDrive%
The drive letter of the volume where Windows is installed.
| Defaults |
|---|
| Windows XP/Vista/7/8/10: | C: |
%SystemRoot%
The directory containing the Windows system.
| Defaults |
|---|
| Windows XP: | C:\Windows or, in older systems, C:\WINNT |
| Vista/7/8/10: | %SystemDrive%\Windows |
%TEMP%
%TMP%
The default location of temporary files. The files located in this directory can be deleted periodically to help improve computer performance.
| Defaults |
|---|
| Windows XP: | %SystemDrive%\Documents and Settings\UserName\Local Settings\Temp |
| Vista/7/8/10: | %SystemRoot%\TEMP (for system processes)
%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Temp (for user processes) |
%USERDOMAIN%
The domain of where the current user belongs.
| Defaults |
|---|
| Windows XP/Vista/7/8/10: | UserDomain |
%USERNAME%
The name of the current user.
| Defaults |
|---|
| Windows XP/Vista/7/8/10: | UserName |
%USERPROFILE%
The path to the current user's profile directory where the current logged in user's profile data is stored. It is in this directory that a user can find the following folders: My Documents, My Music, My Pictures, Desktop, and Favorites (Internet Explorer bookmarks).
| Defaults |
|---|
| Windows XP: | %SystemDrive%\Documents and Settings\UserName |
| Vista/7/8/10: | %SystemDrive%\Users\UserName |
%windir%
A modern equivalent of/replacement for %SystemRoot%. This directory is where Windows will install. The default directory path for most versions of Windows is c:\Windows (for Windows NT 4 and 2000, it is c:\WinNT).
| Defaults |
|---|
| Windows XP: | %SystemDrive%\WINDOWS |
| Vista/7/8/10: | %SystemDrive%\WINDOWS |
0 Comments