Where should my application/service store its configuration files in windows?

Question

In Linux, I'll usually put user configuration files in $HOME/.myapp and in Windows I'll use APPDATA. So far so good.

What about non-user specific configuration? In linux, I'd put it into /etc . Is there an equivalent in Windows? Please note I would like to have the service running before any user logs in. Also, in case it plays a role, I'm developing in Java.

Alternatively: I approaching this the wrong way?

Answer 1

You could use ALLUSERPROFILES as a base directory. This environment variable resolves to the C:\\PROGRAMDATA folder in Windows7. Of course you need to add a specific folder for your applications

Answer 2

In summary, you should use the known folder: ProgramData .

To avoid hard coding of paths (and hence why I'm not providing them here) you should always retrieve the value via one of the following methods:

• The %PROGRAMDATA% environment variable (you can also use %ALLUSERSPROFILE% but I consider %PROGRAMDATA% more meaningful)
• For unmanaged code use SHGetKnownFolderPath , passing the FOLDERID_ProgramData .
• For managed code use System.Environment.GetFolderPath , passing CommonApplicationData .

This folder is not writeable by non-admins, so depending on your requirements you'll want to create a directory for your program and set the ACLs you need at install time.

Some good information on this topic is provided in the blog post: " Where Should I Write Program Data Instead of Program Files ".

For those interested in using other Known Folders , MSDN provides extensive documentation .

Answer 3

In Windows most "program files" for an app go in C:\\Program Files\\MyApp. The environment variable would be %ProgramFiles%\\MyApp.