Subfolders of AppData

[Stan Brown]

Hello, gurus!

I'm still porting my applications and my own code from my Win XP
machine to my new Win 7 machine. I notice that C:\Users\{myname}
\Appdata has three subfolders: Local, LocalLow, and Roaming.

1. From some Googling I see that Roaming is intended to replace the
old "Application Data" folder of XP, but then what are Local ad
LOcalLow for?

2. And confusing the issue is that Adobe Acrobat Reader 9.0 seems to
write its settings into all three of them, whereas some Microsoft
apps write into one of them and some into another. Is there any
significance to that?

3. I don't see an "All Users" in Win 7 under C:\Users. Which folder
has replaced Win XP's C:\Documents and Settings\All Users
\Application Data?

 

[Jeff Layman]

Hello, gurus!

I'm still porting my applications and my own code from my Win XP
machine to my new Win 7 machine. I notice that C:\Users\{myname}
\Appdata has three subfolders: Local, LocalLow, and Roaming.

1. From some Googling I see that Roaming is intended to replace the
old "Application Data" folder of XP, but then what are Local ad
LOcalLow for?

2. And confusing the issue is that Adobe Acrobat Reader 9.0 seems to
write its settings into all three of them, whereas some Microsoft
apps write into one of them and some into another. Is there any
significance to that?

3. I don't see an "All Users" in Win 7 under C:\Users. Which folder
has replaced Win XP's C:\Documents and Settings\All Users
\Application Data?

You don't? I've got one in my Win7HPx64 between "Administrator" and
"Default".

 

[Dave \Crash\ Dummy]

You don't? I've got one in my Win7HPx64 between "Administrator" and
"Default".

I don't. I'm running Win7Ux64, and the only subdirectories of C:\users I
have are Default, Public, and me. I installed Win7 as a clean install.
Did you install as a XP upgrade?

 

[Jeff Layman]

I don't. I'm running Win7Ux64, and the only subdirectories of C:\users I
have are Default, Public, and me. I installed Win7 as a clean install. Did
you install as a XP upgrade?

No, Came preinstalled on my HP G61 laptop (actually, that's not quite true -
I had to reinstall from the recovery partition when it failed to accept my
password on day 2 of ownership!).

I have 7 subfolders under C:\Users - Administrator, All Users, Default,
Default User, <Me>, <Me2>, Public.

But when I click on these folders, and select "Properties" all apart from
Administrator, show a popup with 5 tabs in line - General, Sharing,
Security, Previous Versions, Customize. In the "General" tab, the Location
of the folder is shown as C:\Users. But "All Users" is different. Firstly,
the Properties popup is different from the others. There are 2 tabs at the
top - Previous Versions and Customize. Below these are 4 tabs - General,
Shortcut, Sharing, Security. The information in the "General" tab is also
different. It shows the Target (not Location) as C:\ProgramData! (Needless
to say, on looking at C:\ProgramData, there is no "All Users" folder.) The
"All Users" folder has a number of subfolders which are in the main quite
different from the normal users folders, eg there are no my documents, my
music, my pictures, etc folders. There is a documents folder, but it is not
accessible (looks like it could be a junction point).

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

I don't. I'm running Win7Ux64, and the only subdirectories of C:\users I
have are Default, Public, and me. I installed Win7 as a clean install.
Did you install as a XP upgrade?

Do you have "Show hidden files" unchecked, or "Hide Operating system
files" checked?

On this computer, unless the first is checked and the second is
unchecked, my All Users directory is invisible.

 

[Yousuf Khan]

Hello, gurus!

I'm still porting my applications and my own code from my Win XP
machine to my new Win 7 machine. I notice that C:\Users\{myname}
\Appdata has three subfolders: Local, LocalLow, and Roaming.

1. From some Googling I see that Roaming is intended to replace the
old "Application Data" folder of XP, but then what are Local ad
LOcalLow for?

The "Roaming" does indeed replace the previous "Application Data"
directory. The "Local" folder replaces the previous "Local Settings"
directory. The "LocalLow" folder is the same as Local, but is an
additional level for add-on to applications. For example if you have a
some kind of a toolbar for Internet Explorer, it'll place its data into
LocalLow rather than in Local. It's a way to partition off the main
program from its sub-programs.

2. And confusing the issue is that Adobe Acrobat Reader 9.0 seems to
write its settings into all three of them, whereas some Microsoft
apps write into one of them and some into another. Is there any
significance to that?

Yes, see above.

3. I don't see an "All Users" in Win 7 under C:\Users. Which folder
has replaced Win XP's C:\Documents and Settings\All Users
\Application Data?

"All Users" has been replaced by "Public".

Yousuf Khan

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

The "Roaming" does indeed replace the previous "Application Data"
directory. The "Local" folder replaces the previous "Local Settings"
directory. The "LocalLow" folder is the same as Local, but is an
additional level for add-on to applications. For example if you have a
some kind of a toolbar for Internet Explorer, it'll place its data into
LocalLow rather than in Local. It's a way to partition off the main
program from its sub-programs.


Yes, see above.


"All Users" has been replaced by "Public".

Yousuf Khan

I see C:\Users\All Users and C:\Users\Public, two separate directories
with different contents. Win 7.

 

[Dave \Crash\ Dummy]

Do you have "Show hidden files" unchecked, or "Hide Operating system
files" checked?

On this computer, unless the first is checked and the second is
unchecked, my All Users directory is invisible.

Ah, yes. That was it. When I uncheck "Hide operating system files"
an "All Users" and a "Default User" folder shows up. I usually leave
the system folders hidden.

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

Ah, yes. That was it. When I uncheck "Hide operating system files"
an "All Users" and a "Default User" folder shows up. I usually leave
the system folders hidden.

That thing about hiding stuff by default annoys me, but I guess the
designers knew what they were doing. (No I don't.)

 

[Dave \Crash\ Dummy]

That thing about hiding stuff by default annoys me, but I guess the
designers knew what they were doing. (No I don't.)

When I first installed W7 I went through and un-hid everything, but
after awhile I found all those system folders that I have no need to
access to be a distraction and hid them again. I know how to expose them
when I need to, like to examine the Temporary Internet Files.

 

[Ken Blake]

"All Users" has been replaced by "Public".

Sorry, that's not correct.

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data *does* exist.

 

[Yousuf Khan]

I see C:\Users\All Users and C:\Users\Public, two separate directories
with different contents. Win 7.

I only have a C:\Users\Public in mine.

Yousuf Khan

 

[Yousuf Khan]

Sorry, that's not correct.

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data *does* exist.

But "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users" is only for XP, not for Win7.

Yousuf Khan

 

[Stan Brown]

I only have a C:\Users\Public in mine.

Yousuf Khan

Me, too. Under C:\Users are only Default, Owner, and Public.

 

[Joe Morris]

Me, too. Under C:\Users are only Default, Owner, and Public.

Contents of C:\USERS from a copy of Win7 Enterprise (same for Vista
Enterprise):

Normal visibility:

Administrator
<userid>
Public


Hidden:

All Users (Symlinkd for C:\ProgramData)
Default
Default User (junction for C:\Users\Default)


But C:\ProgramData contains several junctions:

Application Data (is really C:\ProgramData)
Desktop (C:\Users\Public\Desktop)
Documents (C:\Users\Public\Documents)
Favorites (C:\Users\Public\Favorites)
Start Menu (C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu)
Templates (C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Templates)


so if you look at C:\Users\All Users and C:\Users\Public they won't have
exactly the same content. Close, but not identical.

Joe Morris

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

Me, too. Under C:\Users are only Default, Owner, and Public.

Do you and Yousuf Khan "Hide protected operating system files"? If so
you won't see All Users. Do you "Show hidden files and folders"? If not,
you won't see All Users.

Both of the above must be correct or you won't see All Users.

 

[Stan Brown]

Do you and Yousuf Khan "Hide protected operating system files"?

Good point! Yes, I do hide them; but when I unhide them I see that I
have

All Users
Default
Default User
Owner
Public

What on earth are they for? I understand All Users, or at least I
guess that I do, but then what is "Public" for? Why are there both a
"Default" and a "Default User"?

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

Good point! Yes, I do hide them; but when I unhide them I see that I
have

All Users
Default
Default User
Owner
Public

What on earth are they for? I understand All Users, or at least I
guess that I do, but then what is "Public" for? Why are there both a
"Default" and a "Default User"?

Public is for sharing on the network.

Default User is one of the famous junction points that you can't access,
a deal for backwards capacity with old software. I assume that it is a
pointer to Default, but I'm not ready to turn on the Administrator to
find out...

Google might help or searching on the Microsoft website might help.

I have no trouble ignoring the junction points, which saves me having to
get a prescription to a tranquilizer.

 

[Monty]

Default User is one of the famous junction points that you can't access,
a deal for backwards capacity with old software. I assume that it is a
pointer to Default, but I'm not ready to turn on the Administrator to
find out...

I have attached an extract from "MS Windows 7 In Depth", headed
'Configuring A Default User Profile' which may give some insight.

 

[DougS]

"Monty" wrote in message

Default User is one of the famous junction points that you can't access,
a deal for backwards capacity with old software. I assume that it is a
pointer to Default, but I'm not ready to turn on the Administrator to
find out...

I have attached an extract from "MS Windows 7 In Depth", headed
'Configuring A Default User Profile' which may give some insight.

Monty, looks like your attachment got left behind. DougS