Special Folder Locations

Special Folders are directories on a computer that that have a special purpose. These expressions will insert into the script the path to the specified system special folder if it exists on your computer.

Important: If the directory does not physically exist on your computer an empty string will be inserted instead. A directory may not physically exist if the operating system did not create it, it was deleted, or it is a virtual folder such as My Computer

Expression	Inserts
%%AdminTools%%	The file system directory that is used to store administrative tools for an individual user. The Microsoft Management Console (MMC) will save customized consoles to this directory, and it will roam with the user.
%%ApplicationData%%	The directory that serves as a common repository for application-specific data for the current roaming user
%%CDBurning%%	The file system directory that acts as a staging area for files waiting to be written to a CD
%%CommonAdminTools%%	The file system directory that contains administrative tools for all users of the computer.
%%CommonApplicationData%%	The directory that serves as a common repository for application-specific data that is used by all users
%%CommonDesktopDirectory%%	The file system directory that contains files and folders that appear on the desktop for all users. This special folder is valid only for Windows NT sys
%%CommonDocuments%%	The file system directory that contains documents that are common to all users. This special folder is valid for Windows NT systems, Windows 95, and Windows 98 systems with Shfolder.dll installed.
%%CommonMusic%%	The file system directory that serves as a repository for music files common to all users
%%CommonOemLinks%%	This value is recognized in Windows Vista for backward compatibility, but the special folder itself is no longer used
%%CommonPictures%%	The file system directory that serves as a repository for image files common to all users
%%CommonProgramFiles%%	The directory for components that are shared across applications.To get the x86 common program files directory on a non-x86 system, use %%ProgramFilesX86%%
%%CommonProgramFilesX86%%	The x86 directory for components that are shared across applications
%%CommonPrograms%%	A folder for components that are shared across applications. This special folder is valid only for Windows NT, Windows 2000, and Windows XP systems
%%CommonStartMenu%%	The file system directory that contains the programs and folders that appear on the Start menu for all users. This special folder is valid only for Windows NT systems
%%CommonStartup%%	The file system directory that contains the programs that appear in the Startup folder for all users. This special folder is valid only for Windows NT systems
%%CommonTemplates%%	The file system directory that contains the templates that are available to all users. This special folder is valid only for Windows NT systems.
%%CommonVideos%%	The file system directory that serves as a repository for video files common to all users
%%Cookies%%	The directory that serves as a common repository for Internet cookies
%%Desktop%%	The user's Desktop folder
%%DesktopDirectory%%	The directory used to physically store file objects on the desktop
%%Favorites%%	The directory that serves as a common repository for the user's favorite items
%%Fonts%%	A virtual folder that contains fonts
%%History%%	The directory that serves as a common repository for Internet history items
%%InternetCache%%	The directory that serves as a common repository for temporary Internet files.
%%LocalApplicationData%%	The directory that serves as a common repository for application-specific data that is used by the current, non-roaming user
%%LocalizedResources%%	The file system directory that contains localized resource data
%%MyComputer%%	The My Computer folder
%%MyDocuments%%	The My Documents folder
%%MyMusic%%	The My Music folder
%%MyPictures%%	The My Pictures folder
%%MyVideos%%	The file system directory that serves as a repository for videos that belong to a user
%%NetworkShortcuts%%	A file system directory that contains the link objects that may exist in the My Network Places virtual folder
%%Personal%%	The directory that serves as a common repository for documents
%%PrinterShortcuts%%	The file system directory that contains the link objects that can exist in the Printers virtual folder
%%ProgramFiles%%	The program files directory.To get the x86 program files directory on a non-x86 system, use %%ProgramFilesX86%%
%%ProgramFilesX86%%	The x86 Program Files folder
%%Programs%%	The directory that contains the user's program groups
%%Recent%%	The directory that contains the user's most recently used documents
%%Resources%%	The file system directory that contains resource data
%%SendTo%%	The directory that contains the Send To menu items
%%StartMenu%%	The directory that contains the Start menu items
%%Startup%%	The directory that corresponds to the user's Startup program group
%%System%%	The System directory
%%SystemX86%%	The x86 Windows System folder
%%Templates%%	The directory that serves as a common repository for document templates
%%UserProfile%%	The user's profile folder. Applications should not create files or folders at this level; they should put their data in the locations referred to by ApplicationData ,
%%Windows%%	The Windows directory or SYSROOT. This corresponds to the %windir% or %SYSTEMROOT% environment variables