You are here

the 2 "Application Data" areas

2 posts / 0 new
Last post
Tim Clark
Tim Clark's picture
Offline
Last seen: 12 years 11 months ago
Joined: 2006-06-18 13:55
the 2 "Application Data" areas

Could someone explain to me the differences between:

C:\Documents and Settings\Tim\Application Data
and
C:\Documents and Settings\Tim\Local Settings\Application Data

In my testing of portable applications I have found that many leave files/folders behind in:
...Tim\Local Settings\Application Data
which can be deleted without note

Some however leave files/folders behind in:
...\Tim\Application Data
which are backed up by Windows System Restore.

The implication is that Windows considers the files in:
...Tim\Application Data
more important\critical\worthy of backing up
than those in:
...Tim\Local Settings\Application Data

so I'm wondering if anyone could explain to me the difference between the 2 "Application Data" areas.

Thanks,
Tim

[edit: fixed dupped use of the same path, "\Local Settings\, in last example above]

John T. Haller
John T. Haller's picture
Online
Last seen: 18 min 25 sec ago
AdminDeveloperModeratorTranslator
Joined: 2005-11-28 22:21
Roaming vs Local

It's basically Roaming vs Local, as it is referred to in modern Windows. AppData is Roaming (your C:\Documents and Settings\Tim\Application Data) and is where standard application data is kept. Settings and things of that nature. When using a roaming profile in Windows (central login server), the things in AppData\Roaming come with you. Local Settings is Local in modern Windows (C:\Documents and Settings\Tim\Local Settings\Application Data for you) and is usually things like cache and machine-specific stuff.

For portable apps, you will need to handle both pieces. Most apps will only use AppData.

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

Log in or register to post comments