System


.NET Framework Class Library
Environment.SpecialFolder Enumeration

Specifies enumerated constants used to retrieve directory paths to system special folders.

Namespace: System
Assembly: mscorlib (in mscorlib.dll)

Syntax
Visual Basic (Declaration) 
<ComVisibleAttribute(True)> _
Public Enumeration SpecialFolder
Visual Basic (Usage) 
Dim instance As SpecialFolder
C# 
[ComVisibleAttribute(true)] 
public enum SpecialFolder
C++ 
[ComVisibleAttribute(true)] 
public enum class SpecialFolder
J# 
/** @attribute ComVisibleAttribute(true) */ 
public enum SpecialFolder
JScript 
ComVisibleAttribute(true) 
public enum SpecialFolder
Members
 Member nameDescription
Supported by the .NET Compact FrameworkApplicationDataThe directory that serves as a common repository for application-specific data for the current roaming user. 

A roaming user works on more than one computer on a network. A roaming user's profile is kept on a server on the network and is loaded onto a system when the user logs on.

CommonApplicationDataThe directory that serves as a common repository for application-specific data that is used by all users. 
CommonProgramFilesThe directory for components that are shared across applications. 
CookiesThe directory that serves as a common repository for Internet cookies. 
DesktopThe logical Desktop rather than the physical file system location. 
DesktopDirectoryThe directory used to physically store file objects on the desktop. 

Do not confuse this directory with the desktop folder itself, which is a virtual folder.

Supported by the .NET Compact FrameworkFavoritesThe directory that serves as a common repository for the user's favorite items. 
HistoryThe directory that serves as a common repository for Internet history items. 
InternetCacheThe directory that serves as a common repository for temporary Internet files. 
LocalApplicationDataThe directory that serves as a common repository for application-specific data that is used by the current, non-roaming user. 
MyComputerThe "My Computer" folder.  
NoteNote

The MyComputer constant always yields the empty string ("") because no path is defined for the My Computer folder.

MyDocumentsThe "My Documents" folder. 
MyMusicThe "My Music" folder. 
MyPicturesThe "My Pictures" folder. 
Supported by the .NET Compact FrameworkPersonalThe directory that serves as a common repository for documents. 
ProgramFilesThe program files directory. 
Supported by the .NET Compact FrameworkProgramsThe directory that contains the user's program groups. 
RecentThe directory that contains the user's most recently used documents. 
SendToThe directory that contains the Send To menu items. 
Supported by the .NET Compact FrameworkStartMenuThe directory that contains the Start menu items. 
Supported by the .NET Compact FrameworkStartupThe directory that corresponds to the user's Startup program group. 

The system starts these programs whenever a user logs on or starts Windows NT or later, or starts Windows 98.

SystemThe System directory. 
TemplatesThe directory that serves as a common repository for document templates. 
Remarks

The system special folders are folders such as Program Files, Programs, System, or Startup, which contain common information. Special folders are set by default by the system, or explicitly by the user, when installing a version of Windows.

The GetFolderPath method uses these enumerated constants to designate the special folder path to retrieve.

For more information about special folders, see the CSIDL Values topic at http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/shellcc/platform/Shell/reference/enums/csidl.asp.
Platforms

Windows 98, Windows 2000 SP4, Windows CE, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows Mobile for Pocket PC, Windows Mobile for Smartphone, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP SP2, Windows XP Starter Edition

The .NET Framework does not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see System Requirements.
Version Information

.NET Framework

Supported in: 2.0, 1.1, 1.0

.NET Compact Framework

Supported in: 2.0
See Also
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Community Content

FlashieDirk
How to retrieve the Folder of the User's Profile
Unfortunately, the SpecialFolders enumeration does not contain a value for the user's profile. You can retrieve the path to the user's profile by using System.Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("USERPROFILE");
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