Per-user Installations
The per-user installation of an application means that the application is available only for a particular user. It also means that:
- Shortcuts are installed only to that users' profile.
- Applications appear only under Add/Remove Programs on Control Panel for users that have installed the applications.
- On Windows 2000, COM registration is written to HKCU\Software\Classes.
- Applications may or may not run at elevated privileges.
- Icons and transforms are stored in %USERPROFILE%\Application Data\Microsoft\Installer\{ProductCode GUID}
- The installer sets the following properties during a per-user installations.
Beginning with Windows Vista, applications can begin to use the SHGetKnownFolderPath function and the KNOWNFOLDERID constants to determine the full path to the special folders. The names of the Windows Installer System Folder Properties remain unchanged. The extended functions of the Knownfolder API subsume all the functionality of the original versions. Existing applications that use the SHGetFolderPath function and the CSIDL will continue to work. The KNOWNFOLDERID values are defined in Knownfolders.h.
| Property | KNOWNFOLDERID | CSIDL |
|---|---|---|
| DesktopFolder
The full path of the Desktop folder for the current user. |
FOLDERID_Desktop Introduced in Windows Vista. |
CSIDL_DESKTOPDIRECTORY Existed on Windows 2000. |
| ProgramMenuFolder
The full path of the Program Menu folder for the current user. |
FOLDERID_Programs Introduced in Windows Vista. |
CSIDL_PROGRAMS Existed on Windows 2000. |
| StartMenuFolder
The full path of the Start Menu folder for the current user. |
FOLDERID_StartMenu Introduced in Windows Vista. |
CSIDL_STARTMENU Existed on Windows 2000. |
| StartUpFolder
The full path of the Start Up folder for current user. |
FOLDERID_Startup Introduced in Windows Vista. |
CSIDL_STARTUP Existed on Windows 2000. |
| TemplateFolder
The full path of the Templates folder for current user. |
FOLDERID_Templates Introduced in Windows Vista. |
CSIDL_TEMPLATES Existed on Windows 2000. |
| AdminToolsFolder
The full path of the Administrative Tools folder for the current user. |
FOLDERID_AdminTools Introduced in Windows Vista. |
CSIDL_ADMINTOOLS Existed on Windows 2000. |
| AppDataFolder
Starting in Windows Vista, the full path of the Roaming folder for the current user; otherwise, the full path to the Application Data folder for the current user. |
FOLDERID_RoamingAppData Introduced in Windows Vista. |
CSIDL_APPDATA Existed on Windows 2000. |
| CommonAppDataFolder
The full path of the folder that contains application data for All Users. |
FOLDERID_ProgramData Introduced in Windows Vista. |
CSIDL_COMMON_APPDATA Existed on Windows 2000. |
| FavoritesFolder
The full path of the Favorites folder for the current user. |
FOLDERID_Favorites Introduced in Windows Vista. |
CSIDL_FAVORITES Existed on Windows 2000. |
| PersonalFolder
Starting in Windows Vista, the full path of the Documents folder for the current user; otherwise, the full path of the My Documents folder or Personal folder for the current user. |
FOLDERID_Documents Introduced in Windows Vista. |
CSIDL_PERSONAL Existed on Windows 2000. |
| SendToFolder
The full path of the SendTo folder for the current user. |
FOLDERID_SendTo Introduced in Windows Vista. |
CSIDL_SENDTO Existed on Windows 2000. |
| FontsFolder
The full path of the System Fonts folder. |
FOLDERID_Fonts Introduced in Windows Vista. |
CSIDL_FONTS Existed on Windows 2000. |
| ProgramFilesFolder
The full path of the Program Files folder for the current user. |
FOLDERID_ProgramFiles Introduced in Windows Vista. FOLDERID_Programs Introduced in Windows 7. |
CSIDL_PROGRAM_FILES Existed on Windows 2000. |
| ProgramFilesFolder
The full path of the Program Files folder for the current user. |
FOLDERID_ProgramFilesX86 Introduced in Windows Vista. FOLDERID_Programs Introduced in Windows 7. |
CSIDL_PROGRAM_FILESX86 Existed on Windows 2000. |
| ProgramFilesFolder
The full path of the Program Files folder for the current user. |
FOLDERID_ProgramFilesX64 Introduced in Windows Vista. |
None |
| CommonFilesFolder
The full path of the Common Files folder for the current user. |
FOLDERID_ProgramFilesCommon Introduced in Windows Vista. FOLDERID_UserProgramFilesCommon Introduced in Windows 7. |
CSIDL_PROGRAM_FILES_COMMON Existed on Windows 2000. |
| CommonFilesFolder
The full path of the Common Files folder for the current user. |
FOLDERID_ProgramFilesCommonX86 Introduced in Windows Vista. |
CSIDL_PROGRAM_FILES_COMMONX86 Existed on Windows 2000. |
| CommonFilesFolder
The full path of the Common Files folder for the current user. |
FOLDERID_ProgramFilesCommonX64 Introduced in Windows Vista. |
None |
| WindowsFolder
The full path of the Windows folder for the current user. |
FOLDERID_Windows Introduced in Windows Vista. |
CSIDL_WINDOWS Existed on Windows 2000. |
| SystemFolder
The full path of the System folder for the current user. |
FOLDERID_SystemX86 Introduced in Windows Vista. |
CSIDL_SYSTEMX86 Existed on Windows 2000. |
| LocalAppDataFolder
The full path of the folder that contains local (nonroaming) applications. |
FOLDERID_LocalAppData Introduced in Windows Vista. |
CSIDL_LOCAL_APPDATA Existed on Windows 2000. |
| MyPicturesFolder
Starting in Windows Vista, the full path of the Pictures folder for the current user; otherwise, the full path of the My Pictures folder for the current user. |
FOLDERID_Pictures Introduced in Windows Vista. |
CSIDL_MYPICTURES Existed on Windows 2000. |
See Also
Specifying a Per-User or Per-Machine Installation
Send comments about this topic to Microsoft
Build date: 3/9/2009