Where are the Properties.Settings.Default stored?

154
votes

I thought I knew this, but today I'm being proven wrong - again.

Running VS2008, .NET 3.5 and C#. I added the User settings to the Properties Settings tab with default values, then read them in using this code:

myTextBox.Text = Properties.Settings.Default.MyStringProperty;

Then, after the user edits the value in the options dialog I save it like this:

Properties.Settings.Default.MyStringProperty = myTextBox.Text;
Properties.Settings.Default.Save();

My question is, where is this new value saved? the MyApp.exe.config file in the executable directory is not updated, it still contains the default values. Plus, as far as I can tell, none of the other files in that directory are updated either! However, when the program reads the value back in, it gets the changed value, so I know it's saved somewhere...

This isn't just academic, I needed to be able to manually edit the value this morning and got myself stumped when I couldn't find anything that was changing.

10
c#.netsettings
It's important to note that the storage location may change between different versions of the framework or the OS. Don't hardcode anything programmatic to the storage location. – Greg D
If you are in visual studio, developing a new app, then check at AppData\Local\Microsoft\YOUR APPLICATION NAME File name is user.config. I am in Windows 7 – JenonD
or under the AppData\Local one – KansaiRobot
Something I was struggling with that led me to this question and others: user.config is not created until applicationsSettings.Save(); is called. (where applicationSettings is defined ApplicationSettings applicationSettings = new ApplicationSettings( this );). – amalgamate

10 Answers

151
votes

In order to work with newer versions of Windows' policy of only allowing read access by default to the Program Files folder (unless you prompt for elevation with UAC, but that's another topic...), your application will have a settings folder under %userprofile%\appdata\local or %userprofile%\Local Settings\Application Data depending on which version of Windows you're running, for settings that are user specific. If you store settings for all users, then they'll be in the corresponding folder under C:\users or C:\Documents and Settings for all user profiles (ex: C:\users\public\appdata\local).

94
votes

You can get the path programmatically:

using System.Configuration;  // Add a reference to System.Configuration.dll
...
var path = ConfigurationManager.OpenExeConfiguration(ConfigurationUserLevel.PerUserRoamingAndLocal).FilePath;
9
votes

thanks for pointing me in the right direction. I found user.config located at this monstrosity: c:\users\USER\AppData\Local\COMPANY\APPLICATION.exe_Url_LOOKSLIKESOMEKINDOFHASH\VERSION\user.config.

I had to uprev the version on my application and all the settings seemed to have vanished. application created a new folder with the new version and used the default settings. took forever to find where the file was stored, but then it was a simple copy and paste to get the settings to the new version.

7
votes

it is saved in your Documents and Settings\%user%\Local Settings\Application Data......etc search for a file called user.config there

the location may change however.

2
votes

One of my windows services is logged on as Local System in windows server 2016, and I can find the user.config under C:\Windows\SysWOW64\config\systemprofile\AppData\Local\{your application name}.

I think the easiest way is searching your application name on C drive and then check where is the user.config

1
votes

They are saved in YOUR_APP.exe.config, the file is saved in the same folder with YOUR_APP.exe file, <userSettings> section:

   <userSettings>
      <ShowGitlabIssues.Properties.Settings>
         <setting name="SavedUserName" serializeAs="String">
            <value />
         </setting>
         <setting name="SavedPassword" serializeAs="String">
            <value />
         </setting>
         <setting name="CheckSave" serializeAs="String">
            <value>False</value>
         </setting>
      </ShowGitlabIssues.Properties.Settings>
   </userSettings>

here is cs code:

public void LoadInfoLogin()
{
    if (Properties.Settings.Default.CheckSave)// chkRemember.Checked)
    {
        txtUsername.Text = Properties.Settings.Default.SaveUserName;
        txtPassword.Text = Properties.Settings.Default.SavePassword;
        chkRemember.Checked = true;
    }
...
0
votes

User-specific settings are saved in the user's Application Data folder for that application. Look for a user.config file.

I don't know what you expected, since users often don't even have write access to the executable directory in the first place.

0
votes

if you use Windows 10, this is the directory:

C:\Users<UserName>\AppData\Local\

+

<ProjectName.exe_Url_somedata>\1.0.0.0<filename.config>

-1
votes

For anyone wondering where the settings for apps from the Microsoft Store are, they are either in WindowsApps, which is very locked down, but you can get there by opening your app and then opening the file path with Task-Manager.

But it's more likely that they are saved in C:\Users\[USERNAME]\AppData\Local\Packages\[NUMBERS][COMPANY].[APPLICATION]_[RANDOMDATA]\LocalCache\Local\[COMPANY]\[APPLICATION].exe_Url_[RANDOMDATA]\[VERSION]\user.config.

-19
votes

There is a folder called "Properties" under your project root folder, and there are *.settings file under that folder. That's where it gets stored.