A.3. Windows folders

Windows uses some special directories to store user configuration files which define the "user profile". This can be confusing, as the default directory location changed from Windows version to version and might also be different for English and internationalized versions of Windows.

	Note!
	If you've upgraded to a new Windows version, your profile might be kept in the former location, so the defaults mentioned here might not apply.

The following guides you to the right place where to look for Wireshark's profile data.

The following will only be applicable if you are using roaming profiles. This might be the case, if you work in a Windows domain environment (used in company networks). The configurations of all programs you use won't be saved on the local hard drive of the computer you are currently working on, but on the domain server.

As Wireshark is using the correct places to store its profile data, your settings will travel with you, if you logon to a different computer the next time.

There is an exception to this: The "Local Settings" folder in your profile data (typically something like: C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Local Settings) will not be transferred to the domain server. This is the default for temporary capture files.

Wireshark uses the folder which is set by the TMPDIR or TEMP environment variable. This variable will be set by the Windows installer.