Support Roaming Users

[This is preliminary documentation and subject to change.]

Best Practice   (Designed for Microsoft® Windows® Logo)

User settings should be able to move automatically from computer to computer on a network, following a user wherever that user logs on. Examples of user settings include customized toolbars, any dynamic user-generated lists, or other user-specific options.

Remarks

Recommendations for handling user registry keys:

• Store all per-user registry keys in HKEY_CURRENT_USER (HKCU). Since the user profile includes the Ntuser.dat file (which contains the HKCU hive), the user registry keys will roam with the user.
• Store all per-computer keys in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE (HKLM).
• Do not assume that any HKCU keys have been set.
• Do not assume that any keys initialized in HKCU during installation will be set correctly at a later time. New users can roam to a computer and will not have any HKCU keys for your application.
• Applications should detect the lack of required keys and automatically create them using smart defaults.

Recommendations for handling user application data:

• Store all user-specific application information not stored in the registry in the user's profile Application Data folder. Use the same hierarchical structure in the Application Data folder as is used in HKEY_CURRENT_USER:

  Application Data\
    Software\
      [company name]\
        [product name]\
          [version]\
            [your top level]\

• Do not assume that the content of the user's profile Application Data folder you initialized during installation will be set correctly at a later time.
• Place user data into the user's My Documents (previously named Personal) folder.