| Install to the correct location |
Location, location, location. This old adage is as applicable to application installation as it is to real estate. When authoring your install program you should be sure that you install your app in the correct location. After all, you wouldn’t want to bring down the tone of the neighborhood would you?
Installing your program’s files in the right place is really a matter of practicing good data separation, and following the SDK guidelines. Some good tips to remember are:
Some of the most important recommended file locations are outlined in the following table.
| File Type | Location | Comments |
| Main Executable | \CSIDL_PROGRAM_FILES\Company Name App Name | Install the main executable file for your application and any other executable or data files that the user may want to open directly to this directory. Eg C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\ |
| Other Executables, DLL’s, Help Files | \CSIDL_PROGRAM_FILES\Company Name App Name | Other executable or data files, such as .DLL and .HLP files that are specific to your application should be placed in this subdirectory |
| Company Wide Shared Files | \CSIDL_PROGRAM_FILES\Common Files\Company Name App Name | Install files that are shared between your companies applications to this directory ( E.g. Spell checker for Office Suite) |
| System Wide Shared Files | \CSIDL_PROGRAM_FILES\Common Files\System | |
| Control Panel utilities | \CSIDL_PROGRAM_FILES\Company Name App Name | Control Panel utilities should reside in your application directory NOT \System32\ |
| Fonts | \CSIDL_WINDOWS\Fonts | |
| Drivers | \CSIDL_SYSTEM\Drivers |
CSIDLs, Data Separation Guidelines, Expect a Secure Desktop, SHGetFolderPath