Current user preferences are stored in this key, including the settings of environment variables and data about program groups, colors, printers, network connections, and application preferences. This key makes it easier to establish the current user's settings; the key maps to the current user's branch in HKEY_USERS. In HKEY_CURRENT_USER, software vendors store the current user-specific preferences to be used within their applications. Microsoft, for example, creates the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft key for its applications to use, with each application creating its own subkey under the Microsoft key.