Use environment variables to access your files more quickly
And just what are environment variables, you ask. You’ve probably seen them; they are those expressions wrapped in percent signs that you sometimes see in file paths. They are shorthand for certain standard system properties. I give a lot of the details at this page but my purpose here is to point out how to make one particular type of task easier.
Windows XP makes use of user accounts. A home computer might have an account each for Mom, Dad, Susie, and Johnny. Each account has its Desktop, Internet Favorites, My Documents and a lot of other personal files stored in its own place. This place is usually C:\Documents and Settings\{account name}. If you ever need to edit or access files in any account, you might have to fiddle around a bit in Windows Explorer. Or you might not remember exactly what the complete path is. There is an environment variable that simplifies things. The expression %USERPROFILE% stands for the whole path for whoever is logged in. So if Johnny is logged in, %USERPROFILE% stands for C:\Documents and Settings\Johnny. If Mom is logged in, the expression stands for C:\Documents and Settings\Mom. If the folder Documents and Settings is somewhere besides the C: drive, the environment variable will show that.
One way to take advantage is to create a shortcut using %USERPROFILE% as the path. Right-click on an empty spot on the Desktop. In the context menu, choose “New- Shortcut”. In the space labeled “Type the location of the item”, enter: %USERPROFILE%
Click “Next”, give the shortcut a name, and click “Finish”. Place a copy on each user’s desktop or Quick Launch Bar and each will have quick access to his or her personal folders.
Another way to reach the personal folders quickly is to enter %USERPROFILE% into Start-Run. The appropriate folder will then open.
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