Keep your data in the right place

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Many applications need some sort of files to work after installation; maybe configuration files, user settings, etc. While this is perfectly acceptable, as a developer you have to carefully chose where you store those files.

  • Do not use C:\Program Files\You APP. Basically, you shouldn't use you application's installation folder because user might not have admin rights. Besides, uninstalling your app might remove those files.
  • Do not use C:\Documents and Settings\user\My Documents or /home/user. That folder is supposed to store *user's files* not *your files*.
  • Use HippoHX's System.getAppDataFolder() that returns the value of %APPDATA% in Windows and ~/Library/Application Support in Macs.

See Don't Pollute User Space for more info and suggestions. For example, if you are afraid that your users might not find the files in such a "weird" path, enable a "Browse" button straight into your interface.

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