Configuration Files on Windows
Mathematica stores preference settings and initialization data in two directories,
$BaseDirectory and
$UserBaseDirectory. Within each of these directories are several possible subdirectories with titles such as FrontEnd, Kernel, and Licensing.
Global settings that affect all users are stored in subdirectories of the directory
$BaseDirectory. The default value of
$BaseDirectory for different versions of Windows is shown in the following table. To redefine the location of global preference settings and initialization data, set the environment variable MATHEMATICA_BASE.
| Windows 2000/XP | C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Mathematica |
| Windows Vista | C:\ProgramData\Mathematica |
Location of the directory $BaseDirectory for different versions of Windows.
Settings that only affect a particular user are stored in subdirectories of the directory
$UserBaseDirectory. The default value of
$UserBaseDirectory for different versions of Windows is shown in the following table. To redefine the location of user preferences and initialization data, set the environment variable MATHEMATICA_USERBASE.
| Windows 2000/XP | C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Mathematica |
| Windows Vista | C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Mathematica |
Location of the directory $UserBaseDirectory for different versions of Windows.
Settings in the directory
$UserBaseDirectory override global settings defined in the directory
$BaseDirectory.
In the pathnames that follow, replace the variables
$BaseDirectory and
$UserBaseDirectory with the appropriate directories for your system. To find their locations on your system, evaluate the command
$BaseDirectory (or
$UserBaseDirectory) in a
Mathematica notebook.
Kernel
The initialization files used by the kernel contain
Mathematica commands that are evaluated at startup, such as function definitions, packages to load, and kernel option settings. These commands are also available to the
Mathematica front end.
$BaseDirectory\Kernel\init.m
This file is used to initialize the kernel and therefore should store any kernel commands that are appropriate for all users running the kernel.
$UserBaseDirectory\Kernel\init.m
This file stores user-specific commands used to initialize the kernel.
Kernel initialization files are not created automatically.
Front End
Front end initialization files store preference settings such as the values of global options in the Option Inspector. These files are automatically updated by
Mathematica when you change a setting in the front end. To make changes to this file, make your changes from within
Mathematica rather than editing the file directly.
$BaseDirectory\FrontEnd\init.m
This file stores systemwide defaults used by all
Mathematica front ends. The settings in this file affect all users.
"Systemwide Defaults on Windows" explains how to implement changes to this global file.
$UserBaseDirectory\FrontEnd\init.m
This file defines settings within the front end that are specific to each user.
Front end initialization files are created automatically.
Front End Caches
The front end stores certain information about system settings in caches specific to each user. The default location for front end caches is shown here.
| Windows 2000/XP | C:\Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings\
Application Data\Mathematica\FrontEnd\7.0 Caches |
| Windows Vista | C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Mathematica\FrontEnd\7.0 Caches |
Location of the front end caches for different versions of Windows.
Passwords
Passwords are stored in the
mathpass file, described in further detail in
"Registration and Passwords". In the following pathname, replace the variable
$InstallationDirectory with the directory where you installed
Mathematica. The default value of
$InstallationDirectory on Windows is C:\Program Files\Wolfram Research\Mathematica\7.0. To find the value of
$InstallationDirectory on your system, evaluate the command
$InstallationDirectory in a
Mathematica notebook.
$BaseDirectory\Licensing\mathpass
This is the default location for the global password file.
$InstallationDirectory\Configuration\Licensing\mathpass
This is an alternative location for the global password file.
$UserBaseDirectory\Licensing\mathpass
While this is not normally the location for the password file, a user-specific
mathpass file can be stored here.
