How to open your user profile folder in Windows

Updated: 12/31/2020 by Calculator Hope

User profile folder

In Windows, your user profile folder is a special folder containing files and folders pertaining simply to you. It contains your Desktop, your Documents, and personal data such as your awarding preferences.

Files in the user contour binder are private to yous. If other people use your calculator, they cannot view and change the files in your user profile binder, unless they are an ambassador. The same permissions apply to all subdirectories of your contour directory, such as your Desktop directory, your Documents directory, etc.

Where is the user contour folder?

Your user profile folder is located in the Users binder on your Windows arrangement drive, which on most computers is C:.

In the Users binder, your profile binder name is the same as your username. If your username is promise, your user profile folder is located at C:\Users\promise\.

The %USERPROFILE% environs variable

If you're not sure what your username is, you lot tin can always get to your contour binder using the surround variable %USERPROFILE%.

An environment variable is a special word containing a value. The %USERPROFILE% variable contains the path of your user contour folder.

Using %USERPROFILE% in File Explorer

In your File Explorer, the location bar shows the name of the folder you're viewing. It works like an address bar in a spider web browser. Yous can type a location on your computer into the location bar, and File Explorer opens that folder.

As shown in the following steps, if you blazon %USERPROFILE% in the location bar, File Explorer opens your profile binder.

  1. Open up a new File Explorer window. You can open it from the Start menu (Windows System → File Explorer).

    Or, press the keyboard shortcut Windows key+E (concur down the Windows central and printing E).

  2. Click in the location bar.
  3. Blazon %USERPROFILE% and printing Enter.

%USERPROFILE% in File Explorer

  1. File Explorer opens your user profile binder and displays its contents. The title bar of the window and your location bar both display your full login proper name.

User profile folder

Using %USERPROFILE% in Command Prompt

If you apply the Windows Command Prompt, you can use the cd command with %USERPROFILE% to change the current directory to your profile folder.

  1. Open the Control Prompt. For example, press Windows fundamental+R to open the run box, then type cmd and press Enter.

Run Box

  1. Your command prompt displays the current directory, followed by a >.

User profile current directory

Tip

Past default, when you open a new Command Prompt window, the current directory is your user profile folder.

  1. To change to your profile folder at any time, use the cd command:
cd %USERPROFILE%

Change directory to %USERPROFILE% in Command Prompt.

  1. Yous can also use the echo command to display the value of %USERPROFILE%.
repeat %USERPROFILE%

To view your username, apply repeat %USERNAME%.

repeat %USERNAME%

Echo %USERPROFILE% and %USERNAME% in Command Prompt.

Why do I need to open the profile folder?

Usually, you lot don't need to open your profile folder directly. The Quick Access shortcuts on the left side of the File Explorer window (Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Music, etc.) already indicate to the major folders in your contour directory.

Note

Every bit a general rule, you should not rearrange the files and folders that already exist in your contour directory, because Windows expects them to accept certain names and locations. For case, practise non move or rename your Desktop folder.

However, you tin put files and folders in your contour directory if you lot choose.

Also, some tasks, such every bit adding items to your Startup binder, require you know the location of your profile binder.

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