I have a workstation running Windows Server 2008 that's logged into an AD domain, and I have a dual boot with Ubuntu Linux. When running Linux, I'd like to be able to use the same Thunderbird profile I use under Windows, so I pointed Thunderbird to use a profile I found under:
\Users\(myname)\AppData\Local\Thunderbird\Profiles
It turns out it was not the correct profile -- it had the right configuration, but the Inbox was an old version. I eventually found out the correct path was:
\Users\(myname)\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles
What's the rationale behind those different places to store application data?
Answer
Roaming is the folder that would be synchronized with a server if you logged into a domain with a roaming profile (enabling you to log into any computer in a domain and access your favorites, documents, etc. Firefox stores its information here, so you could even have the same bookmarks between computers with a roaming profile.
Local is the folder that is specific to that computer - any information here would not be synchronized with a server. This folder is equivalent in Windows XP to C:\Documents and Settings\User\Local Settings\Application Data.
LocalLow is the same folder as local, but it has a lower integrity level. For example, Internet Explorer 8 can only write to the LocalLow folder (when protected mode is on).
This document from Microsoft ("Managing Roaming User Data Deployment Guide") has a long explanation for what these three folder areas are and how they are used, as well as the changes implemented between Windows XP and Vista (Windows 7 retains the Vista structure).
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