Program Files

Program Files is the directory name of a standard folder in Microsoft Windows operating systems in which applications that are not part of the operating system are conventionally installed. Typically, each application installed under the 'Program Files' directory will have a subdirectory for its application-specific resources. Shared resources, for example resources used by multiple applications from one company, are typically stored in the 'Common Program Files' directory.

the program files

Localization

Language of Windows	Name of the folder that stores program files	Name of the folder that stores shared program files
English	Program Files	Common Files
Arabic	Program Files (ملفات البرامج (x86) for WoW64)	Common Files
Chinese (Simplified, Traditional, Taiwan)	Program Files	Common Files
Czech	Program Files	Common Files
Danish	Programmer	Fælles filer
Dutch	Program Files	Common Files
Finnish	Program Files	Common Files
French	Programmes *	Fichiers communs
German	Programme	Gemeinsame Dateien
Hebrew	Program Files	Common Files
Hellenic (Greek)	Αρχεία Εφαρμογών	Common Files
Hungarian	Programfájlok	Common Files
Italian	Programmi	File comuni
Japanese	Program Files	Common Files
Korean	Program Files	Common Files
Norwegian	Programfiler	Fellesfiler
Polish	Program Files (Pliki programów (x86) for WoW64)	Common Files
Portuguese	Programas	Ficheiros comuns
Portuguese (Brasil)	Arquivos de Programas	Arquivos comuns
Romanian	Program Files	Common Files
Russian	Program Files	Common Files
Spanish	Archivos de programa	Archivos comunes
Swedish	Program	Delade filer
Turkish	Program Files (Program Dosyaları (x86) for WoW64)	Common Files
* In Windows Vista and later versions. (The folder name was the same as in English in the older versions of Microsoft Windows.)

See also

• WinFS
• File system
• Directory (computing)
• 64-bit computing

References

• microsoft.com, Microsoft does not support changing the location of the Program Files folder by modifying the ProgramFilesDir registry value
• microsoft.com, Why is the Program Files directory called Program Files instead of just Programs?
• producthelp.sdl.com, The Windows system folders - General overview.
• Windows XP in a Nutshell, By David Aaron Karp, Tim O'Reilly, Troy Mott, page 512
• superuser.com, How can I find the short path of a Windows directory/file?
• helpdeskgeek.com, Why Does Windows 7 64-bit Need Two Program Files Folders?
• quepublishing.com, The Windows XP Layout, By Stu Sjouwerman, Nov 7, 2003