Location of PowerSDR 2.0 Databases
Content provided by: FlexRadio Systems Engineering
Beginning with PowerSDR v2.0.0, all operational and user specific data, which includes the PowerSDR database among other files, is no longer stored in the application folder found under ..\Program Files\.., but is kept in a user specific profile location specifically designed for data that changes during the normal operation of the application. This was a mandated change from Microsoft for Window Vista and Win7 because the ..\Program Files\.. location on the file system is now considered protected. The only time files should be written to the Program Files protected location is when the application is actually being installed. All subsequent files that are changed, deleted or created after the application has been installed must be placed in non-protected areas of the file system. The non-protected area where PowerSDR v2.0 stores this information is a location know as the user's "appdata" folder (this is not the actual folder name). The data is located here because these are files that normally should be be manipulated by the user or can be easily deleted or moved, which would cause PowerSDR not to function properly. Under the "appdata' folder, is a sub-folder called "FlexRadio Systems" that contains individual folders for version specific PowerSDR data as well as a global PowerSDR data folder that is used by all versions of PowerSDR v2.0
The absolute path of the application data folder location and whether or not it is a hidden folder or not unfortunately changes depending on what Windows operating system you are using. Fortunately, Windows had made concessions in this regard and uses an environment variable to map the different paths to the application data folder location. This Windows environment variable is %APPDATA%. You can use this environment variable to display the path even if the folders are hidden. To view the absolute path of the %APPDATA% environment variable and all of the other defined environment variables, just issue the "set" command from the Windows Run applet (WinKey + R), Windows Search box or a command window.
Below are the absolute paths of the %APPDATA% environment variable. (assuming that the C: driver is the drive/partition where the operating system was installed. The [user_id] is the logon ID you used for logging on to Windows.
Below is the default directory structure for a PowerSDR 2.0.0 installation using the %APPDATA% environment variable.
%APPDATA%\FlexRadio Systems\PowerSDR
%APPDATA%\FlexRadio Systems\PowerSDR\Skins
%APPDATA%\FlexRadio Systems\PowerSDR\Skins\[skins_folders]
%APPDATA%\FlexRadio Systems\PowerSDR v2.0.0 (this is where the PowerSDR database is located)
%APPDATA%\FlexRadio Systems\PowerSDR v2.0.0\Backup
How to Navigate to or Find the PowerSDR User Data Using the %APPDATA% Environment Variable
It is easy to locate the APPDATA folder and subsequently the FlexRadio Systems application folder that contains the user's PowerSDR data
This KB article may reference additional files that are available on the FlexRadio Systems web site Downloads page. Please use the URL(s) below to download the referenced materials.
An Adobe Acrobat Reader may be required to open the file.You can download Adobe Acrobat from here.![]()
KB Source Document(s):
None Referenced
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| System Dependencies | |
| Minimum PowerSDR Version: | 2.0.0 |
| Applicable Hardware: | All SDR hardware |
Content provided by: FlexRadio Systems Engineering
Beginning with PowerSDR v2.0.0, all operational and user specific data, which includes the PowerSDR database among other files, is no longer stored in the application folder found under ..\Program Files\.., but is kept in a user specific profile location specifically designed for data that changes during the normal operation of the application. This was a mandated change from Microsoft for Window Vista and Win7 because the ..\Program Files\.. location on the file system is now considered protected. The only time files should be written to the Program Files protected location is when the application is actually being installed. All subsequent files that are changed, deleted or created after the application has been installed must be placed in non-protected areas of the file system. The non-protected area where PowerSDR v2.0 stores this information is a location know as the user's "appdata" folder (this is not the actual folder name). The data is located here because these are files that normally should be be manipulated by the user or can be easily deleted or moved, which would cause PowerSDR not to function properly. Under the "appdata' folder, is a sub-folder called "FlexRadio Systems" that contains individual folders for version specific PowerSDR data as well as a global PowerSDR data folder that is used by all versions of PowerSDR v2.0
The absolute path of the application data folder location and whether or not it is a hidden folder or not unfortunately changes depending on what Windows operating system you are using. Fortunately, Windows had made concessions in this regard and uses an environment variable to map the different paths to the application data folder location. This Windows environment variable is %APPDATA%. You can use this environment variable to display the path even if the folders are hidden. To view the absolute path of the %APPDATA% environment variable and all of the other defined environment variables, just issue the "set" command from the Windows Run applet (WinKey + R), Windows Search box or a command window.
Below are the absolute paths of the %APPDATA% environment variable. (assuming that the C: driver is the drive/partition where the operating system was installed. The [user_id] is the logon ID you used for logging on to Windows.
- XP: C:\Documents and Settings\[user_id]\Application Data
- Vista: C:\Users\[user_id]\AppData\Roaming\
- Win7: C:\Users\[user_id]\AppData\Roaming\
Below is the default directory structure for a PowerSDR 2.0.0 installation using the %APPDATA% environment variable.
%APPDATA%\FlexRadio Systems\PowerSDR
%APPDATA%\FlexRadio Systems\PowerSDR\Skins
%APPDATA%\FlexRadio Systems\PowerSDR\Skins\[skins_folders]
%APPDATA%\FlexRadio Systems\PowerSDR v2.0.0 (this is where the PowerSDR database is located)
%APPDATA%\FlexRadio Systems\PowerSDR v2.0.0\Backup
How to Navigate to or Find the PowerSDR User Data Using the %APPDATA% Environment Variable
It is easy to locate the APPDATA folder and subsequently the FlexRadio Systems application folder that contains the user's PowerSDR data
- In the XP, Win7 or Vista Run or Search box, enter (without the quotes) "%APPDATA%\FlexRadio Systems\". Once you enter this string, a listing of all the sub-folders will appear.
- Select the sub-folder path that contains the PowerSDR v2.0.0 folder (%APPDATA%\FlexRadio Systems\PowerSDR v2.0.0) and hit the <ENTER> key or click on OK to show the File Display dialog box.
This KB article may reference additional files that are available on the FlexRadio Systems web site Downloads page. Please use the URL(s) below to download the referenced materials.
An Adobe Acrobat Reader may be required to open the file.You can download Adobe Acrobat from here.
KB Source Document(s):
None Referenced
