Environment variables can be used in preference items to simplify the configuration of options such as file system paths. These variables can include
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Standard Windows per-machine environment variables
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Standard Windows per-user environment variables
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Environment variables that are specific to Group Policy preferences
In addition, some variables might apply only to certain versions of Windows.
The following is a list of variables that can be processed by preference extensions:
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%AppDataDir% The current user’s Application Data directory
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%BinaryComputerSid% The security identifier (SID) of the computer in hexadecimal format
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%BinaryUserSid% The SID of the current user in hexadecimal format
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%CommonAppdataDir% The All Users Application Data directory
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%CommonDesktopDir% The All Users Desktop directory
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%CommonFavoritesDir% The All Users Explorer Favorites directory
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%CommonProgramsDir% The All Users Programs directory
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%CommonStartMenuDir% The All Users Start Menu directory
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%CommonStartUpDir% The All Users Startup directory
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%ComputerName% The NetBIOS name of the computer
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%CurrentProcessId% The numeric identity of the main client process
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%CurrentThreadId% The numeric identity of the main client thread
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%DateTime% The current time (UTC)
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%DateTimeEx% The current time (UTC) with milliseconds
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%DesktopDir% The current user’s desktop directory
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%DomainName% The domain name or workgroup of the computer
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%FavoritesDir% The current user’s Explorer Favorites directory
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%LastError% The last error code encountered during configuration
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%LastErrorText% The last error code text description
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%LdapComputerSid% The SID of the computer in Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) escaped binary format
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%LdapUserSid% The SID of the current user in LDAP escaped binary format
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%LocalTime% The current local time
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%LocalTimeEx% The current local time with milliseconds
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%LogonDomain% The domain of the current user
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%LogonServer% The domain controller that authenticated the current user
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%LogonUser% The user name of the current user
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%LogonUserSid% The SID of the current user
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%MacAddress% The first detected media access control (MAC) address on the computer
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%NetPlacesDir% The current user’s My Network Places directory
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%OsVersion% The operating system, which can be a specific Windows operating system or Unknown
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%ProgramFilesDir% The Windows Program Files directory
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%ProgramsDir% The current user’s Programs directory
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%RecentDocumentsDir% The current user’s Recent Documents directory
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%ResultCode% The client’s exit code
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%ResultText% The client’s exit code text description
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%ReversedComputerSid% The SID of the computer in reversed-byte-order hexadecimal format
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%ReversedUserSid% The SID of the current user in reversed-byte-order hexadecimal format
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%SendToDir% The current user’s Send To directory
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%StartMenuDir% The current user’s Start Menu directory
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%StartUpDir% The current user’s Startup directory
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%SystemDir% The Windows system directory
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%SystemDrive% The name of the drive from which the operating system is running
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%TempDir% The current user’s Temp directory as determined by Windows API
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%TimeStamp% The time stamp of the configurations being implemented
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%TraceFile% The path/name of the trace file
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%WindowsDir% The Windows directory
The above tip was excerpted from Mitch Tulloch's book Training Guide: Installing and Configuring Windows Server 2012 from Microsoft Press.
Mitch is a nine-time recipient of the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) award and a widely recognized expert on Windows administration, deployment and virtualization. For more information see http://www.mtit.com.