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How do I set or check the ...User folder location on my network?

If your jobs, materials, labour files, colours, or templates “disappear”, Roof Wizard is usually pointing at the wrong ...User folder. Use this guide to map your network drive and verify the User/Temp paths in all the places Roof Wizard reads them from.

🔎 Common signs the path is wrong

You might notice:

  • Old jobs don’t appear in File > Open

  • Materials / labour files look missing or reset

  • Colours or defaults suddenly change

  • Reports/templates can’t be found

First: close Roof Wizard and re-open it. If it still looks wrong, follow the steps below.

🧠 Recommended setup (fast + reliable)

  • Install Roof Wizard locally (default): C:\AppliCad\Roof Wizard\...

  • Default local User folder: C:\AppliCad\Roof Wizard\User

  • If you’re sharing data/jobs, store the User folder on a mapped network drive (example): Z:\AppliCad\User

If you’re unsure, involve your IT person—network permissions and folder mapping matter.

✅ Step 1: Map your network drive in Windows 🖥️

  1. Create a shared folder on your server (keep the folder name short), e.g. \Server\AppliCad\User

  2. Map it to a drive letter (example uses Z:):

  • Open File Explorer

  • Right-click This PC

  • Select Map network drive

  • Choose a drive letter (e.g. Z:)

  • Browse to (or paste) the shared folder path

  • Tick Reconnect at sign-in

  • Click Finish

You should now be able to browse to: Z:\AppliCad\User

✅ Step 2: Check the Roof Wizard shortcut “Start in” path 🧷

  1. Right-click the Roof Wizard shortcut (Desktop/Taskbar)

  2. Choose Properties

  3. On the Shortcut tab, set Start in to your User folder location, e.g.

    • Z:\AppliCad\User

If this points somewhere else, Roof Wizard will “look” in the wrong place.

✅ Step 3: Check paths in AppliCad.ini (Programs folder) 🧾

  1. Close Roof Wizard

  2. Go to: C:\AppliCad\Roof Wizard\Programs

  3. Open AppliCad.ini in Notepad/Wordpad

  4. Confirm these paths are valid:

  • DefaultDirectory = your User folder (example)

    • Z:\AppliCad\User

  • TempDirectory = your temp folder (example)

    • Z:\AppliCad\User\Temp

Important: The folders must actually exist (especially ...\Temp).

Performance tip: If Roof Wizard feels slow over the network, set TempDirectory to local instead:

  • C:\AppliCad\Roof Wizard\User\Temp
    (You can still keep the User folder on the network—this often restores speed.)

✅ Step 4: Check the path inside Values.def 🧩

  1. Go to your User folder (example): Z:\AppliCad\User

  2. Find Values.def

  3. Open in Notepad

  4. Check va_directory matches your User folder

Note: Values.def uses double backslashes in the path, for example:

  • va_directory=Z:\\AppliCad\\User\\

Save and close.

✅ Step 5: Confirm paths inside System Preferences ⚙️

Open Roof Wizard and go to:
​Set Up > Preference Settings > System Preferences

Check these:

  • User Settings folder = Z:\AppliCad\User

  • Corporate Data folder = Z:\AppliCad\User (or your corporate data location)

  • Temporary folder = Z:\AppliCad\User\Temp (or local Temp for speed, if required)

Click OK to save.

✅ Step 6: Enable file locking (recommended for shared folders) 🔒

If multiple users share the same User folder, enable file locking to prevent two people opening the same job and corrupting it:

  1. Go to: CAD > Defaults > System Settings > Setup

  2. Find File Locking

  3. Set the lock-file path to a shared location (your IT team may advise where)

  4. Click OK

Do this on every PC using the shared drive.

🧹 Maintenance tips (keeps things healthy)

  • If Temp is local: periodically clear C:\AppliCad\Roof Wizard\User\Temp

  • Keep folder and job names reasonably short (Windows/path limits can cause weird “missing job” behaviour)

If you want, paste your current settings (Shortcut Start in, AppliCad.ini DefaultDirectory/TempDirectory, and the System Preferences paths) and I’ll tell you which one is pointing at the wrong place.

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