Editing Environment variable (section)

== Examples ==
Examples of environment variables include:

* <code>[[PATH (variable)|PATH]]</code>: a list of directory paths. When the [[User (computing)|user]] types a command without providing the full path, this list is checked to see whether it contains a path that leads to the command.
* <code>HOME</code> ([[Unix-like]]) and <code>USERPROFILE</code> (Microsoft Windows): indicate where a user's [[home directory]] is located in the [[file system]].
* <code>HOME/{.AppName}</code> ([[Unix-like]]) and <code>APPDATA\{DeveloperName\AppName}</code> (Microsoft Windows): for storing application settings. Many applications incorrectly use <code>USERPROFILE</code> for application settings in Windows: <code>USERPROFILE</code> should only be used in dialogs that allow user to choose between paths like <code>Documents/Pictures/Downloads/Music</code>; for programmatic purposes, <code>APPDATA</code> (for roaming application settings shared across multiple devices), <code>LOCALAPPDATA</code> (for local application settings) or <code>PROGRAMDATA</code> (for application settings shared between multiple OS users) should be used.<ref name="appdata"/>
* <code>TERM</code> ([[Unix-like]]): specifies the type of [[computer terminal]] or [[terminal emulator]] being used (e.g., <code>[[vt100]]</code> or <code>[[dumb terminal|dumb]]</code>).
* <code>PS1</code> ([[Unix-like]]): specifies how the prompt is displayed in the [[Bourne shell]] and variants.
* <code>MAIL</code> ([[Unix-like]]): used to indicate where a user's mail is to be found.
* <code>TEMP</code>: location where processes can store temporary files.