Start/notes.ini Parameters/SharedDataDirectory

SharedDataDirectory

Description

For a multi-user installation of the Notes client on Windows, this specifies the path to the shared data directory. In a single-user installation, the entry is not present.
The presence of SharedDataDirectory= in notes.ini is one of the markers HCL uses to distinguish between single- and multi-user installations (see HCL KB0102555). In a multi-user installation, there are typically two notes.ini files: one in the shared data directory and one in the per-user data directory.

Profile

Parameter
SharedDataDirectory
Category
Client configuration / Multi-user install
Component
Notes client (multi-user installation, Windows)
Value range
Absolute path to a shared data directory created by the installer
Default
Set automatically by the multi-user setup (e.g. under C:\ProgramData\HCL\Notes\Data\Shared)
Available since
Multi-user install since Notes 8.x; documented unchanged in 9.0.1 – 14.5.1
Effective
At program start (set by the installer)
GUI equivalent
None — set exclusively via setup; multi-user state is also visible via the registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Lotus\Notes\<Version>\MultiUser

Example

SharedDataDirectory=C:\ProgramData\HCL\Notes\Data\Shared

Notes

  • The entry is intentionally absent in single-user installations — SharedDataDirectory must not be added there manually.
  • HCL recommends multi-user installations as the preferred variant for most Notes users (except for Domino Designer / Domino Administrator, which are only available as single-user installs).
  • In the multi-user model, the per-user data directory is typically located under %LocalAppData%\HCL\Notes\Data (or %LocalAppData%\Lotus\Notes\Data on older versions). The SharedDataDirectory contains shared templates and shared configuration files.

Sources (HCL Product Documentation)