I needed to move some files from one Windows 11 system that is no longer
being used, as the user is no longer working for the company, to another
Windows 11 system where the user of that system, Pam, is now handling a task
formerly handled by the prior employee, but while logged onto the account for
the user now handling the task on her system, I noticed that her
Documents folder was empty. The
Windows domain name
changed at that business a few years ago, so I thought that perhaps she
might be using a Documents directory associated with her account under
the prior domain name rather than the new one created for her new domain
login. You can determine the location of a user's "My Documents" directory,
which can be redirected to another location, including a network share
or another drive, by issuing the PowerShell command
[Environment]::GetFolderPath("MyDocuments"). E.g.:
Windows PowerShell Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Try the new cross-platform PowerShell https://aka.ms/pscore6 PS C:\Users\Pam> [Environment]::GetFolderPath("MyDocuments") C:\Users\Pam\Documents PS C:\Users\Pam>
The command utilizes the GetFolderPath method from the
System.Environment class to retrieve the path of special folders,
including "MyDocuments," for the user under whose context the script or command
is executed. This method correctly identifies the mapped location even if the
Documents folder has been redirected or moved from the default location.
In this case, I found that her "My Documents" directory was pointing to
the directory associated with the old domain name. Her "home" folder
was also pointing to the home folder that was in use for her account
in the old domain. You can type $home in a PowerShell window to
see that value. Or you can use $env:USERPROFILE to see the same
information.
PS C:\Users\Pam> $Home C:\Users\Pam PS C:\Users\Pam >$env:userprofile C:\Users\Pam PS C:\Users\Pam>
