SQL Developer stores user-related information in several places, with the specific location depending on the operating system and certain environment specifications. User-related information includes user-defined reports, user-defined snippets, SQL Worksheet history, code templates, and SQL Developer user preferences.
In most cases, your user-related information is stored outside the SQL Developer installation directory hierarchy, so that it is preserved if you delete that directory and install a new version. The exception to this is on Windows systems, where SQL Developer user preferences are stored under the installation directory. To preserve preferences on Windows systems, use the Check for Updates feature (click Help, then Check for Updates) to upgrade your system.
The user-related information is stored in or under the following location:
On Windows systems: the HOME environment variable location, if defined; otherwise the SQLDEVELOPER_USER_DIR location, if defined; otherwise as indicated in the following table
On Linux and Mac OS X systems: the SQLDEVELOPER_USER_DIR location, if defined; otherwise as indicated in the following table
The following table shows the typical default locations (under a directory or in a file) for specific types of resources on different operating systems. (Note the period in the name of any directory named .sqldeveloper.)
Default Locations for User-Related Information
| Resource Type | System (Windows, Linux, or Mac OS X) |
|---|---|
|
User-defined reports |
Windows: C:\Documents and Settings\<user-name>\Application Data\SQL Developer\UserReports.xml Linux or Mac OS X: ~/.sqldeveloper/UserReports.xm |
|
User-defined snippets |
Windows: C:\Documents and Settings\<user-name>\Application Data\SQL Developer\UserSnippets.xml Linux: ~/.sqldeveloper/ UserSnippets.xml Mac OS X: /Users/<Your user>/Library/Application Support/ SQLDeveloper/UserSnippets.xml |
|
SQL history |
Windows: C:\Documents and Settings\<user-name>\Application Data\SQL Developer\SqlHistory.xml Linux: ~/.sqldeveloper/ SqlHistory.xml Mac OS X: /Users/<Your user>/Library/Application Support/ SQLDeveloper/ SqlHistory.xml |
|
Code templates |
Windows: C:\Documents and Settings\<user-name>\Application Data\SQL Developer\ CodeTemplate.xml Linux: ~/.sqldeveloper/ CodeTemplate.xml Mac OS X: /Users/<Your user>/Library/Application Support/ SQLDeveloper/ CodeTemplate.xml |
|
SQL Developer user preferences |
Windows: <sqldeveloper_install>\sqldeveloper\sqldeveloper\system\ Linux or Mac OS X: ~/.sqldeveloper/system/ |
To specify a nondefault SQLDEVELOPER_USER_DIR location, do either of the following:
Set the SQLDEVELOPER_USER_DIR environment variable to specify another directory path.
Edit the <sqldeveloper_install>\sqldeveloper\sqldeveloper\bin\sqldeveloper.conf file and substitute the desired directory path for SQLDEVELOPER_USER_DIR in the following line:
SetUserHomeVariable SQLDEVELOPER_USER_DIR
If you want to prevent other users from accessing your user-specific SQL Developer information, you must ensure that the appropriate permissions are set on the directory where that information is stored or on a directory above it in the path hierarchy. For example, on a Windows system you may want to ensure that the SQL Developer folder and the \<user-name>\Application Data\SQL Developer folder under Documents and Settings are not shareable; and on a Linux or Mac OS X system you may want to ensure that the ~/.sqldeveloper directory is not world-readable.