Start/notes.ini Parameters/Directory

Directory

Parameter: Directory
Short description: Path to the Notes/Domino data directory. On the Notes client, Directory points to the Notes data directory; on the Domino server, it points to the Domino data directory. Set automatically by setup and required for startup.

Description

Path to the Notes/Domino data directory.
  • On the Notes client, Directory points to the Notes data directory (e.g. C:\HCL\Notes\Data).
  • On the Domino server, Directory points to the Domino data directory, which holds all databases (names.nsf, log.nsf, mailboxes, application NSFs, etc.).
The entry is written to notes.ini automatically by setup and is required for startup. HCL explicitly lists Directory= as one of the minimum mandatory entries in a Notes notes.ini.

Profile

Parameter
Directory
Category
Client configuration / Setup
Component
Notes client and Domino server
Value range
Absolute path to an existing data directory
Default
Set automatically by setup (e.g. C:\HCL\Notes\Data or C:\HCL\Domino\Data)
Available since
Very early (before 9.0.1) — standard setup parameter in all Notes/Domino versions
Effective
At program start
GUI equivalent
None directly — only via setup or migration of the data directory (e.g. as described in HCL KB0081077)

Examples

Directory=C:\HCL\Notes\Data
Directory=D:\Data
Directory=/local/notesdata

Notes

  • The directory must exist and must be readable and writable by the Notes/Domino process. Otherwise startup fails.
  • When moving the data directory (e.g. to another partition), Directory= and KeyFilename= must be adjusted consistently (HCL KB0081077).
  • On Windows multi-user installs, the additional SharedDataDirectory= entry exists for the shared data directory (see HCL KB0102555).
  • If notes.ini has to be re-created, Directory= is one of the three mandatory values alongside [Notes] and KitType=1 (see HCL Notes 14.5.1 „The NOTES.INI file cannot be found“).

Sources (HCL Product Documentation)