Reference - Environment Variables in GGP

GGP supports environment variables to manage network and local pathnames effectively. In corporate environments, users may access GGP or its shared resources (tables, overlays, databases) from multiple locations, each potentially having different drive mappings to the same server directories. Environment variables help standardize these paths, so the resource location remains consistent regardless of user-specific drive mappings.

Environment Variable Syntax

Instead of a direct path like:

Drive:\Directory\Filename

Use environment variables in this format:

%EnvironmentVariableName%\Directory\Filename

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How to Set Up Environment Variables

1. On Windows (XP, Vista, Windows 7, Windows 10, Windows 11)

1. Right-click My Computer (or This PC) and select Properties.

2. Go to the Advanced Settings tab.

3. Click the Environment Variables button.

4. Choose either System variables (recommended for all users) or User variables.

5. Click New.

6. Enter the variable name (e.g., GGPPATH).

7. Enter the value (e.g., \\ITSERVER\PROGRAMS).

8. Click OK to save.

Note:

• If you are not a network administrator, you may only add User Variables.

• System variables apply to all users on the PC.

• Changes are saved to the registry and take effect after a restart.

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2. In GGP

1. Launch the GGP Applications Launcher.

2. Click the Users button (accessible by department or corporate administrators only).

3. Click the Department icon on the toolbar.

4. Select a department from the left panel.

5. Click Edit/Save Directory Settings.

6. Replace absolute paths with your environment variable path.

   Example:
   Change
   \\ITSERVER\PROGRAMS\GGPWIN\CORP
   to
   %GGPPATH%\GGPWIN\CORP

7. Click OK to save.

GGP will update all matching directory paths automatically.

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Additional Information

• Environment variable usage is stored as UseUNCNames (personal folders) and UseLocalAliases (shared folders) in GGP’s configuration files.

• You can toggle environment variable conversion on or off in the Directory Options dialog boxes.

• Older GGP versions do not support environment variables pointing to local drives; this toggle allows you to revert paths to regular file paths if needed.

• Environment variables can include drive or partition letters, supporting hot-desking across different Windows versions with a unified department.ini configuration.

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If you need further assistance, please contact your system administrator or submit a support request.