The working directory is where LabJack logging software such as LJLogM, LJLogUD, LJStreamM, and LJStreamUD stores configuration and log data files. You must have read and write access to the working directory.
The location of the working directory for each application is stored in the Windows registry at:
Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\LabJack\LJxxxxxx
Every time you run LJLog/Stream software, it checks the Windows registry for the location of its working directory. If it does not find this entry in the registry (f.e. if you have never run the program before) a window should pop up asking you to select a directory. The default location when this window first pops up is the current user's Documents directory at %USERPROFILE%\Documents[1].
After navigating to the desired directory in the pop-up window, click Select Cur Dir at the bottom-right.
Not sure where your working directory is?
Consult your logging software documentation to familiarize yourself with its controls and indicators such as the Write To File and Change Working Directory buttons:
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Find and select
Change Working Directoryand it will show the current working directory location. -
Find and select
Change Working Directoryand set the directory to a location you can find more easily. -
Select
Write To Fileand theCurrent Data Fileindicator will display the path of the working directory. -
Note the location and name of the data file from step 3 above, open Windows File Explorer, and navigate to that location to confirm the file is there.
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If step 4 fails to locate the file, open Windows File Explorer, navigate to the root of your hard drive, and search for the file by name.
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If step 5 fails to locate the file, Run
RegEditto look at the registry entry.
Directory Permissions Troubleshooting
If you have a working directory location described by the Current Data File indicator but you can't find the location on your hard drive (see steps 4-5 above) you may be facing complications due to Windows file permissions or a path that is too long.
A possible solution is to select a working directory where you already have read and write permissions such as your user Documents directory. Most Windows OS installations should provide proper access to your user Documents directory at %USERPROFILE%\Documents[1]. You can check the permissions are correct by right clicking the directory, select Properties > Security > Edit > allow read and write access for any group your user account is in, then select Apply.
Footnotes
[1] %USERPROFILE% is a Windows environment variable that will resolve to your Windows user directory. For example, if your username is user1 and Windows is installed to a partition labeled as the C drive (most common install location) %USERPROFILE% should resolve to a fully qualified path of C:\Users\user1. You can check this by opening a command prompt session and running the command echo %USERPROFILE%. In Powershell you can run the command $env:USERPROFILE instead. You can also type %USERPROFILE% in a Windows File Explorer address bar to navigate the directory, but this does not always show the fully qualified path in the address bar, other aliases may be used.