Variable for user name in Studio Templates path

Question

I am using Trados Studio 2021 SR2 - 16.2.9.9198. And before creating this post I tried several solutions and I also kept googling and reading other posts, but I don't find anything that could help me. 
 
 We are using Studio templates for our project creation and we want to use one local termbase that is used by all of our templates. There is just one little problem: The termbase is stored on OneDrive and thus, the user name varies depending on who is working with the template. Initially, I added the local term base and then I just opened the template in Visual Studio Code to adapt it like this (see the %USERNAME% variable): 
 
 &lt; TermbaseSettings xmlns:xsi=" ">www.w3.org/.../XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:xsd=" ">www.w3.org/.../XMLSchema" &gt; 
 &lt; Path &gt; C:\Users\%USERNAME%\OneDrive\General\Linguistic resources\Termbases\Local termbases\__ForStudio\local.sdltb &lt; /Path &gt; 
 &lt; IsOpen &gt; false &lt; /IsOpen &gt; 
 &lt; Filter &gt; 0 &lt; /Filter &gt; 
 &lt; FilterHighlight &gt; false &lt; /FilterHighlight &gt; 
 &lt; Layout &gt; 0 &lt; /Layout &gt; 
 &lt; Local &gt; true &lt; /Local &gt; 
 &lt; IsCustom &gt; false &lt; /IsCustom &gt; 
 
 But it does not work with a variable. I tried several variables:

$(Username)

%USERNAME%

%A_Username%

But none worked. Do you know how to make this work? I think there needs to be a way to add a file even though it's on OneDrive and the path changes. Thank you very much!

Patrick Andrew Hartnett · Accepted Answer

Hi Mario Abbate , 
 
 You've attempted to use environment variables (e.g., `%USERNAME%`, `%UserProfile%`) in the template's XML to create a dynamic path, however, Trados Studio does not support environment variables within these paths. This means that any placeholders or variables you include in the XML will not be interpreted and replaced with the actual values at runtime. 
 A possible solution might look like using common path across all users, potentially? 
 
 Example: 
 Decide on a fixed path that's the same on all users' machines, such as: ``` C:\LinguisticResources\Termbases\local.sdltb ``` 
 Implementation:

Have each user create the necessary folder structure on their local machine.

Place a copy of the `local.sdltb` termbase in this location.

Update the Template:

Modify your project template to reference the termbase at this fixed path.

Advantages:

Simplifies the template as the path is consistent across all users.

No need for environment variables or complex configurations.

or... 
 Use a Network Share with a Consistent UNC Path 
 Store the termbase on a shared network drive that all users can access, using a UNC path like: ``` \ServerName\SharedResources\Termbases\local.sdltb ``` 
 Implementation:

Ensure all users have read/write access to the shared network location.

Store the termbase file on the network share.

Update the Template:

Modify the project template to reference the termbase using the UNC path.

Advantages:

Centralizes the termbase, making updates and maintenance easier.

Ensures all users are accessing the same, up-to-date termbase.

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Variable for user name in Studio Templates path

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