How to Change the VTube Config Folder (for Windows Controlled Folder Access)

Why We Allow For a Change

The Windows development team has added the Controlled Folder Access option to Windows Security. When this feature is turned on, even the Public folder system can be locked to setup programs. (The developers decided that setup programs should not access any public folder without explicit permission.)

This created the need for us to allow customers to change the configuration location.

Where VTube Stores the Configuration Path Information

• A vtube_preload_setup.cfg text file is installed in the Program File (x86)\VTube... folder.
• Along with this file, the VTube setup program installs a starting configuration in a folder: Program File (x86)\VTube...\Prototype Folder\VTube

Learn About the Internal File Structure of vtube_preload_setup.cfg

• The file uses a standard Windows INI format.
• The default installed file sets the Config Folder to a text value of C:\Users\Public\Documents\VTube. 
• This is the default configuration location for all previous versions of VTube.

// ---- Important Configuration Note ----
// Be sure that VTube has read-write privileges in the folder you enter.
// Some folders (like C:\ProgramData\VTube) may need VTube to run in administrator mode.
// If read-write privileges are not granted, then VTube will throw an error just after the splash screen displays.


[VTube Path Setup]
Config Folder=C:\Users\Public\Documents\VTube
//Config Folder=C:\ProgramData\VTube
//Config Folder=C:\Users\MichaelCone\AppData\Local\VTube

The default file includes three settings for the Config Folder value.  Two of them are ignored with the // symbols at the beginning of the line.

How to Edit the Configuration File

Load the configuration file into Notepad++ (or any text editor). The Config Folder can be changed to the AppData folder (or any other folder) like this:

// ---- Important Configuration Note ----
// Be sure that VTube has read-write privileges in the folder you enter.
// Some folders (like C:\ProgramData\VTube) may need VTube to run in administrator mode.
// If read-write privileges are not granted, then VTube will throw an error just after the splash screen displays.


[VTube Path Setup]
//Config Folder=C:\Users\Public\Documents\VTube
//Config Folder=C:\ProgramData\VTube
Config Folder=C:\Users\MichaelCone\AppData\Local\VTube

You can see that the new location is in Michael Cone's login under the AppData\Local\VTube structure. (You will need to replace "MichaelCone" with your username.)

Do not allow more than one "Config Folder" entry to be active at a time.

Important Logic Rules for Preloading This Setup

1. Each time VTube runs, it will look for the vtube_preload_setup.cfg file.
2. The file does not need to be present for VTube to run. But if it is, VTube will attempt to load the configuration before it loads any other configuration files.
3. If your Windows policy cannot allow VTube to use the C:\Users\Public\Documents\VTube folder, changing the configuration before running VTube the first time is important.
4. VTube will load the configuration path and then check for a valid set of files at that path. 
5. If the configuration files are not found at that path, VTube will automatically copy the entire Prototype Folder\VTube folder to the new location. When this occurs, VTube will display a banner that explains that it is creating a new configuration at the new path.  This banner will display just after the splash screen appears.
6. VTube must have read-write access to whatever path you choose. Some paths require VTube to run as an administrator. If VTube does not have access to the config path programmed into this file, it will display an error dialog explaining that it does not have access. At this point, close VTube and resolve the problem by running VTube in admin mode or programming Windows to allow VTube.exe access to that folder structure.
7. VTube will extensively use this folder structure to create hundreds of real-time files.  It is not practical to ask a user to grant permission for each new file individually.
8. While VTube is running, we recommend not manually editing any of the files in this folder structure.