where does visual studio put user app.config files/settings

Question

I've looked in C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Roaming and C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local for my application that I'm debugging in Visual Studio 2015, but can't find it there.

I'm trying to blow away the setting value, but can't find it.

Where do user settings go for visual studio projects i'm debugging?

Answer 1

They are in the .suo and .usr file which is in a hidden ".vs" folder in the root directory of the project. An explanation of what these files hold can be found here You'll have to show hidden files in order to find it.

The whole folder is user specific. I sometimes find the need to delete the whole folder when VS is running very slow or when I have a setting I played with and want it back to default. VS will recreate the folder, but I would save a backup in case.

Answer 2

If you mean the specific project's settings you are currently debugging, they are stored in

yourproject.exe.config

file located side by side with your exe in bin\debug (or bin\release) folder

Answer 3

The file is stored inside this path "bin/debug/app.config", if you make changes while debugging, those changes should appear there. Just remember that this file is overwritten with the "app.config" from the project root each time you run the application on Visual Studio IDE.