De bruges i batch-filer eller scripts som “genveje” til stier på den lokale computer – dvs. f.eks. en batchfil kan bruges på flere forskellige computere, uanset sprog.

%SystemDrive%	C:
%SystemRoot%	C:\WINNT, C:\WINDOWS
%SystemDirectory%
%WinDir%	C:\WINNT, C:\WINDOWS
%ProgramFiles%	C:\WINNT\Program Files
%ComSpec%	C:\WINNT\system32\cmd.exe
%Temp%	C:\DOCUME~1\Usr\LOCALS~1\Temp from C:\Documents and Settings\Usr\Local Settings\Temp
%Tmp%
%HOMEDRIVE%	C: The drive letter associated with the user’s home directory
%HOMEPATH%	The path to the user’s home directory (excluding drive):
%OS%	Windows_NT The operating system the user is running
%USERDOMAIN%	The name of the domain that contains the user’s account
%USERNAME%	The user’s name