The 'Program Files' folder in different languages

The Program Files folder in a Windows system is used as a storage place for programs, and some other binary files. The name of this folder is not the same in all countries / languages. Instead are often localized names used, that matches the language of the Windows that is run. For example in a Spanish Windows the name of the Program Files folder is Archivos de programa. And in a German Windows the name of the folder is Programme.
 
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32 bit and 64 bit Windows
 
 In a 32 bit Windows there exists only one Program Files folder on the user's hard disk, but in a 64 bit Windows there exists two Program Files folders. One of the folders is used as a storage place for 32 bit binary files and the other folder is used as storage place for 64 bit binary files. In an English Windows the name of the folders are the following:
 
Folder name Folder path Description
Program Files C:\Program Files Folder for 64 bit program files
Program Files (x86) C:\Program Files (x86) Folder for 32 bit program files

An "(x86)" suffix is added to the 32 bit folder in a 64 bit system. Note that the "(x86)" suffix is only added in a 64 bit system. In a 32 bit system no such a suffix is used, although the folder is used for 32 bit files.


 Localized 64 bit Windows
 
In a localized 64 bit Windows the "(x86)" suffix is used in the same way as in an English Windows version. The table below shows an example with folder names specified in a Spanish Windows version:
 
Folder name Folder path Description
Archivos de programa C:\Archivos de programa Folder for 64 bit program files
Archivos de programa (x86) C:\Archivos de programa (x86) Folder for 32 bit program files

Another example. In a German 64 bit Windows the name of the 64 bit folder is Programme and the name of the 32 bit folder is Programme (x86).
 
 
 The 'Program Files' folder in 15 languages
 
Below we list the name of the Program Files folder in 15 languages. The first table lists the folder names in a 32 bit Windows and the names of the 64 bit folders in 64 bit Windows. The second table shows the folder names of 32 bit folders in 64 bit Windows.
 
32 bit Windows / 64 bit folder in 64 bit Windows
 
Folder name Folder path Language
Program Files C:\Program Files English
Programme C:\Programme German
Archivos de programa C:\Archivos de programa Spanish
Programmes C:\Programmes French
Programmi  C:\Programmi Italian
Arquivos de Programas C:\Arquivos de Programas Portuguese
Program  C:\Program Swedish
Programmer C:\Programmer Danish
Programfiler C:\Programfiler Norwegian
Fisiere Program C:\Fisiere Program Romanian
Program Files C:\Program Files Dutch / Russian / Polish / Czech / Chinese
 
32 bit folder in 64 bit Windows
 
Folder name Folder path Language
Program Files (x86) C:\Program Files (x86) English
Programme (x86) C:\Programme (x86) German
Archivos de programa (x86) C:\Archivos de programa (x86) Spanish
Programmes (x86) C:\Programmes (x86) French
Programmi (x86) C:\Programmi (x86) Italian
Arquivos de Programas (x86) C:\Arquivos de Programas (x86) Portuguese
Program (x86) C:\Program (x86) Swedish
Programmer (x86) C:\Programmer (x86) Danish
Programfiler (x86) C:\Programfiler (x86) Norwegian
Fisiere Program C:\Fisiere Program Romanian
Program Files (x86) C:\Program Files (x86) Dutch / Russian / Polish / Czech / Chinese
 
 
 What does 'x86' mean?
 
 Perhaps you wonder why there is a "x86" suffix in the folder name for the folder that is intended for 32 bit files (in 64 bit systems)? x86 is the name of a processor architecture from Intel that handles 32 bit instruction sets. The 32 bit Program Files folder includes this name in the folder name to inform users and setup programs that 32 bit files should be installed in this folder during an installation. If you want to read more about x86, check this Wikipedia article or this article on our web site.

  
 Same system in all Windows (Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8 etc.)
 
This method of naming the Program Files folder is the same regardless of the version of the Windows. The following client versions of Windows support this naming system: Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8. And the following server versions of Windows support this naming system: Windows Server 2003 / 2008 / 2012.
  
  
I have both 'Program Files' and 'Archivos de programa' in my Spanish Windows. Why?
 
This can happen if a setup program hard-codes the name of the Program Files folder; then you can end up having both Program Files and Archivos de programa (or Program Files (x86) and Archivos de programa (x86)) on your hard disk. An installation program should always use an environment variable to get the correct path to the Program Files folder. The environment variable will return the correct folder path, regardless of the language used in Windows. You can read more in this blog post.
 
 
More information
 
You can get more detailed information about 32 and 64 bit folders in Windows in this article on our web site:
 
The 'Program Files (x86)' and 'SysWOW64' folders explained
  
 
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Article written by: Mika Larramo Spanish