Add profile file location management with policy support and rename folder location properties

Source/NETworkManager.Localization/Resources/Strings.resx

@@ -3972,20 +3972,30 @@ If you click Cancel, the profile file will remain unencrypted.</value>
   <data name="RestoreDefaultLocationQuestion" xml:space="preserve">
     <value>Restore default location?</value>
   </data>
-  <data name="RestoreDefaultLocationSettingsMessage" xml:space="preserve">
-    <value>The default path is restored and the application is restarted afterwards.
+  <data name="RestoreDefaultSettingsLocationMessage" xml:space="preserve">
+    <value>The default settings location is restored and the application is restarted afterwards.
 
 You can copy the “settings.json” file from "{0}" to "{1}" to migrate your previous settings, if necessary. The application must be closed for this to prevent the settings from being overwritten.</value>
   </data>
   <data name="ChangeLocationQuestion" xml:space="preserve">
     <value>Change location?</value>
   </data>
-  <data name="ChangeLocationSettingsMessage" xml:space="preserve">
-    <value>The location is changed and the application is restarted afterwards.
+  <data name="ChangeSettingsLocationMessage" xml:space="preserve">
+    <value>The settings location is changed and the application is restarted afterwards.
 
 You can copy the “settings.json” file from "{0}" to "{1}" to migrate your previous settings, if necessary. The application must be closed for this to prevent the settings from being overwritten.</value>
   </data>
   <data name="EnterValidFolderPath" xml:space="preserve">
     <value>Enter a valid folder path!</value>
   </data>
+  <data name="ChangeProfilesLocationMessage" xml:space="preserve">
+    <value>The profiles location is changed and the application is restarted afterwards.
+
+You can copy your profile files from “{0}” to “{1}” to migrate your existing profiles, if necessary. The application must be closed for this to prevent the profiles from being overwritten.</value>
+  </data>
+  <data name="RestoreDefaultProfilesLocationMessage" xml:space="preserve">
+    <value>The default profiles location is restored and the application is restarted afterwards.
+
+You can copy your profile files from “{0}” to “{1}” to migrate your existing profiles, if necessary. The application must be closed for this to prevent the profiles from being overwritten.</value>
+  </data>
 </root>

Source/NETworkManager.Profiles/ProfileManager.cs

@@ -197,14 +197,65 @@ private static void ProfilesUpdated(bool profilesChanged = true)
 
     /// <summary>
     ///     Method to get the path of the profiles folder.
+    ///     Priority:
+    ///     1. Policy override (for IT administrators)
+    ///     2. Custom user-configured path (not available in portable mode)
+    ///     3. Portable (same directory as the application) or default location (Documents folder)
     /// </summary>
     /// <returns>Path to the profiles folder.</returns>
     public static string GetProfilesFolderLocation()
     {
-        return ConfigurationManager.Current.IsPortable
-            ? Path.Combine(AssemblyManager.Current.Location, ProfilesFolderName)
-            : Path.Combine(Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.MyDocuments),
-                AssemblyManager.Current.Name, ProfilesFolderName);
+        // 1. Policy override takes precedence (for IT administrators)
+        if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(PolicyManager.Current?.Profiles_FolderLocation))
+        {
+            var validatedPath = DirectoryHelper.ValidateFolderPath(
+                PolicyManager.Current.Profiles_FolderLocation,
+                "Policy-provided",
+                nameof(PolicyInfo.Profiles_FolderLocation),
+                "next priority");
+
+            if (validatedPath != null)
+                return validatedPath;
+        }
+
+        // 2. Custom user-configured path (not available in portable mode)
+        if (!ConfigurationManager.Current.IsPortable &&
+            !string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(SettingsManager.Current?.Profiles_FolderLocation))
+        {
+            var validatedPath = DirectoryHelper.ValidateFolderPath(
+                SettingsManager.Current.Profiles_FolderLocation,
+                "Custom",
+                nameof(SettingsInfo.Profiles_FolderLocation),
+                "default location");
+
+            if (validatedPath != null)
+                return validatedPath;
+        }
+
+        // 3. Fall back to portable or default location
+        if (ConfigurationManager.Current.IsPortable)
+            return GetPortableProfilesFolderLocation();
+        else
+            return GetDefaultProfilesFolderLocation();
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    ///     Method to get the default profiles folder location in the user's Documents directory.
+    /// </summary>
+    /// <returns>Path to the default profiles folder location.</returns>
+    public static string GetDefaultProfilesFolderLocation()
+    {
+        return Path.Combine(Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.MyDocuments),
+            AssemblyManager.Current.Name, ProfilesFolderName);
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    ///     Method to get the portable profiles folder location (in the same directory as the application).
+    /// </summary>
+    /// <returns>Path to the portable profiles folder location.</returns>
+    public static string GetPortableProfilesFolderLocation()
+    {
+        return Path.Combine(AssemblyManager.Current.Location, ProfilesFolderName);
     }
 
     /// <summary>

Source/NETworkManager.Settings/LocalSettingsInfo.cs

@@ -34,23 +34,23 @@ private void OnPropertyChanged([CallerMemberName] string propertyName = null)
     [JsonIgnore] public bool SettingsChanged { get; set; }
 
     /// <summary>
-    /// Private field for the <see cref="SettingsFolderLocation" /> property."
+    /// Private field for the <see cref="Settings_FolderLocation" /> property.
     /// </summary>
-    private string _settingsFolderLocation;
+    private string _settings_FolderLocation;
 
     /// <summary>
     ///  Location of the folder where the local settings file is stored.
     ///  This can be changed by the user to move the settings file to a different location.
     /// </summary>
-    public string SettingsFolderLocation
+    public string Settings_FolderLocation
     {
-        get => _settingsFolderLocation;
+        get => _settings_FolderLocation;
         set
         {
-            if (_settingsFolderLocation == value)
+            if (_settings_FolderLocation == value)
                 return;
 
-            _settingsFolderLocation = value;
+            _settings_FolderLocation = value;
             OnPropertyChanged();
         }
     }

Source/NETworkManager.Settings/PolicyInfo.cs

@@ -11,6 +11,9 @@ public class PolicyInfo
     [JsonPropertyName("Update_CheckForUpdatesAtStartup")]
     public bool? Update_CheckForUpdatesAtStartup { get; set; }
 
-    [JsonPropertyName("SettingsFolderLocation")]
-    public string? SettingsFolderLocation { get; set; }
+    [JsonPropertyName("Profiles_FolderLocation")]
+    public string? Profiles_FolderLocation { get; set; }
+
+    [JsonPropertyName("Settings_FolderLocation")]
+    public string? Settings_FolderLocation { get; set; }    
 }

Source/NETworkManager.Settings/PolicyManager.cs

@@ -84,7 +84,8 @@ public static void Load()
 
                     // Log enabled settings
                     Log.Info($"System-wide policy - Update_CheckForUpdatesAtStartup: {Current.Update_CheckForUpdatesAtStartup?.ToString() ?? "Not set"}");
-                    Log.Info($"System-wide policy - SettingsFolderLocation: {Current.SettingsFolderLocation ?? "Not set"}");
+                    Log.Info($"System-wide policy - Profiles_FolderLocation: {Current.Profiles_FolderLocation ?? "Not set"}");
+                    Log.Info($"System-wide policy - Settings_FolderLocation: {Current.Settings_FolderLocation ?? "Not set"}");                    
                 }
             }
             catch (Exception ex)

Source/NETworkManager.Settings/SettingsInfo.cs

@@ -576,7 +576,22 @@ public bool Experimental_EnableExperimentalFeatures
         }
     }
 
-    // Profiles    
+    // Profiles
+    private string _profiles_FolderLocation;
+
+    public string Profiles_FolderLocation
+    {
+        get => _profiles_FolderLocation;
+        set
+        {
+            if (value == _profiles_FolderLocation)
+                return;
+
+            _profiles_FolderLocation = value;
+            OnPropertyChanged();
+        }
+    }
+
     private string _profiles_LastSelected;
 
     public string Profiles_LastSelected

Source/NETworkManager.Settings/SettingsManager.cs

@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@
 using System;
 using System.IO;
 using System.Linq;
-using System.Security;
 using System.Text.Json;
 using System.Text.Json.Serialization;
 using System.Xml.Serialization;
@@ -74,16 +73,21 @@ public static class SettingsManager
 
     /// <summary>
     ///     Method to get the path of the settings folder.
+    ///     Priority:
+    ///     1. Policy override (for IT administrators)
+    ///     2. Custom user-configured path (not available in portable mode)
+    ///     3. Portable (same directory as the application) or default location (Documents folder)
     /// </summary>
     /// <returns>Path to the settings folder.</returns>
     public static string GetSettingsFolderLocation()
     {
         // 1. Policy override takes precedence (for IT administrators)
-        if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(PolicyManager.Current?.SettingsFolderLocation))
+        if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(PolicyManager.Current?.Settings_FolderLocation))
         {
-            var validatedPath = ValidateSettingsFolderPath(
-                PolicyManager.Current.SettingsFolderLocation,
+            var validatedPath = DirectoryHelper.ValidateFolderPath(
+                PolicyManager.Current.Settings_FolderLocation,
                 "Policy-provided",
+                nameof(PolicyInfo.Settings_FolderLocation),
                 "next priority");
 
             if (validatedPath != null)
@@ -92,11 +96,12 @@ public static string GetSettingsFolderLocation()
 
         // 2. Custom user-configured path (not available in portable mode)
         if (!ConfigurationManager.Current.IsPortable &&
-            !string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(LocalSettingsManager.Current?.SettingsFolderLocation))
+            !string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(LocalSettingsManager.Current?.Settings_FolderLocation))
         {
-            var validatedPath = ValidateSettingsFolderPath(
-                LocalSettingsManager.Current.SettingsFolderLocation,
+            var validatedPath = DirectoryHelper.ValidateFolderPath(
+                LocalSettingsManager.Current.Settings_FolderLocation,
                 "Custom",
+                nameof(LocalSettingsInfo.Settings_FolderLocation),
                 "default location");
 
             if (validatedPath != null)
@@ -129,67 +134,6 @@ public static string GetPortableSettingsFolderLocation()
         return Path.Combine(AssemblyManager.Current.Location, SettingsFolderName);
     }
 
-    /// <summary>
-    ///     Validates a settings folder path for correctness and accessibility.
-    /// </summary>
-    /// <param name="path">The path to validate.</param>
-    /// <param name="pathSource">Description of the path source for logging (e.g., "Policy-provided", "Custom").</param>
-    /// <param name="fallbackMessage">Message describing what happens on validation failure (e.g., "next priority", "default location").</param>
-    /// <returns>The validated full path if valid; otherwise, null.</returns>
-    private static string ValidateSettingsFolderPath(string path, string pathSource, string fallbackMessage)
-    {
-        // Expand environment variables first (e.g. %userprofile%\settings -> C:\Users\...\settings)
-        path = Environment.ExpandEnvironmentVariables(path);
-
-        // Validate that the path is rooted (absolute)
-        if (!Path.IsPathRooted(path))
-        {
-            Log.Error($"{pathSource} SettingsFolderLocation is not an absolute path: {path}. Falling back to {fallbackMessage}.");
-            return null;
-        }
-
-        // Validate that the path doesn't contain invalid characters
-        try
-        {
-            // This will throw ArgumentException, NotSupportedException, SecurityException, PathTooLongException, or IOException if the path is invalid
-            var fullPath = Path.GetFullPath(path);
-
-            // Check if the path is a directory (not a file)
-            if (File.Exists(fullPath))
-            {
-                Log.Error($"{pathSource} SettingsFolderLocation is a file, not a directory: {path}. Falling back to {fallbackMessage}.");
-                return null;
-            }
-
-            return Path.TrimEndingDirectorySeparator(fullPath);
-        }
-        catch (ArgumentException ex)
-        {
-            Log.Error($"{pathSource} SettingsFolderLocation contains invalid characters: {path}. Falling back to {fallbackMessage}.", ex);
-            return null;
-        }
-        catch (NotSupportedException ex)
-        {
-            Log.Error($"{pathSource} SettingsFolderLocation format is not supported: {path}. Falling back to {fallbackMessage}.", ex);
-            return null;
-        }
-        catch (SecurityException ex)
-        {
-            Log.Error($"Insufficient permissions to access {pathSource} SettingsFolderLocation: {path}. Falling back to {fallbackMessage}.", ex);
-            return null;
-        }
-        catch (PathTooLongException ex)
-        {
-            Log.Error($"{pathSource} SettingsFolderLocation path is too long: {path}. Falling back to {fallbackMessage}.", ex);
-            return null;
-        }
-        catch (IOException ex)
-        {
-            Log.Error($"{pathSource} SettingsFolderLocation caused an I/O error: {path}. Falling back to {fallbackMessage}.", ex);
-            return null;
-        }
-    }
-
     /// <summary>
     ///     Method to get the path of the settings backup folder.
     /// </summary>

Source/NETworkManager.Settings/config.json.example

@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 {
   "Update_CheckForUpdatesAtStartup": false,
-  "SettingsFolderLocation": "C:\\CustomPath\\NETworkManager\\Settings"
+  "Profiles_FolderLocation": "\\\\Server\\Shared\\NETworkManager\\Profiles",
+  "Settings_FolderLocation": "%UserProfile%\\NETworkManager\\Settings"
 }