Modify the file system path

The files directory created in the initial install is the default file system path used to store all uploaded files, as well as some temporary files created by Drupal. After installation, the settings for the file system path may be modified to store uploaded files in a different location.

It is not necessary to modify this path, but you may wish to change it if:

• your site runs multiple Drupal installations from a single codebase (modify the file system path of each installation to a different directory so that uploads do not overlap between installations); or,
• your site runs a number of web server front-ends behind a load balancer or reverse proxy (modify the file system path on each server to point to a shared file repository).

To modify the file system path:

1. Ensure that the new location for the path exists or create it if necessary. To create a new directory named uploads, for example, use the following command from a shell or system prompt (while in the installation directory):
   mkdir uploads
2. Ensure that the new location for the path is writable by the web server process. To grant write permissions for a directory named uploads, you may need to use the following command from a shell or system prompt (while in the installation directory):
   chmod o+w uploads
3. Access the file system path settings in Drupal by selecting these menu items from the Navigation menu:Administer > Site configuration > File system
4. Enter the path to the new location (e.g.: uploads) at the File System Path prompt.

Note
Changing the file system path after files have been uploaded may cause unexpected problems on an existing site. If you modify the file system path on an existing site, remember to copy all files from the original location to the new location.

Some administrators suggest making the documentation files, especially CHANGELOG.txt, non-readable so that the exact version of Drupal you are running is slightly more difficult to determine. If you wish to implement this optional security measure, use the following command from a shell or system prompt (while in the installation directory):
chmod a-r CHANGELOG.txt

Note that the example only affects CHANGELOG.txt. To completely hide all documentation files from public view, repeat this command for each of the Drupal documentation files in the installation directory, substituting the name of each file for CHANGELOG.txt in the example.