Disable home folder and default geodatabase

[RobBlash]

Disabling the default GDB and home folder "enhancements" should be allowed.
The home folder concept ignores the fact that any organized person would create sub-folders within a given "project" directory structure. As such, the only files that go in my MXD folder are MXDs, so having the home folder is next to useless for me and simply forces extra mouse clicks (I have to imagine I'm not the only one).

Similarly I don't toss all feature classes in one geodatabase. Things are organized in a folder structure so having a default geodatabase is also useless for me, and it would be nice to disable that as well.

We get that ESRI is trying to cater more to the casual user, but the GIS professionals wouldn't have come this far in their careers if they couldn't figure out how to navigate to a different folder or geodatabase to store their data. Please stop simplifying things that don’t need to be simplified.Disabling the default GDB and home folder "enhancements" should be allowed.
The home folder concept ignores the fact that any organized person would create sub-folders within a given "project" directory structure. As such, the only files that go in my MXD folder are MXDs, so having the home folder is next to useless for me and simply forces extra mouse clicks (I have to imagine I'm not the only one).

Similarly I don't toss all feature classes in one geodatabase. Things are organized in a folder structure so having a default geodatabase is also useless for me, and it would be nice to disable that as well.

We get that ESRI is trying to cater more to the casual user, but the GIS professionals wouldn't have come this far in their careers if they couldn't figure out how to navigate to a different folder or geodatabase to store their data. Please stop simplifying things that don’t need to be simplified.

[CattyannCampbell]

Yah give us the ability to make it go away its annoying.

[ChrisFox]

Just to keep the conversation going and to help us better understand the request, other than the fact that you have no need to use this functionality, why would disabling it improve the user experience for you?

[RobBlash]

When you pres the "Up One Level" button in the "Add Data" dialogue box it ultimately backs you into the home folder rather than continuing up the folder heirarchy (which, to me, is the expected behavior).

[KarlLintvedt]

I found this thread while searching to see if anyone else was dissatisfied with the way the "up one level" button returns the user to the home folder. I literally just want to go up one level from the home folder. The home folder doesn't actually help me, it merely blocks from me navigating directories freely as I would prefer.

[BrentBrock]

This "feature" also creates fits with Microsoft Activesync. Windows 7 clients on a domain sync user home folders to the domain user share by default. This creates problems if a user wishes to keep both a desktop and mobile computer synced with their network user share and the mobile computer is creating and writing to the default.gdb while not connected.

[JanetBrewster]

Also, in organizations, we should be able to set this default for all users. Or get rid of it completely. At the very least, why not have this setting in the ArcMap Advanced Settings Registry?

[JohnAdams7]

Amen! Glad I discovered this, it is one of the most useless and annoying ideas ESRI has come up with. I'm not even sure beginner and casual ESRI users will find this useful, as even small organizations whose ESRI use is fairly light are almost certainly going to have their data placed in their particular locations. The notion of ESRI suggesting where users might want to place all their data is a completely ridiculous idea. All it is is an annoyance nobody wants.

[HenryKovacs]

The default gdb and home folder functionality as it currently exists is preventing my organization from implementing a VDI solution.  Our VDI is architected with roaming profiles and the anti virus we use corrupts gdb files created in the VDI.  This means that the first time a user log into the VDI the default.gdb is created and is corrupt.  Now because ArcMap references the default.gdb every time a saved mxd is opened, ArcMap crashes and no can open a previously saved map file.

 If the home folder and default.gdb functionality could be turned off we would be able to implement our VDI solution.

Here is the Esri Case #01941260 

[MattWilkie3]

I don't think disabling the home folder will really help those of us who use corporate shared/project structures.The concept is baked in to too many places within ArcMap and Pro's assumptions. What I think could work is if ANY folder could be marked and saved as Home for that project, the same way as can be done for default geodatabase now.

I do despise that we can't use "go up" to next folder in tree from the Home folder. Not being able to do so creates so much extra clicking and navigating. We should always be able to navigate the file system. There's is already a button to go to Folder Connections.

[MatthewLeonard]

10 years later, I still hate the Home folder and want to remove it. For instance, I change the name of a feature class somewhere in the catalog, and the Home folder immediately expands to show me that file. Yeah, I was already looking at it in the catalog. I don't need the Home folder to show me the same file. It's redundant and disorienting. And like others said, when navigating up one level I get sent to the Home folder instead of actually up one level - this is also frustrating.