source: branches/samba-3.5.x/docs-xml/smbdotconf/logon/logonpath.xml

<samba:parameter name="logon path"
                 context="G"
                                 type="string"
                 advanced="1" developer="1"
                 xmlns:samba="http://www.samba.org/samba/DTD/samba-doc">
<description>
        <para>
        This parameter specifies the directory where roaming profiles (Desktop, NTuser.dat, etc) are 
        stored.  Contrary to previous versions of these manual pages, it has nothing to do with Win 9X roaming
        profiles.  To find out how to handle roaming profiles for Win 9X system, see the
        <smbconfoption name="logon home"/> parameter.
        </para>

        <para>
        This option takes the standard substitutions, allowing you to have separate logon scripts for each user or
        machine.  It also specifies the directory from which the &quot;Application Data&quot;, <filename
        moreinfo="none">desktop</filename>, <filename moreinfo="none">start menu</filename>, <filename
        moreinfo="none">network neighborhood</filename>, <filename moreinfo="none">programs</filename> and other
        folders, and their contents, are loaded and displayed on your Windows NT client.
        </para>

        <para>
        The share and the path must be readable by the user for the preferences and directories to be loaded onto the
        Windows NT client. The share must be writeable when the user logs in for the first time, in order that the
        Windows NT client can create the NTuser.dat and other directories.  
        Thereafter, the directories and any of the contents can, if required, be made read-only.  It is not advisable
        that the NTuser.dat file be made read-only - rename it to NTuser.man to achieve the desired effect (a
        <emphasis>MAN</emphasis>datory profile).
        </para>

        <para>
        Windows clients can sometimes maintain a connection to the [homes] share, even though there is no user logged
        in.  Therefore, it is vital that the logon path does not include a reference to the homes share (i.e. setting
        this parameter to \\%N\homes\profile_path will cause problems).
        </para>

        <para>
        This option takes the standard substitutions, allowing you to have separate logon scripts for each user or machine.
        </para>

        <warning><para>
        Do not quote the value. Setting this as <quote>\\%N\profile\%U</quote>
        will break profile handling. Where the tdbsam or ldapsam passdb backend
        is used, at the time the user account is created the value configured
        for this parameter is written to the passdb backend and that value will
        over-ride the parameter value present in the smb.conf file. Any error
        present in the passdb backend account record must be editted using the
        appropriate tool (pdbedit on the command-line, or any other locally
        provided system tool).
        </para></warning>

        <para>Note that this option is only useful if Samba is set up as a domain controller.</para>

        <para>
        Disable the use of roaming profiles by setting the value of this parameter to the empty string. For
        example, <smbconfoption name="logon path">""</smbconfoption>. Take note that even if the default setting
        in the smb.conf file is the empty string, any value specified in the user account settings in the passdb
        backend will over-ride the effect of setting this parameter to null. Disabling of all roaming profile use
        requires that the user account settings must also be blank.
        </para>

        <para>
        An example of use is:
<programlisting>
logon path = \\PROFILESERVER\PROFILE\%U
</programlisting>
        </para>
</description>
<value type="default">\\%N\%U\profile</value>
</samba:parameter>