Starting with Windows 2000, applications can create an empty "app.exe.local" file in the same directory as the main EXE to instruct Windows to search the local directory for dependent modules before the rest of the search path. Starting in Windows XP, "app.exe.local" may be a file or a directory. If a directory is used, the loader will search the "app.exe.local" directory for dependent modules as well as the application directory before the rest of the search path. Also starting in Windows XP, applications can override the operating system's default search order by providing more detail instructions about the versions and/or locations of modules it requires. These instructions consist of an XML manifest that can be stored in a special "app.exe.manifest" file or as an RT_MANIFEST resource in any module.  In most cases, an XML manifest will override any .local file.

These are known modules like KERNEL32.DLL. When the operating system encounters a known DLL, it skips all rules and loads it from a known place.

This is the directory that the main module of your application lives in.

This is your 32-bit system directory. On Windows NT/2000, it is usually something like C:\WinNT\System32\. On Windows XP/2003/Vista/7/8, it is usually something like C:\Windows\System32\. On Windows 95/98/Me, it is usually something like C:\Windows\System\.

This is your 16-bit Windows directory and only exists on Windows NT/2000/XP/2003/Vista/7/8/+. On Windows NT/2000, it is usually something like C:\WinNT\System\. On Windows XP/2003/Vista/7/8, it is usually something like C:\Windows\System\.

This is the directory that your operating system is installed to. It is usually something like C:\WinNT\ on Windows NT/2000 and C:\Windows\ on Windows 95/98/Me/XP/2003/Vista/7/8.

This is a set of directories that an application can register for itself in the "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\" section of the registry. If an application has registered one or more directories, then those directories will be searched for dependent files. This feature is actually provided by the Shell and not by the core operating system. When an application is started by calling a Shell function (like ShellExecute or ShellExecuteEx), the Shell checks the registry to see if the application has registered a path in the "App Paths" section. If so, that path is inserted into the head of the PATH variable for the application about to be started. Most newer applications use the Shell functions to start other applications, but for applications that call CreateProcess, the applications started will not receive their "App Paths" path as part of their search order.

The last item in a module's search order is usually the PATH variable. This is a user-definable system variable that is seen by all applications running on a given computer. It usually contains one or more directories where common modules can be found.

If you remove one or more of the predefined search locations from the Current Search Order list, they will be added to this list so that you can access them if you wish to add them back to the Current Search Order. The locations in this list will not be part of the search order.

This list displays the current search order. It can contain any number of the predefined search locations as well as any number of user-defined directories. When Dependency Walker is searching for a module, it will start at the top of the list and work its way down until the module is found. If the end of the list is reached with no match, then Dependency Walker gives up and marks the module as "Not Found"

This moves the highlighted item in the Available Search Groups list to the bottom of the Current Search Order list. Once moved, you can move it up the list if necessary using the Move Up button. If no item is highlighted in the Available Searches list, then this button will be disabled.

This moves the highlighted item in the Current Search Order list to the bottom of the Available Search Groups list. If no item is highlighted in the Current Search Order list, then this button will be disabled.

Press this button to show all the files and/or directories that belong to each search group. When this button is not pressed, just the group names are displayed.

This moves the highlighted item in the Current Search Order list up one position. If no item is highlighted, or the first item is highlighted, then this button will be disabled.

This moves the highlighted item in the Current Search Order list down one position. If no item is highlighted, or the last item is highlighted, then this button will be disabled.

Press this button to load a Dependency Walker Path (DWP) file from disk. See the Dependency Walker Path (DWP) Files section for more information. You may also load DWP files from the Command Line when first starting Dependency Walker.

Press this button to save the current search order to a Dependency Walker Path (DWP) file. See the Dependency Walker Path (DWP) Files section for more information.

This button resets the Current Search Order list to its default configuration. This will cause all user-defined directories to be removed from the list.

This button and text field allow you to add user-defined search directories to the search order. You can type in a directory you wish to add or press the Browse button to graphically pick a directory. If no text is present in the text field, then the Add Directory button will be disabled. You can add as many user-defined directories as you wish. Directories are added to the bottom of the Current Search Order list. To move them up the list, use the Move Up button.

This button allows you to graphically choose a directory to be added to the Current Search Order list. Once pushed, a browse dialog will appear allowing you to choose a directory. If you choose a directory from the browse dialog, it will show up in the Add Directory text field. To actually add the directory to the search order, you need to press the Add Directory button.