### 5.1.3 Using the POVINI Environment Variable

The environment variable POVINI is used to specify the location and name of a default INI file that is read every time POV-Ray is executed. If POVINI is not specified, or if your computer platform does not use environment variables, a default INI file may be read. If the specified file does not exist, a warning message is printed. To set the environment variable under MS-DOS you might put the following line in your `autoexec.bat` file...

      set POVINI=c:\povray3\default.ini

On most operating systems the sequence of reading options is as follows:

1. Read options from default INI file specified by the POVINI environment variable or platform specific INI file.
2. Read switches from command line (this includes reading any specified INI/DEF files).

The POVRAYOPT environment variable supported by previous POV-Ray versions is no longer available.