In NetBeans 7.2 the NetBeans home directory (.netbeans) is no longer stored in the user’s home directory. Instead, it is stored in a platform specific directory. What this means, if you are attempting to remove NetBeans or reset its settings, deleting ~/.netbeans (present if you have older installations of NetBeans) won’t do anything. To find out where NetBeans has stored its settings, including the cache directory, choose NetBeans | About NetBeans on MacOS X and Help | About on Windows.
MacOS X directory:
User directory: /Users//Library/Application Support/NetBeans/7.x
Cache directory: /Users//Library/Caches/NetBeans/7.x
Windows: (may vary depending on configuration):
User directory: C:\Users\\AppData\Roaming\NetBeans\7.x
Cache directory: C:\Users\\AppData\Local\NetBeans\Cache\7.x
The default location can be overridden in one of two different ways:
1. Launch NetBeans from the command line and pass in –userdir and –cachedir to specify overrides.
2. Change netbeans.conf in the installation directory – /Applications/NetBeans/NetBeans 7.x.app/Contents/Resources/NetBeans/etc on MacOS X or C:\Program Files\NetBeans 7.x\etc.