That is a bug of UltraEdit v2024.1.0.36. Please report it by email to UltraEdit support.

I could find out that with opening the Directories configuration window, using the button Browse to select a different templates directory, deleting or renaming now with Windows File Explorer the directory %APPDATA%\IDMComp\UltraEdit\templates, switching back to UltraEdit, closing the configuration window and exiting UltraEdit, that the file %APPDATA%\IDMComp\UltraEdit\ue.ini contains now the configuration setting: Template Directory="C:\path of\selected\directory\"

But on next start UltraEdit creates again the default templates directory %APPDATA%\IDMComp\UltraEdit\templates and the subdirectories environment and language and copies the file UETMPLTE.TPL with the global templates from the before configured templates directory to the default templates directory. The layout/environment templates files and the language template files are not copied from the before configured templates directory respectively its subdirectories environment and language to the corresponding subdirectories in the default templates directory. Then the Template Directory setting is changed back to the expanded path of the default templates directory %APPDATA%\IDMComp\UltraEdit\templates\ as it can be seen after next exit of UltraEdit.

I tried also a modification of the settings Template Directory and Template File in %APPDATA%\IDMComp\UltraEdit\ue.ini with UEStudio while no instance of UltraEdit was running and then started UltraEdit. But UltraEdit runs the same procedure as described above and resets the two settings in ue.ini to the defaults as it can be seen after next exit of UltraEdit.

There is also no template loaded from the selected templates directory as it can be seen on opening the Template List view after closing the Directories configuration window and before exiting UltraEdit.

In other words it is currently with UltraEdit v2024.1.0.36 not possible to use a different templates directory than: %APPDATA%\IDMComp\UltraEdit\templates\