I suspect that the properties file is being read from the tmp directory because that is where the WAR file is exploded into. To get the results you are looking for, you could deploy the WAR as an exploded directory. Then the file would be located at server/xxx/deploy/xxx.war/vpweb.properties. The customer could then update the file as needed (without having to rebuild the WAR file). But one more step is required - The ConfigRegistry class, which I assume is a helper class for reading the properties file, will have to periodically check to see if the properties file was updated. JBoss AS does a similar thing to notice if someone changes the jboss-log4j.xml file - you could use that code as an example. View the original post : http://www.jboss.com/index.html?module=bb&op=viewtopic&p=4204434#... Reply to the post : http://www.jboss.com/index.html?module=bb&op=posting&mode=reply&a...