# Enabling Application and Session Variables

Session and application variables are enabled with this option. These options override any individual use of the CFAPPLICATION tag to enabled application or session variables. If these variables are disabled in the Administrator, they cannot be used in any ColdFusion application.

## Specifying timeouts

Use the Application Variables and Session Variables Maximum Timeout and Default Timeout settings to specify the lifespan for these variable types. The default timeout for application variables is two days. The default timeout for session variables is 20 minutes.