'echo $XDG_DOCUMENTS_DIR' returns empty line

[kebabbaro]

Hello,
though in ~/.local/user-dirs.dirs there is the line:

XDG_DOCUMENTS_DIR="/media/dati/Documenti"

when I open a terminal and enter

echo $XDG_DOCUMENTS_DIR
the command returns an empty line

why is that? why does the terminal not return the value "/media/dati/Documenti"?
does that imply that every other program sees an empty line too when given the $XDG_DOCUMENTS_DIR parameter?


by the way if I enter

echo $XDG_DOCUMENTS_DIR/games
the command returns only

/games
with no leading spaces before it

[CantankRus]

What makes you think the entries in user-dirs.dirs will show as variables in the terminal?

echo $XDG_DOCUMENTS_DIR
returns an empty line because $XDG_DOCUMENTS_DIR returns nothing but echo still outputs the trailing newline.
Get the same result if you just run "echo" by itself.

From man echo...

Echo the STRING(s) to standard output.

-n
do not output the trailing newline

enter "echo $XDG" in terminal and press tab a few times to show available auto-completion...

glen@Trusty:~$ echo $XDG_
$XDG_CONFIG_DIRS $XDG_GREETER_DATA_DIR $XDG_SEAT $XDG_SESSION_PATH
$XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP $XDG_MENU_PREFIX $XDG_SEAT_PATH $XDG_VTNR
$XDG_DATA_DIRS $XDG_RUNTIME_DIR $XDG_SESSION_ID