diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 09ba8668..e7564f68 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ This release added form fields (textinput, checkbox, and dropdown), drawing shap
 - Autoloader: Add the ability to set the autoloader options - @bskrtich GH-267
 - Element: Refactor elements to move set relation Id from container to element - @ivanlanin
 - Introduced CreateTemporaryFileException, CopyFileException - @RomanSyroeshko
+- Settings: added method to set user defined temporary directory - @RomanSyroeshko GH-310
 
 ## 0.11.1 - 2 June 2014
 
diff --git a/phpword.ini.dist b/phpword.ini.dist
index 4a51ee11..f8eafb6a 100644
--- a/phpword.ini.dist
+++ b/phpword.ini.dist
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ compatibility   = true
 zipClass        = ZipArchive
 pdfRendererName = DomPDF
 pdfRendererPath =
+; tempDir         = "C:\PhpWordTemp"
 
 [Font]
 
diff --git a/samples/index.php b/samples/index.php
index 5632664f..4281f6fb 100644
--- a/samples/index.php
+++ b/samples/index.php
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ include_once 'Sample_Header.php';
 $requirements = array(
     'php'   => array('PHP 5.3.0', version_compare(phpversion(), '5.3.0', '>=')),
     'xml'   => array('PHP extension XML', extension_loaded('xml')),
-    'temp'  => array('Temp folder "<code>' . sys_get_temp_dir() . '</code>" is writable', is_writable(sys_get_temp_dir())),
+    'temp'  => array('Temp folder "<code>' . Settings::getTempDir() . '</code>" is writable', is_writable(Settings::getTempDir())),
     'zip'   => array('PHP extension ZipArchive (optional)', extension_loaded('zip')),
     'gd'    => array('PHP extension GD (optional)', extension_loaded('gd')),
     'xmlw'  => array('PHP extension XMLWriter (optional)', extension_loaded('xmlwriter')),
diff --git a/src/PhpWord/Element/Image.php b/src/PhpWord/Element/Image.php
index e48f703e..4a812f6c 100644
--- a/src/PhpWord/Element/Image.php
+++ b/src/PhpWord/Element/Image.php
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ namespace PhpOffice\PhpWord\Element;
 
 use PhpOffice\PhpWord\Exception\InvalidImageException;
 use PhpOffice\PhpWord\Exception\UnsupportedImageTypeException;
+use PhpOffice\PhpWord\Settings;
 use PhpOffice\PhpWord\Shared\ZipArchive;
 use PhpOffice\PhpWord\Style\Image as ImageStyle;
 
@@ -313,8 +314,8 @@ class Image extends AbstractElement
             if ($zip->open($zipFilename) !== false) {
                 if ($zip->locateName($imageFilename)) {
                     $isTemp = true;
-                    $zip->extractTo(sys_get_temp_dir(), $imageFilename);
-                    $actualSource = sys_get_temp_dir() . DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR . $imageFilename;
+                    $zip->extractTo(Settings::getTempDir(), $imageFilename);
+                    $actualSource = Settings::getTempDir() . DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR . $imageFilename;
                 }
             }
             $zip->close();
@@ -428,7 +429,7 @@ class Image extends AbstractElement
         $imageData = null;
         $source = substr($source, 6);
         list($zipFilename, $imageFilename) = explode('#', $source);
-        $tempFilename = tempnam(sys_get_temp_dir(), 'PHPWordImage');
+        $tempFilename = tempnam(Settings::getTempDir(), 'PHPWordImage');
 
         $zip = new ZipArchive();
         if ($zip->open($zipFilename) !== false) {
diff --git a/src/PhpWord/Settings.php b/src/PhpWord/Settings.php
index 8481717b..009c849c 100644
--- a/src/PhpWord/Settings.php
+++ b/src/PhpWord/Settings.php
@@ -119,6 +119,13 @@ class Settings
      */
     private static $defaultFontSize = self::DEFAULT_FONT_SIZE;
 
+    /**
+     * The user defined temporary directory.
+     *
+     * @var string
+     */
+    private static $tempDir = '';
+
     /**
      * Return the compatibility option used by the XMLWriter
      *
@@ -269,6 +276,35 @@ class Settings
         return true;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Sets the user defined path to temporary directory.
+     *
+     * @param string $tempDir The user defined path to temporary directory.
+     * @return void
+     * @since 0.12.0
+     */
+    public static function setTempDir($tempDir)
+    {
+        self::$tempDir = $tempDir;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Returns path to temporary directory.
+     *
+     * @return string
+     * @since 0.12.0
+     */
+    public static function getTempDir()
+    {
+        $tempDir = sys_get_temp_dir();
+
+        if (!empty(self::$tempDir)) {
+            $tempDir = self::$tempDir;
+        }
+
+        return $tempDir;
+    }
+
     /**
      * Get default font name
      *
diff --git a/src/PhpWord/Shared/ZipArchive.php b/src/PhpWord/Shared/ZipArchive.php
index 7515c5b5..38781a80 100644
--- a/src/PhpWord/Shared/ZipArchive.php
+++ b/src/PhpWord/Shared/ZipArchive.php
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ class ZipArchive
         $this->usePclzip = (Settings::getZipClass() != 'ZipArchive');
         if ($this->usePclzip) {
             if (!defined('PCLZIP_TEMPORARY_DIR')) {
-                define('PCLZIP_TEMPORARY_DIR', sys_get_temp_dir() . '/');
+                define('PCLZIP_TEMPORARY_DIR', Settings::getTempDir() . '/');
             }
             require_once 'PCLZip/pclzip.lib.php';
         }
@@ -139,7 +139,7 @@ class ZipArchive
             $this->numFiles = $zip->numFiles;
         } else {
             $zip = new \PclZip($this->filename);
-            $this->tempDir = sys_get_temp_dir();
+            $this->tempDir = Settings::getTempDir();
             $this->numFiles = count($zip->listContent());
         }
         $this->zip = $zip;
diff --git a/src/PhpWord/Template.php b/src/PhpWord/Template.php
index 28055cea..c8f88026 100644
--- a/src/PhpWord/Template.php
+++ b/src/PhpWord/Template.php
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ class Template
      */
     public function __construct($fileName)
     {
-        $this->tempFileName = tempnam(sys_get_temp_dir(), '');
+        $this->tempFileName = tempnam(Settings::getTempDir(), 'PhpWord');
         if (false === $this->tempFileName) {
             throw new CreateTemporaryFileException();
         }
diff --git a/src/PhpWord/Writer/AbstractWriter.php b/src/PhpWord/Writer/AbstractWriter.php
index 52a2098f..c74819b5 100644
--- a/src/PhpWord/Writer/AbstractWriter.php
+++ b/src/PhpWord/Writer/AbstractWriter.php
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ namespace PhpOffice\PhpWord\Writer;
 use PhpOffice\PhpWord\Exception\CopyFileException;
 use PhpOffice\PhpWord\Exception\Exception;
 use PhpOffice\PhpWord\PhpWord;
+use PhpOffice\PhpWord\Settings;
 use PhpOffice\PhpWord\Shared\ZipArchive;
 
 /**
@@ -214,12 +215,12 @@ abstract class AbstractWriter implements WriterInterface
     protected function getTempFile($filename)
     {
         // Temporary directory
-        $this->setTempDir(sys_get_temp_dir() . '/PHPWordWriter/');
+        $this->setTempDir(Settings::getTempDir() . '/PHPWordWriter/');
 
         // Temporary file
         $this->originalFilename = $filename;
         if (strtolower($filename) == 'php://output' || strtolower($filename) == 'php://stdout') {
-            $filename = @tempnam(sys_get_temp_dir(), 'phpword_');
+            $filename = tempnam(Settings::getTempDir(), 'phpword_');
             // @codeCoverageIgnoreStart
             // Can't find any test case. Uncomment when found.
             if ($filename == '') {
diff --git a/tests/PhpWord/Tests/SettingsTest.php b/tests/PhpWord/Tests/SettingsTest.php
index 61364034..0d3d66ae 100644
--- a/tests/PhpWord/Tests/SettingsTest.php
+++ b/tests/PhpWord/Tests/SettingsTest.php
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ use PhpOffice\PhpWord\Settings;
 /**
  * Test class for PhpOffice\PhpWord\Settings
  *
+ * @coversDefaultClass \PhpOffice\PhpWord\Settings
  * @runTestsInSeparateProcesses
  */
 class SettingsTest extends \PHPUnit_Framework_TestCase
@@ -70,6 +71,31 @@ class SettingsTest extends \PHPUnit_Framework_TestCase
         $this->assertFalse(Settings::setMeasurementUnit('foo'));
     }
 
+    /**
+     * @covers ::getTempDir
+     * @test
+     */
+    public function testPhpTempDirIsUsedByDefault()
+    {
+        $this->assertEquals(sys_get_temp_dir(), Settings::getTempDir());
+    }
+
+
+    /**
+     * @covers ::setTempDir
+     * @covers ::getTempDir
+     * @depends testPhpTempDirIsUsedByDefault
+     * @test
+     */
+    public function testTempDirCanBeSet()
+    {
+        $userDefinedTempDir = 'C:\PhpWordTemp';
+        Settings::setTempDir($userDefinedTempDir);
+        $currentTempDir = Settings::getTempDir();
+        $this->assertEquals($userDefinedTempDir, $currentTempDir);
+        $this->assertNotEquals(sys_get_temp_dir(), $currentTempDir);
+    }
+
     /**
      * Test set/get default font name
      */
diff --git a/tests/PhpWord/Tests/Writer/PDF/DomPDFTest.php b/tests/PhpWord/Tests/Writer/PDF/DomPDFTest.php
index a22cb530..476c9011 100644
--- a/tests/PhpWord/Tests/Writer/PDF/DomPDFTest.php
+++ b/tests/PhpWord/Tests/Writer/PDF/DomPDFTest.php
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ class DomPDFTest extends \PHPUnit_Framework_TestCase
         $writer->setOrientation();
         $this->assertEquals('default', $writer->getOrientation());
 
-        $writer->setTempDir(sys_get_temp_dir());
-        $this->assertEquals(sys_get_temp_dir(), $writer->getTempDir());
+        $writer->setTempDir(Settings::getTempDir());
+        $this->assertEquals(Settings::getTempDir(), $writer->getTempDir());
     }
 }
diff --git a/tests/PhpWord/Tests/_includes/TestHelperDOCX.php b/tests/PhpWord/Tests/_includes/TestHelperDOCX.php
index 7998cbdc..553a51be 100644
--- a/tests/PhpWord/Tests/_includes/TestHelperDOCX.php
+++ b/tests/PhpWord/Tests/_includes/TestHelperDOCX.php
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ namespace PhpOffice\PhpWord\Tests;
 
 use PhpOffice\PhpWord\IOFactory;
 use PhpOffice\PhpWord\PhpWord;
+use PhpOffice\PhpWord\Settings;
 
 /**
  * Test helper class
@@ -41,9 +42,9 @@ class TestHelperDOCX
      */
     public static function getDocument(PhpWord $phpWord, $writerName = 'Word2007')
     {
-        self::$file = tempnam(sys_get_temp_dir(), 'PhpWord');
-        if (!is_dir(sys_get_temp_dir() . '/PhpWord_Unit_Test/')) {
-            mkdir(sys_get_temp_dir() . '/PhpWord_Unit_Test/');
+        self::$file = tempnam(Settings::getTempDir(), 'PhpWord');
+        if (!is_dir(Settings::getTempDir() . '/PhpWord_Unit_Test/')) {
+            mkdir(Settings::getTempDir() . '/PhpWord_Unit_Test/');
         }
 
         $xmlWriter = IOFactory::createWriter($phpWord, $writerName);
@@ -52,11 +53,11 @@ class TestHelperDOCX
         $zip = new \ZipArchive;
         $res = $zip->open(self::$file);
         if ($res === true) {
-            $zip->extractTo(sys_get_temp_dir() . '/PhpWord_Unit_Test/');
+            $zip->extractTo(Settings::getTempDir() . '/PhpWord_Unit_Test/');
             $zip->close();
         }
 
-        return new XmlDocument(sys_get_temp_dir() . '/PhpWord_Unit_Test/');
+        return new XmlDocument(Settings::getTempDir() . '/PhpWord_Unit_Test/');
     }
 
     /**
@@ -67,8 +68,8 @@ class TestHelperDOCX
         if (file_exists(self::$file)) {
             unlink(self::$file);
         }
-        if (is_dir(sys_get_temp_dir() . '/PhpWord_Unit_Test/')) {
-            self::deleteDir(sys_get_temp_dir() . '/PhpWord_Unit_Test/');
+        if (is_dir(Settings::getTempDir() . '/PhpWord_Unit_Test/')) {
+            self::deleteDir(Settings::getTempDir() . '/PhpWord_Unit_Test/');
         }
     }