I am creating an application in WPF.
In that I am using XML file to store some settings.
My app will run for every 10 sec. So it will use that XML file settings.
My issue is in My local system i am calling the XML file as D://Foldername/projectname/test.xml .
But after deployment it is storing in C://Programfiles/Projectname/test.xml .
So how to give a generic path so that it runs in all the client systems.
I am creating setup file to install in clients systems.
Please help me.
Open the project properties page.
Click on Settings tab.
Add a new item called "MyPath". Make it an Application Setting of type String and give it a sensible default path name as value.
Reference the value in code with Properties.Settings.Default.MyPath.
If you open the applications config there will be a setting called MyPath where you can override the path at runtime.
I suggest you to put the XML file in the same folder as your EXE file and then use Assembly to get its current path.
var cfgPath = Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().Location + ".config"
Update
it's better to name your config file the same with your exe file but with ".config" extension.
If you are really using ClickOnce, I hardly recommend you to create your own directory for data and configuration files:
private static string GetDataDir()
{
var dataDir = Path.Combine(Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.ApplicationData),
"YourApplicationName");
if (!Directory.Exists(dataDir))
Directory.CreateDirectory(dataDir);
return dataDir;
}
The problem with storing the data in the directory of the executable is, that it will be at a different location. While debugging, it will be in you \bin directory. When the application is deployed by ClickOnce, you gonna have a bad time. The installation directory for a ClickOnce application is created for every version. So if you EVER update your application at "customers", all their settings will be lost.
Related
I have a very simple .NET console application in Visual Studio. I am trying to write some words into a text file.
using (StreamWriter file = File.AppendText("log1.txt"))
{
file.WriteLine("Hello from the text file");
}
If the file does not exist, the application creates it in the autogenerated folder bin/Debug.
Is there a way to create this file in the project's directory, where I have .csproj file?
And more important, in real-world applications, when you work with files, you keep them in bin/Debug? That's why .NET creates them there firstly?
Is there a way to create this file in the project's directory, where I have .csproj file?
Yes, but this can only be done while you are working on your project. Once you are done developing it and try to publish it you won't have access to the location where you have .csproj file, because after publishing you can install it on any PC and it wont have the project you are working on.
And more important, in real-world applications, when you work with files, you keep them in bin/Debug?
No, I assume by real-world applications in your context you mean a published project '.exe' that you can run on any PC. Windows provides you three Data folders that you should use when writing your program so that it works smoothly after publishing:
User Data
Roaming User Data
All User Data
You can acess the above folders in .NET application using the Environment.SpecialFolder:
Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.LocalApplicationData)
Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.ApplicationData)
Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.CommonApplicationData)
As per your given code, try this :
var fileName = Path.Combine(Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.ApplicationData),
"log1.txt");
using (StreamWriter file = File.AppendText(fileName))
{
file.WriteLine("Hello from the text file");
}
This way you will be able to publish your program and it will still work smoothly without hard-coding the path as you were doing previously.
That's why .NET creates them there firstly?
If you don't specify a complete path, and just the file name .NET looks into the working directory of the executable, which in this case is bin/Debug
Is there a way to create this file in the project's directory, where I have .csproj file?
Yes. As explained here (second answer) you can use the post-build event to write down the value of $(ProjectDir) in a text file (using command echo $(ProjectDir) > ..\..\projectdir.txt). This macro contains the directory of your .csproj. This command will create the file projectdir.txt with your project directory after a build process so you read this file contents in your code and use what is inside it to pass to File.AppendText as the base directory to create your file log1.txt.
And more important, in real-world applications, when you work with files, you keep them in bin/Debug? That's why .NET creates them there firstly?
That depends on what you want to do. In your case the code creates the file at bin/Debug because that is where your executable are being executed. When you omit the full path to File.AppendText and just pass "log1.txt" as argument, it will create the file in the same folder as the executable are at. If you want a different folder you should specify the folder here (e.g. File.AppendText("C:/log1.txt") will create the file at C:/.
You can create the text file in the root of your project and use copy always to have them in the same place as your executable. If this is just a readonly text file then it's OK because windows doesn't allow you to modify the files reside in Programs folder in OS drive.
If you want your code to modify these text file then you need to put them in appdata folder. In real world example I did this on many project. All the database work my winforms, WPF application need goes in AppData folder.
I am working on a project that requires a .exe file to be executed by the application. The problem here is that I cannot guarantee that the file will always be in the same location on the user's machine, my app has no way of knowing where this .exe file is located.
So for example, my application needs to execute mongod.exe which is located (by default) in the following location: C:\Program Files\MongoDB\Server\3.2\bin\mongod.exe.
The problem here is that this is not always the case, the user might have installed this application to a different place, so I can't assume that the path to the .exe file is always the same on every client.
Currently I am using the Settings.settings file to store a default file path to the file:
The user can then either edit the app.config file or I could provide a UI to allow the user to change the file path.
So my question is, is there a better way?
Searching the path of the Mongodb.exe file in Registry can be useful. Try to find the exe path from the Registry entry.
RegistryKey key = Registry.LocalMachine.OpenSubKey("Software\MongoDB\MongoDB Connector");
if (key != null)
{
Object o = key.GetValue("InstallPath");
}
Object o will give the path of MongoDB.exe file.
P.S.: If your application does not have rights to access the local machine's registry, then this approach won't work
I have C# windows application with XML file. After installing the set up file I need to edit the XML file time to time. But my XML file not going to the path where the executable is located.
So that is giving error.
With in a program I'm getting XML path like this.
private string PATH = Path.Combine(Application.StartupPath, "XMLFile1.xml");
Please some one can suggest a way to do.
If you have installed your application on Windows Vista, 7, or 8, it's quite possible that you get security exceptions. Since you haven't told what kind of errors you get I have to ask my crystal ball to think with me.
He thinks that because you are trying to write in a protected folder you get an exception.
He suggest you move the XML to %appdata% or %localappdata%
Use Application.ExecutablePath, the Application.StartupPath property will change if your app is started from desktop shortcut or any other shortcuts.
private string PATH = Path.Combine(Path.GetDirectoryName(Application.ExecutablePath), "XMLFile1.xml");
You have to include it in project. Here's a helpful link: How to include XML file while creating setup file for windows application
while your application starts copy your XML file to a common folder path, if it is not exist in the path. Do your edit on the xml file in the common folder.
better to use common folder as Local application Data Folder
Path.Combine(Path.Combine(Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.LocalApplicationData), "Your application name")
Ladies and Gentlemen , I have been stuck with this for a few hours and do not find an answer. I have a Setup project in Visual Studio that creates an installer for my C# application. What I want is to add a folder with an XML file from which my application can read and write to the User's Application Data folder. In the File System Editor window I added the User's Application Data folder. In this folder I added a new folder (renaming it to my app's name) and then place the XML file in there. I also set the AlwaysCreate to true for the folder. The installer should create the folder in C:\Users\UserName\AppData\Local and add the file to it. However, the installer does not create the folder or the XML file my application uses. What am I missing? Is there another way to install a read/write XML file? Thanks in advance!
Ok, I found what the issue was. If a file is added to the User's Application Data folder it is installed on the target computer at C:\Users\Username\AppData\Roaming and not into AppData\Local.
Therefore, I changed my application get the file from Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.ApplicationData) instead of Environment.GetFolderPath( Environment.SpecialFolder.LocalApplicationData).
Hope it helps someone else...
I have an application that contains a sub folder that contain xml file ,that is use as a database now i want take the path of the xml file at run time ,how can i achieve this in window application?
I know how it does in asp.net using Server.MapPath but i want this is same in windows application
please help
thanks in advance .
Use Aplication.ExecutablePath property when am XML document and executable are reside in the same directory.
I think the recommended way in Windows is to use the Application.StartupPath property.
And with Path.Combine you can have your xml file path Server.MapPath-style like this:
var appPath = Application.StartupPath;
var xmlPath = Path.Combine(appPath, "data/my_db.xml");
// xmlPath now points to app-relative data/my_db.xml file
...
A nuanced answer:
The best way to access data would be to put it in Application.CommonAppDataPath or Application.UserAppDataPath so that it does not depend on the application's installed path. However, there are many reasons why you might need to avoid this.
To answer your question:
If the application is a standard forms application deployed to the client's machine by an installer or XCopy deployment, then the path to the executable is Application.ExecutablePath
If the application is Click-Once deployed, then I would not recommend using the above since the app's path is obscured, shadow-copied and put in the sandbox. You can use ApplicationDeployment.IsNetworkDeployed to test for click-once deployment then ApplicationDeployment.CurrentDeployment.ActivationUri to get the URI that the application was launched from. Your app-relative file will be on that web server; you will always be able to download it.
of course in click-once deployent it would be better to tag the file as Data in which case it would be accessible through ApplicationDeployment.CurrentDeployment.DataDirectory
if the application is a web app, then the Application class is useless. In this case you should use Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().Location This works because currently executing assembly for a web app is almost always in the web app's /bin directory.
For a "portable" assembly where you don't have an installer, and for rare cases where you don't want to use the Application class, use Assembly.GetEntryAssembly().Location This works because it figures out what the entry point assembly is (your application) and uses that location. This is reliable because assemblies that your entry assembly load don't have to be in the same directory as the entry assembly.
You can get the directory of the currently executing assembly using
System.Runtime.Reflection.Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().Location
from there you can get to your subdirectory.