In this post we saw how to extract system-level information using the Environment class in .NET. Another group of methods and properties of the Environment class lets you easily extract directory level information. Here come a couple of examples.
Here’s how to find the directory that the application is currently running in:
string currentDirectory = Environment.CurrentDirectory;
If you call the above method from a .NET app in Visual Studio then this will point to the deploy folder configured for the project, e.g. “C:\TestProjects\VariousCSharpLanguageConstructs\Various\Various\bin\Debug”
The GetFolderPath method accepts an Environment.SpecialFolder enumeration. Using this method will help you easily get a full file path reference to some well-known Windows folders like the MyDocuments folder:
string myDocumentsFolder = Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.MyDocuments);
string startMenuFolder = Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.StartMenu);
string userProfileFolder = Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.UserProfile);
It’s worth exploring the SpecialFolder enumeration and see what’s available there using IntelliSense.
Finally here’s how to find the location of the System directory:
string systemDirectory = Environment.SystemDirectory;
In my case it’s c:\Windows\system32
View all posts related to diagnostics here.
Exercises in .NET with Andras Nemes 