Question

I need to create a directory inside a windows users ‘home’ directory (c:\Documents and Settings\someusername\ or c:\users\someusername\). This directory will exist permanently but will only contain temporary files.

What is is the best location for this directory within the users profile if I want to be a good citizen? I should note that my program will be run by (possibly) non-admin users and will only need access to their own profile, but they must have permission to create the folder.

Using My Documents\NameOfMyApp\ is possible I guess, but that seems intrusive.

Is there a better location for this type of data, and a specific MFC call to access it?

Answer 1

I’d consider using the AppData directory. You can get its location with SHGetSpecialFolderLocation passing it CSIDL_APPDATA; (or a number of alternatives — nearly every version of Windows adds a new replacement for SHGetSpecialFolderLocation, SHGetSpecialFolderPath, or (often) both).