Question

I’m trying to access files in a virtual directory I created in IIS for the first time but am getting weird results.

OS: Windows XP Pro

IIS: 5.1

Development Platform: Visual Studio 2008

Language: C#

Virtual Directory Name: portal

Local Path: C:\digital_communications_report_portal

Default Website Local Path: c:\inetpub\wwwroot

I can download the file at http://localhost/portal/testFile.xlsx without any problem.

I try either of these

string realFilename = Server.MapPath(ResolveUrl("~/portal/testFile.xlsx"));
string realFilename = Server.MapPath(ResolveUrl("localhost/portal/testFile.xlsx"));

and get “C:\Documents and Settings\jjohnson\My Documents\Visual Studio 2008\WebSites\clientsite\localhost\portal\testFile.xlsx” which is my project path with the virtual path slapped on the end and is not a valid path. I try taking the tilde or localhost and I get a “Failed to map the path ‘/portal/testFile.xlsx’.” exception.

Any ideas what I’m doing wrong?

Answer 1

If I’m not mistaken, Server.MapPath(ResolveUrl("~/relative/path/to/file")) is not what you want. It will produce a /rooted/path/to/file which when passed to Server.MapPath() will not yield a valid location.

Instead simply use Server.MapPath("~/relative/path/to/file");

Update

The problem you are experiencing is due to the fact that you are including the virtual directory name (“portal”) in your relative URL. Your relative URL does not need to specify the virtual directory name, just the path to the desired file relative to the root of the application.