Question

Is there a way of converting special folder paths to a full file name (and back) or do I need to code my own (not hard I know, but no point if it exists)

e.g. I want to store the file name of a template for an application, which the user can then change, it exists in the LocalApplicationData folder.

what I would like to store is the location of the file in the format:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\MyApp\Templates\Report Template.xls

so that this application file can be used by many users, each user when they open it will get the Report Template from their own local app directory.

I can write

replace('%LOCALAPPDATA%', _     System.Environment.GetFolderPath(          System.Environment.SpecialFolder.LocalApplicationData))  and vice versa 

when I come to save the file location, however is there a System.IO (or similar) call to do this for me, rather than having to go through every possible special folder?

Answer 1

Look at: Environment.ExpandEnvironmentVariables

After some looking around I don’t think there is a built-in way available to convert it back, though.

You can do this though:

static void Main(string[] args) {     var values = Enum.GetValues(typeof(Environment.SpecialFolder));      foreach (Environment.SpecialFolder value in values)         Console.WriteLine(value + ' : ' + Environment.GetFolderPath(value));      Console.ReadKey(); }