C# getting the path of %AppData%

C# 2008 SP1

I am using the code below:

dt.ReadXml("%AppData%\\DateLinks.xml");

However, I am getting an exception that points to the location of where my application is running from:


Could not find a part of the path
'D:\Projects\SubVersionProjects\CatDialer\bin\Debug\%AppData%\DateLinks.xml'.

I thought the %AppData% should find the relative path. When I go Start|Run|%AppData% windows explorer takes me to that directory.

I can not put the full path in, as the user is different on each client machine.

To get the AppData directory, it's best to use the GetFolderPath method:

Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.ApplicationData)

(must add using System if not present).

%AppData% is an environment variable, and they are not automatically expanded anywhere in .NET, although you can explicitly use the Environment.ExpandEnvironmentVariable method to do so. I would still strongly suggest that you use GetFolderPath however, because as Johannes Rössel points out in the comment, %AppData% may not be set in certain circumstances.

Finally, to create the path as shown in your example:

var fileName = Path.Combine(Environment.GetFolderPath(
    Environment.SpecialFolder.ApplicationData), "DateLinks.xml");

Stack Overflow Q#867485, score: 1019