Folder browser dialog like open file dialog

Question

Please see the snapshot below. This was taken from "New project creation" workflow in Visual Studio 2008.

This window is used for selecting a folder in which the project will be stored. How do I create a similar window in my c# application?

Answer 1

It is something similar in Office, a dialog which allows to select a folder. The only difference is that the Select folder button is named "OK" instead of "Select folder".

Microsoft.Office.Interop.Excel.Application app = new Microsoft.Office.Interop.Excel.Application();
Microsoft.Office.Core.FileDialog fileDialog = app.get_FileDialog(Microsoft.Office.Core.MsoFileDialogType.msoFileDialogFolderPicker);
fileDialog.InitialFileName = "c:\\Temp\\"; //something you want
int nres = fileDialog.Show();
if (nres == -1) //ok
{
    Microsoft.Office.Core.FileDialogSelectedItems selectedItems = fileDialog.SelectedItems;

    string[] selectedFolders = selectedItems.Cast<string>().ToArray();

    if (selectedFolders.Length > 0)
    {
        string selectedFolder = selectedFolders[0];
    }
}

Of course, you need to add references to Microsoft.Office.Core (Microsoft Office 14.0 Object Library) and Microsoft.Office.Interop.Excel (Microsoft Excel 14.0 Object Library).

Answer 2

I found a good article about the default FolderBrowserDialog and its limitations: http://www.ssware.com/articles/folderbrowserdialog-unmasked-everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-the-folder-browser-component-from-dotnet-framework.htm

There is a third party compoment "Shell MegaPack" (http://www.ssware.com/megapack.htm) from ssware which offers windows explorer like file and folder browser-controls for WinForms, ASP.net and WPF.