Get current folder path

Question

You should not use Directory.GetCurrentDirectory() in your case, as the current directory may differ from the execution folder, especially when you execute the program through a shortcut.

It's better to use Path.GetDirectoryName(Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().Location); for your purpose. This returns the pathname where the currently executing assembly resides.

While my suggested approach allows you to differentiate between the executing assembly, the entry assembly or any other loaded assembly, as Soner Gönül said in his answer,

System.IO.Path.GetDirectoryName(Application.ExecutablePath);

may also be sufficient. This would be equal to

System.IO.Path.GetDirectoryName(Assembly.GetEntryAssembly().Location);

System.AppDomain.CurrentDomain.BaseDirectory

This will give you running directory of your application. This even works for web applications. Afterwards you can reach your file.

I created a simple console application with the following code:

Console.WriteLine(System.IO.Path.GetDirectoryName(Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().Location));
Console.WriteLine(System.AppDomain.CurrentDomain.BaseDirectory);
Console.WriteLine(System.Environment.CurrentDirectory);
Console.WriteLine(System.IO.Directory.GetCurrentDirectory());
Console.WriteLine(Environment.CurrentDirectory);

I copied the resulting executable to C:\temp2. I then placed a shortcut to that executable in C:\temp3, and ran it (once from the exe itself, and once from the shortcut). It gave the following outputs both times:

C:\temp2
C:\temp2\
C:\temp2
C:\temp2
C:\temp2

While I'm sure there must be some cockamamie reason to explain why there are five different methods that do virtually the exact same thing, I certainly don't know what it is. Nevertheless, it would appear that under most circumstances, you are free to choose whichever one you fancy.

UPDATE: I modified the Shortcut properties, changing the "Start In:" field to C:\temp3. This resulted in the following output:

C:\temp2
C:\temp2\
C:\temp3
C:\temp3
C:\temp3

...which demonstrates at least some of the distinctions between the different methods.

Try this:

System.Environment.CurrentDirectory