Loading a dll in c# from a relative path

Question

I am loading a dll at runtime like this:

var DLL = Assembly.LoadFile(@"..\..\BuildDLLs\myDLL.dll");

I am getting an ArgumentException that is asking for an absolute path.

I don't want to use an absolute path, I want to use a relative path.

How can I do that?

Answer 1

Simple. Make an extra step:

var dllFile = new FileInfo(@"..\..\BuildDLLs\myDLL.dll");
var DLL = Assembly.LoadFile(dllFile.FullName);

Answer 2

I'm not aware of a way to use a relative path so someone else might have an answer for that. However you could just build an absolute path from relative paths and use that.

// Gets the folder path in which your .exe is located
var parentFolder = Path.GetDirectoryName(System.Reflection.Assembly.GetEntryAssembly().Location);

// Makes the absolute path
var absolutePath = Path.Combine(parentFolder, "\BuildDLLs\myDLL.dll");

// Load the DLL using the absolute path
var DLL = Assembly.LoadFile(absolutePath);

Now if your program is ever moved it'll still work.