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c#.netopenfiledialog

Can I launch DotNet's OpenFileDialog in C:\Users\Public\Documents?

Is there a way to launch the OpenFileDialog in the C:\Users\Public\Documents folder?

I am writing a C# application, using the DotNet framework. I am trying to launch an OpenFileDialog, with an InitialDirectory of "C:\\Users\\Public\\Documents\\" and a FileName of "world.txt". Unfortunately, the OpenFileDialog is putting me in the Documents shortcut instead of into C:\Users\Public\Documents .

Expected results
I expect to see the OpenFileDialog open, with the top textbox showing > This PC > Windows7_OS (C:) > Users > Public > Documents and the bottom textbox showing world.txt . I expect that if I click in the top textbox, it will show C:\Users\Public\Documents .

Actual results
The OpenFileDialog opens. The top textbox shows > This PC > Documents and the bottom textbox shows world.txt . If I click in the top textbox, it shows Documents . The displayed folder contents are not the same as the contents of C:\Users\Public\Documents .

Things I have tried
I have stopped the code in the Visual Studio debugger after the following line of code:
OpenFileDialog dlg = new OpenFileDialog();

In the Immediate Window, I have executed code such as the following: 

dlg.FileName = "world.txt"  
? dlg.FileName  
dlg.InitialDirectory = "C:\\NonExistentDirectory\\";  
dlg.ShowDialog();  
dlg.InitialDirectory = "C:\\";  
dlg.ShowDialog();  
dlg.InitialDirectory = "C:\\Users\\";  
dlg.ShowDialog(); 
dlg.InitialDirectory = "C:\\Users\\Public\\";  
dlg.ShowDialog(); 
dlg.InitialDirectory = "C:\\Users\\Public\\Documents\\";  
dlg.ShowDialog();

I cancel out of each dialog.

I used C:\WINDOWS\System32\cmd.exe to cd between C:\ and C:\Users\ and C:\Users\Public and C:\Users\Public\Documents\ .

Results of things I have tried

  • When dlg.InitialDirectory = "C:\\NonExistentDirectory\\" , the dialog's folder initially displays as This PC > Documents > Visual Studio 2015 > Projects > SimpleGame > Controller > bin > Debug" . Clicking in the textbox causes it to display C:\Users\Owner\Documents\Visual Studio 2015\Projects\SimpleGame\Controller\bin\Debug . I therefore assume that OpenFileDialog silently handles an invalid InitialDirectory by not changing directories. In this case, it is defaulting to my project's assembly's bin's Debug folder.

  • When dlg.InitialDirectory is "C:\\" or "C:\\Users\\" or "C:\\Users\\Public\\" the dialog behaves as expected. Clicking in the top textbox produces C:\ or C:\Users or C:\Users\Public respectively.

  • When dlg.InitialDirectory = "C:\\Users\\Public\\Documents\\" the dialog behaves incorrectly. The top textbox shows > This PC > Documents and the bottom textbox shows world.txt . If I click in the top textbox, it shows Documents . The displayed folder contents are not the same as the contents of C:\Users\Public\Documents .

  • Using cmd.exe lets me cd between the folders as expected, including into C:\Users\Public\Documents .

My environment
I am running Microsoft Visual Studio Community 2015 Version 14.0.23107.0 D14REL, using Microsoft Visual C# 2015. My operating system is Windows 10 Pro.

Solution

  • If you are using System.Windows.Forms.OpenFileDialog you can set: 

    dialog.AutoUpgradeEnabled = false;

    The dialog will look a little dated/flat/"old school" but it does at least display the correct contents!