How do I save the last folder selected by the user?

Question

I have this and this only saves the last folder used when the user closes the application and re-opens it.

private void btnBrowse_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
     Properties.Settings.Default.Reload();

     fbFolderBrowser.SelectedPath = AppVars.LastSelectedFolder;

     if (fbFolderBrowser.ShowDialog() == DialogResult.OK)
     {
          Properties.Settings.Default.LastSelectedFolder = fbFolderBrowser.SelectedPath.ToString();
          Properties.Settings.Default.Save();
     }
}

Every time the user selects a folder, I want to save that path. Then, when he clicks the browse button again, I want the default path to be his last selection.

The above is not working. It only saves the last path selected and goes back to it only if I restart the app. How would I go about saving the last path in the same app session?

You need to reload the settings once you save them. Of course I suggest having a variable you load the setting into when you load the program and while the application is running reference that. This will let you save the current value of said variable to the setting once the application is closed. — Security Hound, Aug 27 '12 at 14:02
What is `AppVars`? It appears that you're saving one place and reading from another. — Tergiver, Aug 27 '12 at 21:38

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Aug 27 '12 at 14:02

2

You need to reload the settings:

Properties.Settings.Default.Reload();

Note that this only works when not running in Debug mode (AFAIK).

answered Aug 27 '12 at 14:02

daryal

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Where am I supposed to add this? I put it right after Properties.Settings.Default.Save(); and ran the executable and still no luck. – JJ. Aug 27 '12 at 14:08
I also added it prior to fbFolderBrowser.SelectedPath = AppVars.LastSelectedFolder; and no luck. :S – JJ. Aug 27 '12 at 14:10
@Testifier add this line to the beginning of the btnBrowse_Click method; do not forget to try this in release mode. – daryal Aug 27 '12 at 14:12
daryal, take a look at my original post again. I updated it. Still no luck. I saved the project, clicked on Build then went to the executable and ran that. It isn't saving the last folder :/ – JJ. Aug 27 '12 at 14:15
did you build on release mode? not in DEBUG mode? – daryal Aug 27 '12 at 14:16
im not sure what this means...but i went into project properties and changed "Configuration" from debug to release and then saved the project and built the solution. still no luck. what exactly do I have to do to build on release mode? – JJ. Aug 27 '12 at 14:21

pcalkins · Answer 2 · 2016-02-05T02:49:38.453

I'm gonna post my code here, because none of the answers I had seen addressed all the issues. This will save the location and re-load the settings for a file Browse dialog (file and folder browse dialogs are slightly different when getting path)... the answers above seem to be for the session only(?). Updated with new method to avoid config settings be lost with an update of clickonce app...

Code:

public class ConfigSettingsDictionary
    {
        public Dictionary<String, String> ConfigSettings = new Dictionary<String, String>();
    }
    ConfigSettingsDictionary MyConfigurationSettings = new ConfigSettingsDictionary();


private void SaveConfig()
    {
        using (System.IO.StreamWriter sw = new System.IO.StreamWriter(Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.ApplicationData) + "\\YOUR_APP_NAME_PLUS_UNIQUE_VALUE.config"))
        {

            foreach (var pair in MyConfigurationSettings.ConfigSettings)
            {
                sw.WriteLine(pair.Key + "=" + pair.Value);
            }
        }

    }
    private void LoadConfig()
    {

        if (System.IO.File.Exists(Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.ApplicationData) + "\\YOUR_APP_NAME_PLUS_UNIQUE_VALUE.config"))
        {
            var settingdata = System.IO.File.ReadAllLines(Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.ApplicationData) + "\\YOUR_APP_NAME_PLUS_UNIQUE_VALUE.config");
            for (var i = 0; i < settingdata.Length; i++)
            {
                var setting = settingdata[i];
                var sidx = setting.IndexOf("=");
                if (sidx >= 0)
                {
                    var skey = setting.Substring(0, sidx);
                    var svalue = setting.Substring(sidx + 1);
                    if (!MyConfigurationSettings.ConfigSettings.ContainsKey(skey))
                    {
                        MyConfigurationSettings.ConfigSettings.Add(skey, svalue);
                    }
                }
            }
        }


    }
    private void UpdateConfig(Dictionary<String, String> keyvaluepairs)
    {

        foreach (var pair in keyvaluepairs)
        {
           if (!MyConfigurationSettings.ConfigSettings.ContainsKey(pair.Key))
           {
               MyConfigurationSettings.ConfigSettings.Add(pair.Key, pair.Value);
           }
           else
           {
               MyConfigurationSettings.ConfigSettings[pair.Key] = pair.Value;
           }
        }


    }

then I use it like this (this saves the folder chosen in a file browse dialog and also the file chosen):

  string lastused = "";

        if (MyConfigurationSettings.ConfigSettings.ContainsKey("openFileDialog2_last_used"))
        {
          MyConfigurationSettings.ConfigSettings.TryGetValue("openFileDialog2_last_used", out lastused);
        }


        if (lastused != "")
        {
            openFileDialog2.InitialDirectory = lastused;
        }
        else
        {
            openFileDialog2.InitialDirectory = Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.MyDocuments);
        }


        string filestring = "";
        if (template_filename == "")
        {
            try
            {
                if (openFileDialog2.ShowDialog() == DialogResult.OK)
                {


                    filestring = openFileDialog2.FileName;
                    String chosenPath = Path.GetDirectoryName(openFileDialog2.FileName);
                    Dictionary<String, String> settings_to_save = new Dictionary<String, String>();

                    settings_to_save.Add("openFileDialog2_last_used", chosenPath);
                    settings_to_save.Add("openFileDialog2_last_used_template_file", filestring);
                    UpdateConfig(settings_to_save);
}
         else return;

            }
            catch (Exception ex)
            {
                MessageBox.Show("There was an error.", "Invalid File", MessageBoxButtons.OK);
                return;
            }
private void YOURFORMNAME_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
    {
// Load configuration file          
LoadConfig();
    }
 private void YOURFORMNAME_FormClosing(object sender, FormClosingEventArgs e)
    {
// Save configuration file
        SaveConfig();
    }

OK, so I ended up creating my own solution here... it uses Dictionaries: — pcalkins, Jan 30 '16 at 00:50
I ended up putting "LoadConfig();" in the main class constructor... so right after "InitializeComponents();". — pcalkins, Feb 13 '16 at 01:44

How do I save the last folder selected by the user?

2 Answers2