Process start from two strings

Question

I am trying to open a file which a user can set. In other words it will never be a set path or file. so when the user has selected the file they want to open this button below will open it. I have declared l1 and p1 as public strings.

    public void button4_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
    {

         DialogResult result = openFileDialog1.ShowDialog();
         if (result == DialogResult.OK)
         {

             l1 = Path.GetFileName(openFileDialog1.FileName);
             p1 = System.IO.Path.GetDirectoryName(openFileDialog1.FileName);

         }


    public void button2_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
    {
    //p1 = directory path for example "C:\\documents and settings\documents"
    //l1 = filename

        Process.Start(p1+l1);
    }

So just to review I want to open up the file just using the directory path and filename. Is this possible? I can just have p1 there and it will open an explorer showing me that directory. Thank you for looking.

So what problems are you having? Have you tried this code? Does it work, are there problems with it? Are you simply concerned about design or security types of issues? — Servy, Feb 20 '12 at 15:20
Sorry I should of been more specific the error states "The system cannot find the file specified." I keep finding other peoples code on the net when they know the set path and the program they want to access. I want it to be more dynamic than that. However Havn't found anyone that wants to do what I am doing - Which I find odd. — Marshal, Feb 20 '12 at 15:21
Never just concatenate paths, always look for a better way, e.g. [`Path.Combine`](http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.io.path.combine.aspx). — Brad Christie, Feb 20 '12 at 15:22

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered Feb 20 '12 at 15:22

3

Yes it will work, but I would recommend you update your code this instead:

var path = Path.Combine(p1, l1);
Process.Start(path);

answered Feb 20 '12 at 15:22

Philip Fourie

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This works as I have just tested it in a textbox however it will not load the file. I have a feeling it's something to do with spaces in the filename and the .doc extension has been taken off. So still having the same error. – Marshal Feb 20 '12 at 15:28
Strange the `Path.GetFileName` should not remove the extension. Neither should the spaces be an issue. – Philip Fourie Feb 20 '12 at 15:32
Just tested the code on my machine. Opened a Word doc from my desktop and it worked as expected. The path also contained spaces. – Philip Fourie Feb 20 '12 at 15:45
Thank you it was my error in the end a bit of code I took out stopped it from working properly. Thank you for your help - What a releif was ready to tear my hair out. – Marshal Feb 20 '12 at 15:51

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Feb 20 '12 at 15:21

You shouldn't use string concatenation to combine a directory and filename. In your case the resulting string will look like this:

C:\documents and settings\documentsfilename
                                  ^^
                             this is wrong

Instead use Path.Combine.

string path = Path.Combine(p1, l1);
Process.Start(path);

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Feb 20 '12 at 15:27

Why don't you simply do this: -

public void button4_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    string fileNameWithPath;
    DialogResult result = openFileDialog1.ShowDialog();
    if (result == DialogResult.OK)
    {
        fileNameWithPath = openFileDialog1.FileName;
    }
}

public void button2_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    Process.Start(fileNameWithPath);
}

Process start from two strings

3 Answers3