How does default/relative path resolution work in .NET?

Question

So... I used to think that when you accessed a file but specified the name without a path (CAISLog.csv in my case) that .NET would expect the file to reside at the same path as

Answer 1

It is based on the current working directory which may or may not be the same as where your application resides, especially if started from a different program or a shortcut with a different working directory.

Rather than hard code the path, get the path to your program and use it. You can do this with something like this

Assembly ass = Assembly.GetEntryAssembly();
string dir = Path.GetDirectoryName(ass.Location);
string filename = Path.Combine( dir, "CAISLog.csv" );

This assumes that the entry assembly is where your file is. If not, you can change up getting the assembly for something like;

Assembly ass = Assembly.GetAssembly( typeof( AClassInYourAssembly ) );