Setting the initial directory of an SaveFileDialog?

Question

I\'d like a SaveFileDialog with the following behavior:

• The first time you open it, it goes to \"My Documents\".

• Afterwards, it goes to the

Answer 1

If you use forward slash anywhere in your path, InitialDirectory does not work. Make sure they are converted to back slashes

Answer 2

You need to set the RestoreDirectory to true as well as the InitialDirectory property.

Answer 3

None of the provided solutions worked for me sadly.

In addition to the OP specifications, I wanted the program to remember the last save location between runs. For this, in the Visual Studios Solution Explorer under ProjectName -> Properties -> Settings.settings, I setup the following property:

Because I am keeping the SaveFileDialog around for the duration of the program's running, I instantiate at the start. Then in the Command for bringing up the dialog:

if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(Settings.Default.PreviousPath))
{
    this.saveDialog.InitialDirectory = Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.MyDocuments);
}
else
{
    this.saveDialog.InitialDirectory = Settings.Default.PreviousPath;
}

this.saveDialog.FileName = "Default_File_Name";

bool result = this.saveDialog.ShowDialog() ?? false;

if (result)
{
    Settings.Default.PreviousPath = Path.GetDirectoryName(this.saveDialog.FileName);
    Settings.Default.Save();

    // Code writing to the new file...
}

This gives the behavior:

• First time the program is run and dialog is opened, it navigates to "My Documents".
• Consecutive runs and dialog opened:
  • If saved on a previous open, it navigates to previous save location.
  • If not saved on a previous open, navigates to "My Documents".

Answer 4

use the saveFileDialog.InitialDirectory property as follows:

Stream stream;
SaveFileDialog saveFileDialog = new SaveFileDialog();

saveFileDialog.Filter = "dat files (*.dat)|*.dat|All files (*.*)|*.*";
saveFileDialog.FilterIndex = 1;
saveFileDialog.RestoreDirectory = true;
saveFileDialog.InitialDirectory = @"D:\Data\...\foldername\";
saveFileDialog.ShowDialog();

if (!saveFileDialog.FileName.Equals(string.Empty))
    Console.WriteLine(saveFileDialog.FileName);

Answer 5

I found that setting InitialDirectory to null first works around user history.

    OpenFileDialog dlgOpen = new OpenFileDialog();
    dlgOpen.InitialDirectory = null;
    dlgOpen.InitialDirectory = @"c:\user\MyPath";

Answer 6

I did some testing with .NET 2.0 and it seems if I set FileName to anything other than a literal string it doesn't work. When I use a method or accesstor to set the property the initial directory is ignored.