File System directory issues

[Swarmer]

I am working on my game from different computers occasionally. How can I change my working directory to something relative to my project folder, not the whole computer?

For example, in Computer A my working directory is:
"C:\ComputerAFiles\MyProject\"
In Computer B, my working directory is:
"D:\BFiles\Stuff\MyProject\"

How can I detect and set my directory to the relative path of "\MyProject\"? Do I have to manually parse the getWorkingDirectory string to find out the last folder?

Remember that the starting directory isn't always the same: if I open one of my scenes (custom file format), open the .exe directly, or run it from the VS2008 debugger, I get a different starting working directory.

Also, how exactly does getFileDir work? Do I just input the name of any file and it should find it and tell me its full path? That doesn't seem realistic. When I tried it, it just outputted garbage.

[zillion42]

well by default irrlicht searches in the same folder the .exe was launched from... if you for example place all your models textures and sounds in:

bla/bla/myProject/media

and your .exe is in:

bla/bla/myProject/bin or
bla/bla/myProject/release or
bla/bla/myProject/debug

to get to your files you would use a RELATIVE path to access them like so:

scene::IAnimatedMesh* myMesh = smgr->getMesh("../media/myMesh.x");

where the two dots and the slash (../) is what your looking for... hopefully...

[Swarmer]

Actually, the only time the working directory is equal to the folder of the .exe file is when I open the .exe file directly (through Windows Explorer).

I'm making a map editor, and when I try to directly open a map file (through Windows Explorer) with my program, the working directory becomes the directory of the map file, not my program's .exe file's directory. Likewise, when I run the VS2008 debugger, the working directory becomes my .vcproj file's directory, not my .exe file's directory.

Is there a way to consistently find the same relative directory?

[Nox]

VS starts the .exe from your $(SolutionDir) which is set to the .vproj dir and saves the exe in the $(SolutionDir)$(ConfigurationName). You can change this in the projects settings, if you want to.
If you open a file using the OpenFileDialog, the working dir is changed by Irrlicht (a bit dirty), so maybe you have to set it to the old dir.

[Acki]

the problem he is having is this:
he has assosiated a map/mesh or what ever extension with his program...
let's say the program is "C:\programs\myProg\theProg.exe" and the map/mesh is "D:\map\data\theMap.3ds"...
now, if he double klicks the map/mesh then the program will start, but the working directory is the one from the map/mesh and not the one from the program !!!

EDIT: the solution could be to use the arguments passed to function main:

Code: Select all

int main(int argc, char** argv){

    // argv[0] holds the name of the exe incl. path
    printf("%s\n",argv[0]);
    
    // argv[1] holds the name of the assosiated file incl. path
    if(argc > 1) printf("%s\n",argv[0]);

    system("pause");
    return 0;
}

Edit 2:

Code: Select all

    // and getFileDir() can be used to get the directory
    stringc theDir = FileSystem->getFileDir(stringc(argv[0]));

[Swarmer]

the problem he is having is this:
he has assosiated a map/mesh or what ever extension with his program...
let's say the program is "C:\programs\myProg\theProg.exe" and the map/mesh is "D:\map\data\theMap.3ds"...
now, if he double klicks the map/mesh then the program will start, but the working directory is the one from the map/mesh and not the one from the program !!!

Exactly!
The only way I can get it to work consistently is if I just set the working directory to "C:\programs\etc", but using absolute paths like that is bad, since it'll fail if I change folder names or if I switch computers (which I do).

I am using a winforms gui, and if I find the directory with the .NET shell using this code:

Code: Select all

#undef GetCurrentDirectory
System::IO::Directory::GetCurrentDirectory();

I get the same directory that Irrlicht finds. I guess I could just do it manually and have a "Set Directory" option, but is that the only way?

[Swarmer]

EDIT: the solution could be to use the arguments passed to function main:

Code: Select all

int main(int argc, char** argv){

    // argv[0] holds the name of the exe incl. path
    printf("%s\n",argv[0]);

    // argv[1] holds the name of the assosiated file incl. path
    if(argc > 1) printf("%s\n",argv[0]);

    system("pause");
    return 0;
}

That's a good idea, I'll try that out.

[Swarmer]

Hm it doesn't work. The args array is empty unless I open a file. If I open a file, the only argument is the path of the file that I am opening, not the .EXE.

I am using CLR, if that makes a difference:

Code: Select all

int main(cli::array<System::String ^> ^args)

[Acki]

realy ???
hmm, do you realy need the function this way,
or can you not just simply change it to the other format ???

[Swarmer]

I have to, that's the only valid style of entry point for a .NET program.

[Acki]

unfortunately I never used .net, so I don't know about this...
but I can't imagine that this is the only valid style to use...
but I don't know, though it could be...
sorry, I can't help you further then...

[Swarmer]

That's okay, I might just make a "Set working directory" option that the user has to manually set.

Unless anyone has a better solution.

[zillion42]

do it windows style...
get nsis (nullsoft scriptable install system) and write a small installer which sets a registry value with the path to the .exe, and retrieve that path with .net code from inside your application.
Probably the most complicated way but probably also the most common.

[Acki]

get nsis (nullsoft scriptable install system) and write a small installer which sets a registry value with the path to the .exe, and retrieve that path with .net code from inside your application.

yes, not a bad idea, if all others fail !!!
I think this is possible with all (good) setup tools (e.g. InnoSetup)...

[Swarmer]

Actually I just found out a pretty weird but simple way to do it:

Code: Select all

	char path[MAX_PATH + 1];
    GetModuleFileNameA( NULL, path, MAX_PATH + 1 );

"path" gives the full path of the exe file.
Thanks for the suggestions.