WinUI 3 Desktop App - Directory.Exists/File.Exists not worked in folder AppData/Roaming

Question

I am trying to perform checks on a directory and file in the AppData/Roaming (C:\Users\MyUser\AppData\MyFolder\myFile.config) directory in a WinUI 3 Desktop Application. Neither the subdirectory "MyFolder" not the file "MyFile.config" exist, yet System.IO.Directory.Exists(roamingPath) and System.IO.File.Exists(filename) claim that the directory + file exist.

I have, although it should not matter, marked the functions anlog to a UWP app:
Internet (Client and Server)
Internet (Client)
Private Network (Client and Server)

If I try this on drive D (D:\Test\MyFolder\myFile.config), for example, it works as it should.

Does anyone know why this does not work in AppData Roaming?

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Answer 1

This test works for me (Windows 10 21H1)

            // sAppdata = C:\Users\Christian\AppData\Roaming
            string sAppdata = Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.ApplicationData);
            // bExists = True
            bool bExists = System.IO.Directory.Exists(sAppdata);
            // sPath1 = C:\Users\Christian\AppData\Roaming\MyFolder
            string sPath1 = System.IO.Path.Combine(sAppdata, "MyFolder");
            // bExists1 = False
            bool bExists1 = System.IO.Directory.Exists(sPath1);
            // sPath2 = C:\Users\Christian\AppData\Roaming\MyFolder\myFile.config
            string sPath2 = System.IO.Path.Combine(sPath1, "myFile.config");
            // bExists2 = False
            bool bExists2 = System.IO.Directory.Exists(sPath2);

Answer 2

Hi, same here. I'm on Windows 11 professional, version 10.0.22621.

In a WinUi3 Desktop blank application based on .net 6.0,
When I try to search if c:\Users\thoma\AppData\Local\StockaManagerScanner exist, it tell me yes and when I search for sms.config in this folder it tell me it exist too.

I can understand that the folder should exist because I always run Directory.Create() for it. But I doesn't see it in windows file explorer and a console app base on .net framework doesn't find it

For the sms.config file I don't understand because I never create it before checking if it exist. What break my mind is when I try to read the content of sms.config IT RETURN SOMETHING !!

I tried you little test @Castorix31 and it give me the expected result (true, false, false).

What did I miss here ? What can I do ?

Answer 3

// Why not try something like the following:

using Windows.Storage;

async void GetFile()
{
   try
   {
StorageFolder localFolder = ApplicationData.Current.LocalFolder;
      StorageFile sampleFile = await localFolder.GetFileAsync("SomeFile.txt");
      String fileContents = await FileIO.ReadTextAsync(sampleFile);
   }
   catch (FileNotFoundException)
   {
      // file not found
   }

Answer 4

You can't just use your old .NET code with hardcoded paths and trying to get directories and expect it's going to work. If you're going to be doing Windows desktop coding you'll need to learn the classes and method's that return the locations you want to access. Don't worry about the actual directories / paths. Instead it's all about StorageFolder, StorageFile, KnownFolders, etc.