On Windows, this method returns the application's directory. IMO, this is wrong since its customary to install applications in the Program Files directory and with tighter locked down XP/2000 and DEFINITELY Vista, this is a problem since you are not usually given permission to write in these destinations now.

I think the GetSpecialDir method should be called (as it is with when the "Global" flag is false) with parameter CSIDL_COMMON_DOCUMENTS.

Reported:
http://bugs.freepascal.org/view.php?id=11257

As a follow up, can anyone suggest how I could access the GetSpecialDir from outside sysutils.pas? I've tried it and it seems that its not in the interface section or I think think this is the case. I get a little confused with the includes.

Hope everyone had a good weekend.

Thanks,

Hi Lee,

2008/5/5 Lee Jenkins :

On Windows, this method returns the application's directory. IMO, this is wrong since its customary to install applications in the Program Files directory and with tighter locked down XP/2000 and DEFINITELY Vista, this is a problem since you are not usually given permission to write in these destinations now.

I thought GetAppConfigDir () returns the '\documents and settings\<profile>\application data\<appname> path? Specifying the global parameter would return: '\documents and settings\all users\application data\<appname>'

Am I mistaken? The above behaviours should work just fine for locked down NT/Win2000 systems and Vista with UAC enabled, because the user should have write access to there profile directory.

Regards,
- Graeme -

_______________________________________________
fpGUI - a cross-platform Free Pascal GUI toolkit
http://opensoft.homeip.net/fpgui/

GetAppConfigDir returns the user's local folder when you specify false as the global parameter, but when you you specify true, it returns the application's directory.

From SysUtils.pas:

Function GetAppConfigDir(Global : Boolean) : String;
begin
   If Global then
     Result:=DGetAppConfigDir(Global) // or use windows dir ??
   else
     begin
     Result:=GetSpecialDir(CSIDL_LOCAL_APPDATA)+ApplicationName;
     If (Result='') then
       Result:=DGetAppConfigDir(Global);
     end;
end;

I just went ahead and accessed the shfolder unit like so in case anyone else has a need to do this before the issue is addressed:

uses
shfolder
;

// .. etc, etc.
function GetSpecialFolderPath(folder : integer) : string;
const
   SHGFP_TYPE_CURRENT = 0;
var
   path: array [0..MAX_PATH] of char;
begin
   if SUCCEEDED(SHGetFolderPath(0,folder,0,SHGFP_TYPE_CURRENT, at path[0])) then
     Result := path
   else
     Result := '';
end;
procedure SaveMyFile(AStringList: TStringList);
var
   lPath: string;
begin
   lPath := GetSpecialFolderPath(CSIDL_COMMON_DOCUMENTS);
   lPath := lPath + PathDelim + 'AFile.txt'
   AStringList.SaveToFile(lPath);
end;

Of course, in my actual code its IFDEF'd to use GetAppConfigDir when linux/unix instead of the above function.

If you are using the global flag, this implies usually read-only: it is meant to access global installation configuration settings, comparable to /etc in Linux/Unix.

The main problem is that the Windows directory structure has become so convoluted these days that one directory IMHO is as good as the next.

If you know a good Microsoft document describing where application files are meant to go, I'll be glad to have a look at it and maybe change the behaviour.

Michael.

Hi,

See for example: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310294/en-us the section Classify
Application Data.
This would suggest to me that CSIDL_COMMON_APPDATA would be the most logical place to store global application data like /etc/ on Linux. I'm not sure that this is Win9x compatible, will check that when I have time.

Bart
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Just wrote som etest code. On Win9x using CSIDL_COMMON_APPDATA returns: Global: C:\WINDOWS\All Users\Application Data\
Local : C:\WINDOWS\Application Data\
(on my machine (WinME, not using profiles), so this would seem safe to use.

Bart
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