Syroot.Windows.IO.KnownFolders 1.3.0

The ID prefix of this package has been reserved for one of the owners of this package by NuGet.org. Prefix Reserved
.NET Standard 2.0
dotnet add package Syroot.Windows.IO.KnownFolders --version 1.3.0
NuGet\Install-Package Syroot.Windows.IO.KnownFolders -Version 1.3.0
This command is intended to be used within the Package Manager Console in Visual Studio, as it uses the NuGet module's version of Install-Package.
<PackageReference Include="Syroot.Windows.IO.KnownFolders" Version="1.3.0" />
For projects that support PackageReference, copy this XML node into the project file to reference the package.
paket add Syroot.Windows.IO.KnownFolders --version 1.3.0
#r "nuget: Syroot.Windows.IO.KnownFolders, 1.3.0"
#r directive can be used in F# Interactive and Polyglot Notebooks. Copy this into the interactive tool or source code of the script to reference the package.
// Install Syroot.Windows.IO.KnownFolders as a Cake Addin
#addin nuget:?package=Syroot.Windows.IO.KnownFolders&version=1.3.0

// Install Syroot.Windows.IO.KnownFolders as a Cake Tool
#tool nuget:?package=Syroot.Windows.IO.KnownFolders&version=1.3.0

KnownFolders

This library retrieves paths to all "special folders" available on Windows systems, including those not exposed by the System.Environment.GetFolderPath method, which only covers folders available up to Windows XP, most popularly missing the path to the "Downloads" or other user folders introduced in Windows Vista and later.

The library is is available on NuGet. The motivation is described in my CodeProject article.

Usage

using Syroot.Windows.IO;
string downloadsPath = KnownFolders.Downloads.Path;

The starting point is a KnownFolder instance, which represents exactly one special folder. It offers access to the following:

  • string Path { get; set; }: The current path (which might be customized by the user). This is what you want in most cases.
  • string DefaultPath { get; set; }: The default path the folder has if it would not have been redirected.
  • string ExpandedPath { get; set; }: Same as Path, but with all environment variables expanded.
  • string DisplayName { get; }: Returns a user friendly folder name as displayed in the File Explorer.
  • Create(): This method creates and initializes the known folder, e.g. creates the folder at the current path and writes the corresponding Desktop.ini (to set up the icon and localized name).

To retrieve a KnownFolder instance, there are two ways, depending on what you want to do:

  1. The easiest way is to use one of the many properties in the static KnownFolders class, which contains one property for each special folder.
  2. If you want to get the paths of another user than the current one (required rights assumed), you have to use the constructor of the KnownFolder class. You pass in a value of the KnownFolderType enumeration (which contains one member for each special folder) and the WindowsIdentity instance of the user to impersonate.

The test application shows more sample code to enumerate all known folders of a Windows system.

Product Versions
.NET net5.0 net5.0-windows net6.0 net6.0-android net6.0-ios net6.0-maccatalyst net6.0-macos net6.0-tvos net6.0-windows net7.0 net7.0-android net7.0-ios net7.0-maccatalyst net7.0-macos net7.0-tvos net7.0-windows
.NET Core netcoreapp2.0 netcoreapp2.1 netcoreapp2.2 netcoreapp3.0 netcoreapp3.1
.NET Standard netstandard2.0 netstandard2.1
.NET Framework net461 net462 net463 net47 net471 net472 net48 net481
MonoAndroid monoandroid
MonoMac monomac
MonoTouch monotouch
Tizen tizen40 tizen60
Xamarin.iOS xamarinios
Xamarin.Mac xamarinmac
Xamarin.TVOS xamarintvos
Xamarin.WatchOS xamarinwatchos
Compatible target framework(s)
Additional computed target framework(s)
Learn more about Target Frameworks and .NET Standard.

NuGet packages (6)

Showing the top 5 NuGet packages that depend on Syroot.Windows.IO.KnownFolders:

Package Downloads
SDSDownloadOperations

A simple downloader package that can be used for creating simple yet efficient file downloading applications. If you'd like, please send me your opinions on the package through email so that I could improve it as time goes on. This version of the project has discontinued and has moved to here: https://www.nuget.org/packages/CarbonlessWebOperations/1.1.0 This project will no longer be updated.

AutomationFramework_NetCore

AT Net Core Automation Framework

PureManApplicationDeployment.Blue-10

Wrapper for ClickOnce in .NET 6

CarbonlessWebOperations

A simple downloader package that can be used for creating simple yet efficient file downloading applications. If you'd like, please send me your opinions on the package through email so that I could improve it as time goes on.

Digitsrl.CommonObject.IO

Small utils to deal with IO

GitHub repositories (4)

Showing the top 4 popular GitHub repositories that depend on Syroot.Windows.IO.KnownFolders:

Repository Stars
itinance/react-native-fs
Native filesystem access for react-native
qmk/qmk_toolbox
A Toolbox companion for QMK Firmware
bcssov/IronyModManager
Mod Manager for Paradox Games. Official Discord: https://discord.gg/t9JmY8KFrV
SafeExamBrowser/seb-win-refactoring
Safe Exam Browser for Windows.
Version Downloads Last updated
1.3.0 30,856 4/20/2022
1.2.4 1,592 4/14/2022
1.2.3 316,142 2/26/2020
1.2.1 93,419 10/22/2018

Add KnownFolder.DisplayName property to retrieve user friendly folder names.