Referencing the current desktop (vb6)

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I am trying to write a small vb application and I want to be able to set a filelistbox to show the desktop. As the setup uses profiles, the address is:

c:windowsprofileusernamedesktop

Is there a way I can get a reference to the current desktop no matter which profile is used or if no profile is used?

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Allan, I think that you want to use the SHGetSpecialFolderLocation API call:
GetSpecialfolder(CSIDL_DESKTOP)
See this example on allapi.net. –Sam

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Definitely look at Sam’s suggestion. In Windows 2000 and later, the profiles don’t live under the Windows folder at all, they’re found under Documents and Settings by user name.

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Yep! You definitely want to go the API route and let someone else solve it. Profile paths change every time Bill needs more money!

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Thanks all for the above pointers. I have the example and I’ll see what I make of it.

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Assuming your target machine has the Windows Script Host still installed (not removed to prevent VBS catastrophes), you can do it this way:

Function strDesktopFolder() As String
‘ Set a reference to Windows Script Host Object Model
Dim wshShell As New IWshShell_Class
strDesktopFolder = wshShell.SpecialFolders(“Desktop”)
Set wshShell = Nothing
End Function

This probably is no more efficient than using Win32API, and has the risk of being less portable, but it’s easy to understand.

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