Why does OpenFileDialog change my working directory?

Question

Why does OpenFileDialog change my working directory? Should i assume many func in System.Windows.Forms will change my working directory?

    OpenFileDialog open = new OpenFileDialog();
    open.Filter = filter;
    a = Directory.GetCurrentDirectory(); //<-- correct
    if (open.ShowDialog() == DialogResult.OK) //-- select a file on my desktop
    {
        a = Directory.GetCurrentDirectory(); //<-- incorrect, is set to my desktop

Answer 1

The current working directory can change during runtime, yes.

Consider using

Directory.GetParent(Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().Location)

or

System.AppDomain.CurrentDomain.BaseDirectory

when you need your applications directory.

Answer 2

It is a pain, although in some ways you might anticipate it... if you go into an open dialog multiple times (in an app) you often find it where you last left it.

If it impacts your code, you could take a snapshot of GetCurrentDirectory() before going into the dialog, and restore it afterwards (so your code doesn't see the change). You might want to store the user's working directory separately (and swap them) so that the user also gets their expected behaviour.

Answer 3

Or you can make it not do that. See the FileDialog.RestoreDirectory property.