Relocating app.config file to a custom path

Question

Is it possible to relocate the whole App.Config file to a custom path?

It seems a bit odd that the config file resides in the same folder as the exe, with Windows' new approcah of saving all program settings in c:\ProgramData and all.

An additional requirement we have is to programatically specify where to find the app.config file. The reason for this being that we spawn different service instances from the same exes, and would like to store each service's app.config in that service's settings folder under c:\ProgramData\\.

Answer 1

I am sorry if I misunderstand your request but can you not use

ConfigurationManager.OpenExeConfiguration Method (String)

Based on the change, is it possible that you can use

AppDomainSetup.ConfigurationFile Property

Answer 2

You could use astander's approach of calling OpenExeConfiguration. If you literally want to relocate your config file, you'll have to create your own app domain. In the process of setting up your app domain you get the chance to specify where the config file is located.

BTW, .NET config files aren't great for configuration, at least not the sort that users can modify: they're not like INI files or the registry. If you want flexibility over where your configuration comes from you're better off storing it separately.

Answer 3

MSDN probably would help...

The element simplifies servicing for component assemblies. If one or more applications use an assembly that has a configuration file residing in a well-known location, the configuration files of the applications that use the assembly can use the element to include the assembly configuration file, rather than including configuration information directly. When the component assembly is serviced, updating the common configuration file provides updated configuration information to all applications that use the assembly

Answer 4

Each AppDomain has/can have its own configuration file. The default AppDomain created by CLR host uses programname.exe.config; if you want to provide your own configuration file, create separate AppDomain. Example:

// get the name of the assembly
string exeAssembly = Assembly.GetEntryAssembly().FullName;

// setup - there you put the path to the config file
AppDomainSetup setup = new AppDomainSetup();
setup.ApplicationBase = System.Environment.CurrentDirectory;
setup.ConfigurationFile = "<path to your config file>";

// create the app domain
AppDomain appDomain = AppDomain.CreateDomain("My AppDomain", null, setup);

// create proxy used to call the startup method 
YourStartupClass proxy = (YourStartupClass)appDomain.CreateInstanceAndUnwrap(
       exeAssembly, typeof(YourStartupClass).FullName);

// call the startup method - something like alternative main()
proxy.StartupMethod();

// in the end, unload the domain
AppDomain.Unload(appDomain);

Hope that helps.