Retrieve Start Path from File Dialog before opening

[alleBarbieri]

Hello Everybody!

I wonder if it is possible to retrieve the starting path of the file dialog express vi before running it.

The start path is usually the one opened last time with a file dialog vi instance, but I have not been able to find a way to retrieve it.

Anyone has some ideas?

 

[ensegre]

What I would usually do is to retrieve (or strip) the selected path on exit, and feed it to a FGV, or to the property Browse Options/Start Path of the control connected to the input, or something along this lines. This way I can handle multiple initial paths for different controls in my application. Yes you could convert the express VI to standard VI and modify it, but I wouldn't bother to tamper with it.

[alleBarbieri]

Thanks ensegre for the reply,

it is more or less the same approach I am adopting right now. However I would like to avoid to call the file open dialog before knowing the start path, since in some cases (if the start path is not valid anymore) it can freeze the wole application, as highlighted in this thread:

 

[Michael Aivaliotis]

Well, if you call the dialog and you don't have a cached previous path. then you feed it a known location. For example, the user documents folder. Every other time, you use the previously used path.