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Re: Default path for opening files

• To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
• Subject: [mg126988] Re: Default path for opening files
• From: Helen Read <readhpr at gmail.com>
• Date: Fri, 22 Jun 2012 03:00:31 -0400 (EDT)
• Delivered-to: l-mathgroup@mail-archive0.wolfram.com
• References: <jruonq$fgs$1@smc.vnet.net>

You can manually set the working directory to anything you like with 
SetDirectory["full path here"]


You can also find the path to the directory your current working 
notebook lives in with NotebookDirectory[]. So to set the directory to 
the place where your notebook lives, just do this:

SetDirectory[NotebookDirectory[]]

If I am importing / exporting things from a Mathematica notebook, I'll 
put that at the top of the notebook, usually in an initialization cell 
so the directory is set automatically when I open up the file.

Helen Read
University of Vermont



On 6/21/2012 5:15 AM, nanobio9 wrote:
> Dear Mathematicans,
>
> Whenever I tried to open a file from my Mathematica directory (with
> rather deep structure), I have to start with "~/Documents/" (I am
> using Mac). I searched the help and I found that this directory is
> coded in the variable "$UserDocumentsDirectory". OK. So I tried to set
> this variable to the root of my Mathematica directory, but I found it
> protected. Then I setup my local "init.m" file. I unprotect it, set
> it, and protect it, in the init.m file. (This is another story though.
> I searched the web for half a day and I do not see any example or
> instruction, official or by other users, on how people can compose
> their own init.m file.) However, nothing is changed.
>
> When my data files grow in number, I decided that I should use the
> "FileNameSetter" interface in my NB to pick the file on the fly. That
> way I do not have to modify the code ( filename=xxxx ...., blablabla )
> for each datafile. However, I found the same problem. In the
> "FileNameSetter" function, there is not an option to set the default
> starting path. (Or I am just too stupid to use electronic
> documentation so that I do not find the solution?) Everything starts
> with "~/Documents", although since the second time the directory tree
> will be expanded like what I saw the previous time (this is the case
> in Mac. I did not try under Windows or Linux).
>
> Is there any smarter way to do this?  Look forward to your helpful
> comments.
>
> KKL
>

• Follow-Ups:
  • Re: Default path for opening files
    • From: "E. Martín-Serrano" <eMartinSerrano@telefonica.net>