How to browse to a directory and store the path in a variable

Question

I've been wondering how can I browse to a directory and save the selected path to a string variable by using an console application? I have tried a few things but none seemed to work. Here's my code:

string path = "";

FolderBrowserDialog fileDialog = new FolderBrowserDialog();
var result = fileDialog.ShowDialog(); //exception

if (result == DialogResult.OK)
{
    path = fileDialog.SelectedPath;
}

Console.WriteLine(path);

It throws ThreadStateException exception at line 3.

"Current thread must be set to single thread apartment (STA) mode before OLE calls can be made. Ensure that your Main function has STAThreadAttribute marked on it. This exception is only raised if a debugger is attached to the process."

Yes it does look fine. Do you mean you want to allow the user to input the path into the console? In that case, use Console.ReadLine(); — Michael B, Dec 27 '13 at 10:57
I start the program, and nothing happens.. I ran the debugger and it threw me an exception in the third line "var result... ect" — , Dec 27 '13 at 10:58
Console applications cannot use Winforms components as out of the box. See http://stackoverflow.com/questions/277771/how-to-run-a-winform-from-console-application — Steve, Dec 27 '13 at 11:00
An exception contains a Message, a StackTrace and probably an InnerException. Please update your question with full details, not just the name of the exception. — CodeCaster, Dec 27 '13 at 11:00

score 4 · Accepted Answer · answered Dec 27 '13 at 11:00

It seems that you are attempting to use this in a console application which runs in MTA (Multi Threaded Appartment) whereas the FolderBrowserDialog control requires STA (Single Threaded Appartment).

To put your console application in STA try decorating the Main method with the [STAThread] attribute:

class Program
{
    [STAThread]
    static void Main()
    {
        string path = "";
        var fileDialog = new FolderBrowserDialog();
        var result = fileDialog.ShowDialog();

        if (result == DialogResult.OK)
        {
            path = fileDialog.SelectedPath;
        }

        Console.WriteLine(path);
    }
}

How to browse to a directory and store the path in a variable

1 Answers1