How to refer a folder inside the jar

Question

I have a Java file which refers to a .dll to perform Windows authentication.

In my Java code, I used System.getProperty("java.library.path") to get the PATH, and then I manually appended the PATH of the DLL. It works fine.

But I dont want the DLL to sit in some folder outside. So I moved the DLL file inside a Jar file which contains my Java-class file. I am not sure how to refer to the location of the folder inside my jar.

Any ideas?

There are no folders inside jars; this is a common problem for people new to Java. If you _have_ to have something as a file (like you would for a DLL), you have to copy it into a file from the jar resource. — chrylis -cautiouslyoptimistic-, Jun 21 '20 at 02:30
Does this answer your question? [How to make a JAR file that includes DLL files?](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1611357/how-to-make-a-jar-file-that-includes-dll-files) — Moon, Jun 21 '20 at 02:46
You can't do this. The operating system requires the DLL to be in its file system. — user207421, Jun 21 '20 at 07:03

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Jun 21 '20 at 02:13

You can use getClass().getResource() for that!

I recommend to first create a folder in your project dedicated to resources.

Then place your .dll file in there.

Then to refer to it, type something like this:

URL toDLL = getClass().getResource("Resources/someDLL.dll");

Note: This won't work in static methods like in the main() method of the Main class, so for that, type Main.class.getResource() instead.

Here it is in action using IntelliJ:

How to refer a folder inside the jar

1 Answers1