GetSystemDirectory Function

Declare Function GetSystemDirectory Lib "kernel32.dll" Alias "GetSystemDirectoryA" (ByVal lpBuffer As String, ByVal nSize As Long) As Long

Platforms: Win 32s, Win 95/98, Win NT

GetSystemDirectory reads the path of Windows's System directory. This is where many important files for Windows are stored, including the API DLLs. Never assume this is "C:\Windows\System" because the Windows directory doesn't have to be called Windows. The path of the system directory is put into the string variable passed as lpBuffer. The function returns the length of the string returned if it is successful, or 0 if it failed.

lpBuffer

A string which receives the path of the system directory.

nSize

The length in characters of lpBuffer.

Example:

' Display the path of the system directory
Dim sysdir As String  ' receives path of system directory
Dim slength As Long  ' receives length of returned string

sysdir = Space(255)  ' make room in the buffer to receive the string
slength = GetSystemDirectory(sysdir, 255)  ' determine the system directory's path
sysdir = Left(sysdir, slength)  ' extract the returned string from the buffer
Debug.Print "System directory path: "; sysdir

See Also: GetWindowsDirectory
Category: System Information

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