Server.MapPath specifies the relative or virtual path to map to a physical directory.
- Server.MapPath(“.”) returns the current physical directory of the file (e.g. aspx) being executed
- Server.MapPath(“..”) returns the parent directory
- Server.MapPath(“~”) returns the physical path to the root of the application
- Server.MapPath(“/”) returns the physical path to the root of the domain name (is not necessarily the same as the root of the application)
An example:
Let’s say you pointed a web site application (http://www.example.com/) to the root of your domain
C:Inetpubwwwroot
and installed your shop application (as virtual directory in IIS and marked as application) in
D:WebAppsshop
If, you call Server.MapPath in following request:
http://www.example.com/shop/product/GetProduct.aspx?id=2342
then,
- Server.MapPath(“.”) returns D:WebAppsshopproducts
- Server.MapPath(“..”) returns D:WebAppsshop
- Server.MapPath(“~”) returns D:WebAppsshop
- Server.MapPath(“/”) returns C:Inetpubwwwroot
- Server.MapPath(“/shop”) returns D:WebAppsshop
If Path starts with either a forward (/) or backward slash (), the MapPath method returns a path as if Path were a full, virtual path.
If Path doesn’t start with a slash, the MapPath method returns a path relative to the directory of the request being processed.
Note: In C#, @ is the verbatim literal string operator meaning that the string should be used “as is” and not be processed for escape sequences.
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