`CurDir` Function

Returns a String representing the current path for the specified drive or the default drive.

Syntax

CurDir[(drive)]

Parameters

drive: Optional. String expression that specifies an existing drive. If no drive is specified or if drive is a zero-length string (""), CurDir returns the path for the current drive. The drive parameter can be just the drive letter (e.g., "C") or include a colon (e.g., "C:").

Return Value

Returns a String containing the current directory path for the specified drive. The returned path does not include a trailing backslash unless the current directory is the root directory.

Remarks

The CurDir function returns the current working directory for a specified drive. This is useful for:

Determining the current directory before changing it
Building relative file paths
Saving and restoring directory context
File path validation
Log file location determination

Important Characteristics:

Without arguments, returns current directory of current drive
With drive specified, returns current directory of that drive
Does not include trailing backslash (except for root directory)
Drive parameter is case-insensitive
Each drive maintains its own current directory
On Windows, returns full path (e.g., "C:\Windows\System32")
Root directory returns drive with backslash (e.g., "C:\")

Drive Specification

The drive parameter can be specified in several ways: - CurDir() - Current drive - CurDir("") - Current drive - CurDir("C") - Drive C - CurDir("C:") - Drive C - CurDir("D") - Drive D

Examples

Basic Usage

' Get current directory of current drive
Dim currentDir As String
currentDir = CurDir()  ' Returns something like "C:\Users\Username\Documents"

' Get current directory of specific drive
Dim cDrive As String
cDrive = CurDir("C")  ' Returns current directory on C: drive

Dim dDrive As String
dDrive = CurDir("D:")  ' Returns current directory on D: drive

Save and Restore Directory

Sub ProcessInDifferentDirectory(targetDir As String)
Dim savedDir As String

' Save current directory
savedDir = CurDir()

' Change to target directory
ChDir targetDir

' Do work in target directory
ProcessFiles

' Restore original directory
ChDir savedDir
End Sub

Building Relative Paths

Function GetFullPath(relativePath As String) As String
' Combine current directory with relative path
If Right(CurDir(), 1) = "\" Then
GetFullPath = CurDir() & relativePath
Else
GetFullPath = CurDir() & "\" & relativePath
End If
End Function

Common Patterns

Check if at Root Directory

Function IsRootDirectory() As Boolean
Dim currentPath As String
currentPath = CurDir()

' Root directory ends with backslash (e.g., "C:\")
IsRootDirectory = (Len(currentPath) = 3 And Right(currentPath, 1) = "\")
End Function

Get Current Drive Letter

Function GetCurrentDrive() As String
Dim currentPath As String
currentPath = CurDir()

' Extract drive letter (first character)
GetCurrentDrive = Left(currentPath, 1)
End Function

Ensure Trailing Backslash

Function EnsureTrailingBackslash(path As String) As String
If Right(path, 1) <> "\" Then
EnsureTrailingBackslash = path & "\"
Else
EnsureTrailingBackslash = path
End If
End Function

' Usage
Dim dirPath As String
dirPath = EnsureTrailingBackslash(CurDir())

Directory Context Manager

Type DirectoryContext
SavedDirectory As String
End Type

Function PushDirectory(newDir As String) As DirectoryContext
Dim ctx As DirectoryContext
ctx.SavedDirectory = CurDir()
ChDir newDir
PushDirectory = ctx
End Function

Sub PopDirectory(ctx As DirectoryContext)
ChDir ctx.SavedDirectory
End Sub

' Usage
Dim ctx As DirectoryContext
ctx = PushDirectory("C:\Temp")
' Do work...
PopDirectory ctx

Multi-Drive Path Tracking

Function GetAllDrivePaths() As Collection
Dim paths As New Collection
Dim drives() As String
Dim i As Integer

drives = Array("C", "D", "E", "F")

On Error Resume Next
For i = LBound(drives) To UBound(drives)
paths.Add CurDir(drives(i)), drives(i)
Next i
On Error GoTo 0

Set GetAllDrivePaths = paths
End Function

Log File in Current Directory

Function GetLogFilePath() As String
Dim currentDir As String
Dim logFile As String

currentDir = CurDir()
logFile = "application.log"

If Right(currentDir, 1) = "\" Then
GetLogFilePath = currentDir & logFile
Else
GetLogFilePath = currentDir & "\" & logFile
End If
End Function

Temporary Directory Operations

Sub ProcessInTempDirectory()
Dim originalDir As String
Dim tempDir As String

originalDir = CurDir()
tempDir = Environ("TEMP")

On Error GoTo Cleanup

ChDir tempDir

' Process files in temp directory
ProcessTempFiles

Cleanup:
ChDir originalDir
End Sub

Validate Relative Path

Function IsRelativePath(path As String) As Boolean
' Check if path is relative (doesn't start with drive letter)
IsRelativePath = (InStr(path, ":") = 0)
End Function

Function ResolveRelativePath(relativePath As String) As String
If IsRelativePath(relativePath) Then
ResolveRelativePath = CurDir() & "\" & relativePath
Else
ResolveRelativePath = relativePath
End If
End Function

Function GetDirectoryParts() As String()
Dim currentDir As String
Dim parts() As String

currentDir = CurDir()

' Remove drive letter and colon
If InStr(currentDir, ":") > 0 Then
currentDir = Mid(currentDir, 3)
End If

' Remove leading backslash
If Left(currentDir, 1) = "\" Then
currentDir = Mid(currentDir, 2)
End If

' Split by backslash
If Len(currentDir) > 0 Then
parts = Split(currentDir, "\")
End If

GetDirectoryParts = parts
End Function

Advanced Usage

Cross-Drive File Operations

Sub CopyFileToAnotherDrive(sourceFile As String, targetDrive As String)
Dim sourceDrive As String
Dim targetPath As String

' Get current directory on target drive
On Error Resume Next
targetPath = CurDir(targetDrive)

If Err.Number = 0 Then
' Build target file path
If Right(targetPath, 1) <> "\" Then
targetPath = targetPath & "\"
End If

FileCopy sourceFile, targetPath & Dir(sourceFile)
End If
End Sub

Directory Stack Implementation

Private dirStack As Collection

Sub InitDirectoryStack()
Set dirStack = New Collection
End Sub

Sub PushDir(Optional newDir As String)
If dirStack Is Nothing Then InitDirectoryStack

' Save current directory
dirStack.Add CurDir()

' Change to new directory if specified
If Len(newDir) > 0 Then
ChDir newDir
End If
End Sub

Sub PopDir()
If dirStack Is Nothing Then Exit Sub
If dirStack.Count = 0 Then Exit Sub

' Restore previous directory
ChDir dirStack(dirStack.Count)
dirStack.Remove dirStack.Count
End Sub

Smart Path Concatenation

Function CombinePaths(ParamArray paths() As Variant) As String
Dim result As String
Dim i As Integer
Dim part As String

If UBound(paths) < LBound(paths) Then
' No paths provided, return current directory
CombinePaths = CurDir()
Exit Function
End If

result = CStr(paths(LBound(paths)))

For i = LBound(paths) + 1 To UBound(paths)
part = CStr(paths(i))

' Remove leading backslash from part
If Left(part, 1) = "\" Then part = Mid(part, 2)

' Add backslash if needed
If Right(result, 1) <> "\" Then result = result & "\"

result = result & part
Next i

CombinePaths = result
End Function

Error Handling

Function GetCurrentDirectorySafe(Optional drive As String = "") As String
On Error GoTo ErrorHandler

If Len(drive) = 0 Then
GetCurrentDirectorySafe = CurDir()
Else
GetCurrentDirectorySafe = CurDir(drive)
End If

Exit Function

ErrorHandler:
Select Case Err.Number
Case 68  ' Device unavailable
MsgBox "Drive " & drive & " is not available.", vbExclamation
Case 71  ' Disk not ready
MsgBox "Drive " & drive & " is not ready.", vbExclamation
Case Else
MsgBox "Error getting current directory: " & Err.Description, vbCritical
End Select

GetCurrentDirectorySafe = ""
End Function

Common Errors

Error 68 (Device unavailable): Specified drive does not exist
Error 71 (Disk not ready): Drive exists but is not ready (e.g., no CD in drive)
Error 5 (Invalid procedure call): Invalid drive specification

Performance Considerations

CurDir is a fast function with minimal overhead
Results can be cached if directory won't change during execution
Accessing network drives may have latency
For frequently used paths, cache the result in a variable

Best Practices

Always Restore Directory

Sub SafeDirectoryOperation()
Dim savedDir As String
savedDir = CurDir()

On Error GoTo Cleanup

' Change directory and do work
ChDir "C:\Temp"
ProcessFiles

Cleanup:
ChDir savedDir
End Sub

Use Absolute Paths When Possible

' Instead of relying on current directory:
Open "data.txt" For Input As #1  ' Depends on CurDir

' Use absolute paths:
Open "C:\MyApp\Data\data.txt" For Input As #1  ' Explicit path

Validate Drive Before Use

Function IsDriveAvailable(drive As String) As Boolean
On Error Resume Next
Dim test As String
test = CurDir(drive)
IsDriveAvailable = (Err.Number = 0)
On Error GoTo 0
End Function

Platform Considerations

Windows: Returns paths with backslashes (e.g., "C:\Windows")
Drive letters: Windows-specific concept
Network paths: UNC paths (\server\share) not supported by CurDir
Long paths: Paths longer than 260 characters may cause issues
Case sensitivity: Windows file system is case-insensitive

Limitations

Returns only local drive paths, not UNC network paths
Cannot set the current directory (use ChDir for that)
Drive must be available and ready
Does not validate that the returned path still exists
Each drive remembers its own current directory independently
Does not work with drives that don't have current directory concept

ChDir: Changes the current directory
ChDrive: Changes the current drive
Dir: Returns files/directories matching a pattern
MkDir: Creates a new directory
RmDir: Removes an empty directory
App.Path: Returns the path where the application started

CurDir Function