Get the Full Path of Windows Special Folders in Delphi | SHGetSpecialFolderPath Guide

Get the Full Path of Windows Special Folders in Delphi

This section explains how to retrieve the full path of Windows special folders—such as Desktop, My Documents, Application Data, and more—using the SHGetSpecialFolderPath API in Delphi. Special folders are system‑defined locations that applications commonly access, and knowing how to obtain their absolute paths is essential for file operations, configuration storage, and user‑specific data handling.

SHGetSpecialFolderPath Function

This section explains how to use the Windows API function SHGetSpecialFolderPath to retrieve the full path of a Windows special folder.

function SHGetSpecialFolderPath(hwndOwner: HWND; lpszPath: PWideChar; nFolder: Integer; fCreate: LongBool): LongBool;

Return Value

Returns TRUE on success, or FALSE on failure.

hwndOwner

The handle of the owner window.

lpszPath

The buffer that receives the retrieved folder path.

nFolder

A CSIDL value that specifies which special folder to retrieve.

fCreate

If TRUE, the folder is created if it does not already exist.

CSIDL Values for nFolder

CSIDL_DESKTOP

The user's Desktop folder.
(Example) C:\Users\<User Name>\Desktop

CSIDL_FAVORITES

The user's Favorites folder.
(Example) C:\Users\<User Name>\Favorites

CSIDL_FONTS

The system Fonts folder.
(Example) C:\Windows\Fonts

CSIDL_PERSONAL

The user's Documents folder (same as CSIDL_MYDOCUMENTS).
(Example) C:\Users\<User Name>\Documents

CSIDL_PROGRAM_FILES

The Program Files directory.
(Example) C:\Program Files

CSIDL_PROGRAMS

The Programs folder shown in the user's Start Menu.
(Example) C:\Users\<User Name>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs

CSIDL_STARTUP

The user's Startup folder. Shortcuts placed here run automatically when the user logs in.
(Example) C:\Users\<User Name>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

CSIDL_WINDOWS

The Windows directory (%windir% or %SYSTEMROOT%).
(Example) C:\Windows

CSIDL_SENDTO

The SendTo folder used by the right‑click “Send To” menu.
(Example) C:\Users\<User Name>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\SendTo

CSIDL_APPDATA

The user's roaming application data folder.
(Example) C:\Users\<User Name>\AppData\Roaming

CSIDL_TEMPLATES

The Templates folder.
(Example) C:\Users\<User Name>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Templates

CSIDL_COMMON_STARTMENU

The Start Menu folder shared by all users.
(Example) C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu

CSIDL_COMMON_PROGRAMS

The Programs folder shared by all users.
(Example) C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs

CSIDL_COMMON_STARTUP

The Startup folder shared by all users. Shortcuts placed here run for every user at login.
(Example) C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

CSIDL_COMMON_DESKTOPDIRECTORY

The Desktop folder shared by all users.
(Example) C:\Users\Public\Desktop

CSIDL_COMMON_APPDATA

The application data folder shared by all users.
(Example) C:\ProgramData

CSIDL_COMMON_DOCUMENTS

The public Documents folder.
(Example) C:\Users\Public\Documents

CSIDL_COMMON_PICTURES

The public Pictures folder.
(Example) C:\Users\Public\Pictures

CSIDL_COMMON_FAVORITES

The Favorites folder shared by all users.
(Example) C:\Users\<User Name>\Favorites

CSIDL_COMMON_ADMINTOOLS

The Administrative Tools folder shared by all users.
(Example) C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Administrative Tools

CSIDL_ADMINTOOLS

The user's Administrative Tools folder.
(Example) C:\Users\<User Name>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Administrative Tools

CSIDL_LOCAL_APPDATA

The user's local (non‑roaming) application data folder.
(Example) C:\Users\<User Name>\AppData\Local

CSIDL_SYSTEM

The Windows System directory.
(Example) C:\Windows\System32

CSIDL_PROGRAM_FILES_COMMON

The Common Files directory shared by applications.
(Example) C:\Program Files\Common Files

CSIDL_PROFILE

The user's profile folder.
(Example) C:\Users\<User Name>

CSIDL_RECENT

The folder containing shortcuts to the user's recently used documents.
(Example) C:\Users\<User Name>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Recent

CSIDL_PRINTHOOD

The folder containing printer shortcut objects.
(Example) C:\Users\<User Name>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Printer Shortcuts

Example: Using SHGetSpecialFolderPath

To use SHGetSpecialFolderPath, you must include Winapi.ShlObj in the uses clause.
The following example retrieves the full path of the Desktop folder.

unit Unit1;

interface

uses
  Winapi.Windows, Winapi.Messages, System.SysUtils, System.Variants, System.Classes, Vcl.Graphics,
  Vcl.Controls, Vcl.Forms, Vcl.Dialogs, Vcl.StdCtrls;

type
  TForm1 = class(TForm)
    Button1: TButton;
    procedure Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
  private
    { Private declarations }
  public
    { Public declarations }
  end;

var
  Form1: TForm1;

implementation

{$R *.dfm}

uses Winapi.ShlObj;

procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
  path: array[0..MAX_PATH-1] of Char;
  st: String;
begin
  ZeroMemory(@path[0], MAX_PATH * SizeOf(Char));

  SHGetSpecialFolderPath(0, path, CSIDL_DESKTOP, False);

  ShowMessage(path);
end;

end.