context-sensitive-default-path

Generic Function

Package: common-graphics

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Allegro CL version 6.2
Minimally revised from 6.1

context-sensitive-default-path

Arguments: configuration

Returns the value of the context-sensitive-default-path property of configuration. The current configuration is the value of (configuration *system*) (see configuration and *system*).

This property affects the initial directory of file management dialogs (Open File, Save As, and so on) displayed by Lisp. These dialogs are displayed in a number of ways, including choosing menu commands (like File | Open and File | Save As) and calling functions such as ask-user-for-new-pathname and ask-user-for-existing-pathname.

Whenever ask-user-for-new-pathname or ask-user-for-existing-pathname is called without passing an initial directory as the value of the host argument, then this property determines how the initial directory to display in the standard file selection dialog is chosen. If (1) this property is true and (2) a pathname is returned when the function file is called on the window that was passed as the stream argument, then the directory of that pathname is used. Otherwise the directory of the file that was most recently selected from the file selection dialog is used. The IDE editor is presently the only window for which file normally returns a pathname. So by default the directory displayed in the file selection dialog is sticky (that is, the most recent value is used) except in the editor, where it defaults to the directory of the file in the selected buffer. Turning this property off makes the file selection dialog sticky everywhere.

Note that the file selection dialog is also used by various IDE commands such as Open and Open Project (on the File menu). Most of these commands do not specify a host argument, and so this property affects these IDE commands.

The default value of this property is t.