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How can I exclude controller name from the virtual path when I use Server.MapPath()?

In my MVC application, I call Server.MapPath() from MyController's action method to generate a virtual path to a particular file stored in a folder called Templates:
Server.MapPath($"Templates/{pdfFileName}")
MapPath() returns a path like this:
C:\SomePath\MyApp\MyController\Templates\MyFile.pdf
This is not good, as the actual path should be
C:\SomePath\MyApp\Templates\MyFile.pdf
How to get the right path? Thanks.

Try using ~:
for example:
string path = Path.Combine(Server.MapPath(#"~/Templates/" + pdfFileName));

Dealing with paths in MVC libraries

I have an MVC project and a class library just for saving and deleting images.
I have the path to those images stored in a variable as a relative path
Content\images\ that I reference inside the Save() and Delete() methods.
The save method works as I would think but the delete throws an error as it's relating the current path from the window directory.
// Works fine
File.WriteAllBytes(Path.Combine(Settings.ImagesPath, filename), binaryData);
// Error saying it cannot find the path in the C:\windows\system32\folder
File.Delete(Path.Combine(Settings.ImagesPath, filename));
I'd like to be able to switch between relative and absolute paths in my Settings.ImagesPath string but every SO article I've tried works for one scenario or the other. What's the best way to convert absolute or relative paths to some common way to deal with them?

You should use Server.MapPath method to generate the path to the location and use that in your Path.Combine method.
var fullPath = Path.Combine(Server.MapPath(Settings.ImagesPath), filename);
System.IO.File.Delete(fullPath);
Server.MapPath method returns the physical file path that corresponds to the specified virtual path. In this case, Server.MapPath(Settings.ImagesPath) will return the physical file path to your Content\images\ which is inside your app root.
You should do the same when you save the file as well.
You can also check the existence of the file before attempting to delete it
var fullPath = Path.Combine(Server.MapPath(Settings.ImagesPath), filename);
if (System.IO.File.Exists(fullPath))
{
System.IO.File.Delete(fullPath);
}
Server.MapPath expects a relative path. So if you have an absolute value in the Settings.ImagePath, You can use the Path.IsPathRooted method to determine if it is a virtual path or not
var p = Path.Combine(Path.IsPathRooted(Settings.ImagesPath)
? path : Server.MapPath(Settings.ImagesPath), name);
if (System.IO.File.Exists(p))
{
System.IO.File.Delete(p);
}
When you use the virutal path, make sure it start with ~.
Settings.ImagesPath = #"~\Contents\Pictures";

Saving an uploaded file with HttpPostedFileBase.SaveAs in a physical path

I'd like to save an uploaded file to a physical path by the method HttpPostedFileBase.SaveAs().
When I choose a physical path, an exception appears indicates that the path must be virtual.
var fileName = Path.GetFileName(fileurl.FileName);
var path = "C:/Projets" + fileName;
fileurl.SaveAs(Server.MapPath(path));
How can I change my code to be able to save the file every where I want?

The Server.MapPath works only with physical locations that are part of the website. If you want to save the file outside you could use the following:
var fileName = Path.GetFileName(fileurl.FileName);
fileurl.SaveAs(Path.Combine(#"c:\projects", fileName));
Make sure though that the account under which your application pool is executing is granted write permissions to this folder.

Server.MapPath is for virtual path. You can try to use Path.GetFullPath(path).

Server.MapPath issue?

So I am reading a book about asp.net security. and one of the sections there was :
how to prevent directory traversal filename ( hacked filenames).
so the line of code was :
string fullPath = Server.MapPath(System.IO.Path.Combine(#"d:\inetpub\inbound\",filename));
but then I noticed the result of the combine which will be :
d:\inetpub\inbound\myfile.txt
But I remember that the parameter type should be virtual path and not filesystem path !
d:\inetpub\inbound\myfile.txt is not a virtual path!
what am I missing ?
p.s. this is the book : (wrox)

The code sample is wrong.
The role of Server.MapPath is indeed to transform a virtual path into a physical one. If you already have a physical path, there'a no need for Server.MapPath.
The code will probably throw an Exception with the message:
'd:\inetpub\inbound\myfile.txt' is a physical path, but a virtual path was expected.

You must use Server.MapPath to convert a virtual path (i.e., a path inside your website) to a physical path (such as D:\InetPub\...).
So you can do this:
var physicalPath = Server.MapPath("~/Incoming/Receivedfile.txt");
and then you can use physicalPath to actually access the file.
BTW the tilde in the filename above represents the root of the website the code is running under.

Accessing a network folder with ASP.NET

I need to access a network folder in
\\p3clfs\xyz\test.tiff
Then:
String image = #"\\p3clfs\xyz\test.tiff";
MyClass.OpenUrl(image)
Error: c:\inetpub\wwwroot\p3clfs\xyz\ does not exist!
How can I open the URL without "c:\inetpub\wwwroot\"?

If you need to open a network path (so, something based on the file system,) as a URL, your string needs to be something like this:
String image = #"file://p3clfs/xyz/test.tiff";

Actually the solution was to create a virtual directory in IIS.