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How to access "user.config" of different application

The user.config file of an application can be accessed in C# by
ConfigurationManager.OpenExeConfiguration(ConfigurationUserLevel.PerUserRoamingAndLocal).FilePath
Now, I need to get the user.config of a DIFFERNT application, identified by the fullpath to its exe in order replace current applications user.config by that one.
Any suggestions how to do so?
Edit: Please notice that I am interested in the user.config (ConfigurationUserLevel.PerUserRoamingAndLocal), not the application level settings like app.config or Application.exe.config. The latter is accessable by the OpenExeConfiguration(string), but is not what I want.

What about the overload that accepts a string?
var config = ConfigurationManager.OpenExeConfiguration(pathToAssebmly);
Anyway it´s a bad idea to bind your assembly that way to another one. You should consider to copy the config-file into all your assemblies and change the parts that are specific to a given one.
EDIT: As you´re interested in the user-specific setting you may use the following which is taken from here:
string configFile = string.Concat(appName, ".config");
// Map the new configuration file.
ExeConfigurationFileMap configFileMap = new ExeConfigurationFileMap
{
ExeConfigFilename = configFile
};
var config = ConfigurationManager.OpenMappedExeConfiguration(
configFileMap,
ConfigurationUserLevel.PerUserRoamingAndLocal);

Cannot read settings using ConfigurationManager [duplicate]

I have a WinForms .exe with an App.config that has a bunch of User Scoped Settings that are set at runtime and saved.
I want to be able to use the WinForms app to change and save the settings and then click on button to do some work based on the those settings.
I also want to read the user settings in the same .config file from a sep. console app so I can schedule to work to be done as a scheduled task.
What is the best way to be able to do this?
Update:
I tried the reccommendation of using ConfigurationManager.OpenExeConfiguration as described in some of the answers like so.
Configuration config = ConfigurationManager.OpenExeConfiguration("F:\\Dir\\App.exe");
but when I try to retrieve a User Setting like so.
string result = config.AppSettings.Settings["DB"].ToString();
I get a Null reference error.
From code in the exe however the following correctly returns the DB name.
Properties.Settings.Default.DB
Where am I going wrong?
Update 2:
So based on some of the answers below I now can use the following to retrieve the raw XML of the section of the user.config file I am interested in from sep. ConsoleApp.
System.Configuration.ExeConfigurationFileMap fileMap = new ExeConfigurationFileMap();
fileMap.ExeConfigFilename = #"D:\PathHere\user.config";
Configuration config = ConfigurationManager.OpenMappedExeConfiguration(fileMap,ConfigurationUserLevel.None);
System.Configuration.DefaultSection configSection = (System.Configuration.DefaultSection)config.GetSection("userSettings");
string result = configSection.SectionInformation.GetRawXml();
Console.WriteLine(result);
But I am still unable to just pull the value for the specific element I am interested in.

this should do it :
var clientSettingsSection = (System.Configuration.ClientSettingsSection)(ConfigurationManager.GetSection("userSettings/YourApplicationName.Properties.Settings"));
var setting = clientSettingsSection.Settings.Get("yourParamName_DB_");
string yourParamName_DB = ((setting.Value.ValueXml).LastChild).InnerText.ToString();

You can use the ConfigurationManager class to open the configuration file of another executable.
Configuration conf = ConfigurationManager.OpenExeConfiguration(exeFilePath);
// edit configuration settings
conf.Save();

See ConfigurationManager.OpenExeConfiguration

If you are setting these values per user basis you may need to use the ConfigurationManager.OpenExeConfiguration(ConfigurationUserLevel) method instead of the current method you are using now.

ExeConfigurationFileMap fileMap = new ExeConfigurationFileMap();
fileMap.ExeConfigFilename = Environment.CurrentDirectory + "\\MyApp.exe.config";
//i have config in the same directory as my another app
System.Configuration.Configuration config = ConfigurationManager.OpenMappedExeConfiguration(fileMap, ConfigurationUserLevel.None);
var settingsSection = (System.Configuration.ClientSettingsSection)config.GetSection("userSettings/MyApp.Properties.Settings");
var setting = settingsSection.Settings.Get("MySetting");
var param = ((setting.Value.ValueXml).LastChild).InnerText.ToString();

If you know the path to the config file try:
System.Configuration.Configuration config = System.Configuration.ConfigurationManager.OpenExeConfiguration("configPath");
string myValue = config.AppSettings.Settings[ "myValue" ].Value;

Writing appSetting to separate *.config file

I have a self-hosted web api project, which appSettings are stored in separate location. I've achieved this by using file=""
<appSettings file="D:\myLocation\api.config">
</appSettings>
Then I'm able to read my settings using this code:
var value = ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["MyKey"];
But when I try to re-write the value, using this code:
var config = ConfigurationManager.OpenExeConfiguration(ConfigurationUserLevel.None);
config.AppSettings.Settings["MyKey"].Value = "someNewValue"
config.Save(ConfigurationSaveMode.Modified);
ConfigurationManager.RefreshSection("appSettings");
I'm getting original app.config file updated, instead of updating my separate stored file.
Is there any way of updating external appSettings file programmatically? Or maybe there are other best practices of storing settings separately?
Please, ask, if you need more information!
Thank you in advance!
Update
Just to prevent comments and answers like "wouldn't it be easier..." - this service is going to work on specific system with Enhanced Write Filter applied. This means, I won't be able to make any persistent changes on the partition. That's why I'm looking for a way to store settings in separate file located on separate partition without EWF. This scenario puts strict limits on how I can resolve the issue. Thank you for understanding!

Why not open the external config file as a regular Xml file and write your changes? This way you dont have to worry about anything else.

Specify the name of the config section like this:
config.AppSettings.SectionInformation.ConfigSource = "api.config";

Use below.
var configFile = new FileInfo("D:\WebsiteABC\Web.config");
var vdm = new VirtualDirectoryMapping(configFile.DirectoryName, true, configFile.Name);
var wcfm = new WebConfigurationFileMap();
wcfm.VirtualDirectories.Add("/", vdm);
configuration = WebConfigurationManager.OpenMappedWebConfiguration(wcfm, "/");
configuration.AppSettings.SectionInformation.ConfigSource = "AppSettings.config";

Need some clarification about app.config and user.config

So I have been poking around both here on SO and google for the last few days for information about app.config.
I am writing a program that will need to generate SQL scripts using values entered by a user. Originally I was using app.config to store some default values to load into the program when it is first started up. This worked fine until I tried to store the new values back into the app.config file. This is when I found that app.config is read only and I should have been using user.config.
I have several questions that I can't seem to find the answers to:
Is it recommended to use settings.Setting to declare all the values that I want to use app.config? Or is entering them in by hand is enough?
I keep reading about how user.config overrides app.config settings. But when I update my user.config file, the program still reads from the original app.config file
This is from my wrapper class
public NameValueCollection ReadSettings(string sectionName)
{
NameValueCollection scripts = null;
try
{
//read in the current values from the section
scripts = (NameValueCollection)ConfigurationManager.GetSection(sectionName);
if (scripts == null) throw new appConfigException(String.Format("The section {0} does not exists in app.config", sectionName));
}catch (Exception e){
//print out the log file
StreamWriter writer = new StreamWriter(DateTime.Now.ToString("d-MMM-yyyy") + "log.txt");
writer.WriteLine(e.ToString());
writer.Close();
//kill the application process so the user cannot advance further
System.Diagnostics.Process.GetCurrentProcess().Kill();
}
return scripts;
}
is the ConfigurationManager supposed to automatically know to start reading from the user.config? Or do I need to change this section of code to reflect that?

Question 1: It is easier to use Settings.settings instead of creating your own configuration file yourApp.config. Because using the first option you can access your properties just using Properties.Settings.Default.MyProperty and with the app.config file instead you have to deal with ConfigurationManager object, and usually to access a property you need to know the name beforehand and it usually is hardcoded.
Question 2: Yes, you are right the app.config is different from Settings.setting. Because you could even create a new file temp.config which could also be used as a config file for your application.
Final question: Im not sure, but I don't think ConfigurationManager knows anything about that, just parse the app.config file.
Hope it helps.

C# applicationSettings: how to update app.config?

I am using .NET 4.0 and I would like to use the app.config file to store same parameter settings. I do the following. I use the Settings tab in the project properties to create my parameters.
This add the information in the app.config file like this:
<MyApp.Properties.Settings>
<setting name="param1" serializeAs="String">
<value>True</value>
</setting>
<MyApp.Properties.Settings>
In my view model (in my code) I can access to the information in this way:
bool myBool = MyApp.Properties.Default.param1;
When I try to change the value in the config file, I try this:
Properties.Settings.Default.param1 = false;
But this causes an error, that param1 is read-only.
So how can I update my config file from my code?

Here's my function to update or add an entry into the app.config for "applicationSettings" section. There might be a better way, but this works for me. If anyone can suggest a better method please share it, we'll always looking for something better.
static string APPNODE = System.Reflection.Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().GetName().Name + ".Properties.Settings";
static DateTime now = DateTime.Now;
Utilities.UpdateConfig(APPNODE, "lastQueryTime", now.ToString());
static public void UpdateConfig(string section, string key, string value)
{
Configuration config = ConfigurationManager.OpenExeConfiguration(ConfigurationUserLevel.None);
ClientSettingsSection applicationSettingsSection = (ClientSettingsSection)config.SectionGroups["applicationSettings"].Sections[section];
SettingElement element = applicationSettingsSection.Settings.Get(key);
if (null != element)
{
applicationSettingsSection.Settings.Remove(element);
element.Value.ValueXml.InnerXml = value;
applicationSettingsSection.Settings.Add(element);
}
else
{
element = new SettingElement(key, SettingsSerializeAs.String);
element.Value = new SettingValueElement();
System.Xml.XmlDocument doc = new System.Xml.XmlDocument();
element.Value.ValueXml = doc.CreateElement("value");
element.Value.ValueXml.InnerXml = value;
applicationSettingsSection.Settings.Add(element);
}
config.Save(ConfigurationSaveMode.Modified);
ConfigurationManager.RefreshSection("applicationSettings");
}

Well, I read the link of Hari Gillala, in which one user suggested to edit directly the app.config file, that is a xml file.
So in project properties-->settings I create the parameters that I need. Then, to load a parameter in code I do the following:
_myViewModelProperty = MyApp.Properties.Settings.Default.MyParam1;
In this way, I can read easily the information of the config parameter. Is typed, so in disign time I can see if the asign is correct or not.
To update de config file, I edit the app.config file with the xml libraries of .NET.
System.Xml.XmlDocument xml = new System.Xml.XmlDocument();
xml.Load(AppDomain.CurrentDomain.SetupInformation.ConfigurationFile);
System.Xml.XmlNode node;
node = xml.SelectSingleNode("configuration/applicationSettings/MyApp.Properties.Settings/setting[#name='myparam1']");
node.ChildNodes[0].InnerText = myNewValue;
xml.Save(AppDomain.CurrentDomain.SetupInformation.ConfigurationFile);
In this way, I create a xml document (xml variable) and load the information of the app.config file. Then, I search for the node that I want to update, update its information (InnerText property) and finally I save the changes.
In this way, I can update the app.config. It is what I want, because in a portable application, only one user will use it, and I want that the configuration is applied in any computer in which I run the application.

You should use Properties.Settings to perform this action.
You can look at this documentation for more information.
//modify
Properties.Settings.Default.param1 = false;
//save the setting
Properties.Settings.Default.Save();
Note that if your settings have the Scope of User, which they must be to be writeable, then the properties are saved somewhere else and not in your local config file. See here for the details.
EDIT after discussion in comment and further searches:
My suggestion to achieve the desired result would be to switch to AppSettings.
That is because, after some searches, i found out that appsettings changes the .config file in the Application Data folder (running some tests on my machine confirm that).
Look at comment in the answer to this question .
I am not sure if there is some work around, but if you want your application to have a portable app.config file, i think the only way is to switch to AppSettings which i'm sure can save changes in the app.config found in the program folder.
EDIT 2: Possible solution
I found out a possible solution to make your app portable!
You can change the Provider used by Settings to save the application's settings creating a custom Provider.
The answer to this question provide a link to a code to make applicationsettings portable. I think you give it a try

Mark your setting as usersetting.
Detailed article: http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/25829/User-Settings-Applied