Forum Discussion
AppData output inconsistencies
Problem Statement: My application uses MSFT logging hooked up to a Serilog provider. It outputs a log file to AppData. We want this file to be generally accessible to the user for support, even when deployed through MSIX.
What I'm seeing: On my dev machine (Windows 19044.2604), when I install and run the app, when it writes a file to Environment.SpecialFolder.ApplicationData, I can see the file when I navigate to C:\users\<user>\AppData\Roaming. This is great.
However, on my test machine (Windows 22621.1265) I see nothing output in C:\users\<user>\AppData\Roaming, but I see output in C:\users\<user>\AppData\Local\Packages\<long package name that looks like a guid>\LocalCache\Roaming. This is technically accessible, but not something we can readily guide the user to.
I'm confused about the discrepancy here. Is there a way to make the app act like the first case in all circumstances or, alternatively, a better path we can output to that will not get munged?
My setup:
Here is the relevant portion of the generated AppxManifest.xml
I'm not including any virtualized system folders or registry entries in my msix at this point.