Write to any users desktop in Python

Question

Im new to Python so apologies if this is a basic question.

I have successfully created an exe file that writes to my specific desktop directory, but I am struggling to find a way to write to any users desktop directory.
The idea being my exe file can be copied onto any user profile and work the same.
Here is my code:

 file = open('C:\Users\user\Desktop\PC info.txt','w')

Could somebody help me adjust my code to work on any users desktop. Thank you in advance

Asked By: MrShaun

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Source

Answer 1

If you are using Python3.5+, you can use the following to get the path to the current user’s home directory:

import os
import sys
from pathlib import Path

def main():
    home = str(Path.home())
    path = os.path.join(home, "filename.txt")
    with open(path, "w") as f:
        f.write("HelloWorld")

if __name__ == '__main__':
    main()

Answered By: Andrew St P

Answer 2

Is this what you are looking for?

username = "MrShaun"
filename = "C:\Users\{0}\Desktop\PC info.txt".format(username)

file = open(filename, 'w')

In this example, filename would be: “C:UsersMrShaunDesktopPC info.txt”

Obviously, you would probably want to build a structure around it, for example asking the user for input of a username and assigning that to the variable username.

Read more about formatting strings in Python here

Answered By: Jonas

Answer 3

You can get the username with the os module:

import os

username = os.getlogin()    # Fetch username
file = open(f'C:\Users\{username}\Desktop\PC info.txt','w')
file.write('Hello desktop')
file.close()

Answered By: figbeam

Answer 4

You could use os.getlogin with an f-string to insert the username to the file path:

import os

with open(fr'C:Users{os.getlogin()}DesktopPC info.txt', 'w') as f:
    # do something with f

But, a much better cleaner way nowadays would be to use pathlib:

import pathlib

with open(pathlib.Path.home() / "Desktop/PC info.txt", "w"):
    # do something with f

Also, it’s always advisable to use a context manager (with open(...) as f) to handle files, so that the filehandler gets closed even if an exception occurs.

Answered By: ruohola

Write to any users desktop in Python

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