Java - Clean file path

Question

I want to clean the path I use in my App. The path can be modified and sometimes I got something like that:

C:/users/Username/Desktop/\..\..\..\Windows\Web\..\..\Program Files\..\Program Files\..\Python27\

But I would like to have something like:

C:\Python27\

That's an example!

How can I clean the path to get only the necessary part?

Thanks.

Answer 1

If fileName is your filename string, then something like:

String cleanedFilename = new File(fileName).getCanonicalPath();

should do it...

Se also the API description .

Answer 2

You could try using the File.getCanonicalPath() method:

File file = new File("my/init/path");
String path = file.getCanonicalPath();

I haven't test though, tell us back!

EDIT: @MathiasSchwarz is right, use getCanonicalPath() instead of getAbsolutePath() ( link )

Answer 3

Here is the code I have just tried.

new File("c:/temp/..").getCanonicalPath();

It returns 'C:\\', that is right. The parent of c:/temp is indeed c:\\