// Using MFC. 
CString cwd;
DWORD cwdLen = ::GetCurrentDirectory( MAX_PATH, cwd.GetBufferSetLength(MAX_PATH+1) );
cwd.ReleaseBuffer( cwdLen ); // Note that ReleaseBuffer doesn't need a +1 for the null byte.

// Alternate approach, in C, using Win API.
static LPCSTR GetDefaultDirectory()
{
   static TCHAR szDirectory[MAX_PATH] = {0}; // place to remember path found.

   if ( !szDirectory[0] ) // if already found.
   {
      ::GetCurrentDirectory(sizeof(szDirectory) - 1, szDirectory); // in winbase.h
   }

   return szDirectory;

}

// Using MFC. 
CString cwd;
DWORD cwdLen = ::GetCurrentDirectory( MAX_PATH, cwd.GetBufferSetLength(MAX_PATH+1) );
cwd.ReleaseBuffer( cwdLen + 1 );

// Alternate approach, in C, using Win API.
static LPCSTR GetDefaultDirectory()
{
   static TCHAR szDirectory[MAX_PATH] = {0}; // place to remember path found.

   if ( !szDirectory[0] ) // if already found.
   {
      ::GetCurrentDirectory(sizeof(szDirectory) - 1, szDirectory); // in winbase.h
   }

   return szDirectory;

}

static LPCSTR GetDefaultDirectory()
{
   static TCHAR szDirectory[MAX_PATH] = {0}; // place to remember path found.

   if ( !szDirectory[0] ) // if already found.
   {
      ::GetCurrentDirectory(sizeof(szDirectory) - 1, szDirectory); // in winbase.h
   }

   return szDirectory;

}

http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~mfp27/cppfaqs/

Sometimes I want a complete path to a file in the current working directory to make error messages clearer. The URL has alternate approaches.

Get current working directory

c, windows

C