Path Problem: Can't Load Database Settings From A File

Question

<b>I am writing a swing application with the following functionality:</b><br>
(1) There is a base class that supports things like changing the look and feel &ndash; this is done via a JDialog that loads all the installed lafs from which the user selects a choice.<br>
(2) Enables the user to set/change the physical database properties &ndash; location, password usernames and the like. -<br>
The idea is that when the application starts up for the first time the user will be asked to provide the database settings and then they will be stored in a file and then every time the application starts the settings will be loaded from this file. This works out fine!!!!!!!!!<br>
<br>
<b>Now here is the problem:</b><br>
All the above is supported by an abstract class that extends JFrame (I&rsquo;ve put abstract after testing) - MySuperFrame. After testing, I packaged this class together with other utility classes into a jar file.<br>
So my application which inherits from MySuperFrame fails on start-up with an exception that the database settings file cannot be found &ndash; And I know that it is in the jar file.<br>
+<br>
I think that my problem is the path and nothing but the path &ndash; or relative path.+<br>
<br>
This is the structure of my project:<br>
There is the src and the bin directories and then there is an external folder (not a package inside these two folders) called files (this is where my database settings file is stored).<br>
How do I solve this problem?<br>
How do I make sure my application loads the settings file regardless of where it is? I thought of passing the database settings file to a constructor of a database settings dialog class. But I don&rsquo;t know how to sort out the path issue.<br>
<br>
Please give me advice on how to implement that?

Answer 1

Apologies for the bad formatting on the original posting. Here is the formmatted posting:
Hi All,
I am writing a swing application with the following functionality:
(1) There is a base class that supports things like changing the look and feel &ndash; this is done via a JDialog that loads all the installed lafs from which the user selects a choice.
(2) Enables the user to set/change the physical database properties &ndash; location, password usernames and the like. -
The idea is that when the application starts up for the first time the user will be asked to provide the database settings and then they will be stored in a file and then every time the application starts the settings will be loaded from this file. This works out fine!!!!!!!!!
Now here is the problem:
All the above is supported by an abstract class that extends JFrame (I&rsquo;ve put abstract after testing) - MySuperFrame. After testing, I packaged this class together with other utility classes into a jar file.
So my application which inherits from MySuperFrame fails on start-up with an exception that the database settings file cannot be found &ndash; And I know that it is in the jar file.
+
I think that my problem is the path and nothing but the path &ndash; or relative path.+
This is the structure of my project:
There is the src and the bin directories and then there is an external folder (not a package inside these two folders) called files (this is where my database settings file is stored).
How do I solve this problem?
How do I make sure my application loads the settings file regardless of where it is? I thought of passing the database settings file to a constructor of a database settings dialog class.*{color:#ff0000} But I don&rsquo;t know how to sort out the path issue.{color}*
Please give me advice on how to implement that?