# Adding an Input File to Your Visual Studio Project Directory

Here's how you can add an input file to your project directory in Visual Studio, as demonstrated in the provided reference:

One common way to make an input file accessible to your program is to place it directly within your project's folder on your computer.

Adding an Input File to Your Visual Studio Project Directory

The reference illustrates a method where you add the input file by placing it directly into the project's physical folder on your computer, outside of the Visual Studio IDE's "Solution Explorer" view initially. Your program, when run, often looks for files in the directory where the executable is located, which is typically within the project's folder structure.

Follow these steps:

1. Locate Your Project Folder: In Visual Studio, open your project in the Solution Explorer. Right-click on your project name (e.g., "Project2" as shown in the reference).
2. Open in File Explorer: From the context menu, select "Open in File Explorer". This will open the Windows File Explorer directly to the physical location of your project folder on your computer.
3. Place Your Input File: Now, you can place your input file into this folder.
   • Copy the File: Find the input file you want to use (e.g., input.txt) on your computer (it might be in your Downloads folder or elsewhere, as seen in the reference). Copy this file.
   • Paste into Project Folder: Go back to the File Explorer window you opened in step 2 (your project folder). Paste the copied input file directly into this folder.

By placing the file here, your program, when executed from Visual Studio, should be able to access it directly by its filename (e.g., input.txt) if you use standard file input operations that look in the current working directory.

This method adds the file to the project's physical location, making it available to your program's execution environment.