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system.getproperty( user.dir ) return server deployement folder [duplicate]

I try to read a .txt file line by line in my code, which I placed it just right under the /src/ directory, when I run it with test case or with static void main, the path output is correct. However, when I run the application with Tomcat server, the app root path points to where I download my Eclipse - D:\eclipse\..., while the correct path should be D:\workspace\myproject\src\. Then, of course, it can never find the file.
Below is my code:
String workDir = System.getProperty("user.dir");
String file = "numFile.txt";
File myFile = new File(workDir + file);
String userPath = myFile.getPath();
So, my questions are:
(this maybe dumb) Where should we normally place a text file?
How can I change [System.getProperty("user.dir");], so it will point to my project workspace?
Thank you!
Sharon
regarding to your reply:
add following arguments -Duser.home='Your Path' make sure you add -D at the begining of your system variable. And this variable you can put in the VM Arguments box provided under arguments tab when you Open the Launch Configuration when using tomcat server.
I cannot find the place you are talking about. Is it in Eclipse or Tomcat directory?
thanks

Try File myFile = new File(workDir, file);

The short answer is that you can't change a running application's current working directory in Java; see Changing the current working directory in Java?
Setting the user.dir property won't work, because that doesn't affect the actual current directory that the OS uses when resolving pathnames for the application.
Setting the -Duser.dir on the command line won't work either. Rather, you have to:
if you are launching using a script, cd to the relevant directory before running the application,
if you are launching using a ProcessBuilder, set the working directory using the directory(File) method, or
if you are using an Eclipse launcher, set the "Working Directory" in the launch configuration.
Finally, what you are trying to do is (IMO) a bad idea:
Some folks write Tomcat and webapp config files on the assumption that Tomcat's current directory is the default location; e.g. $CATALINA_HOME/bin. (This is wrong ... but your hack will break it.)
When your application goes into production, you won't want to be referring back to some development sandbox.
A better approach is to do something along the lines of #Eng.Fouad's answer.

OK! I got it!
Yes,
File myFile = new File(workDir + "/" + file);
is the way to go.
and I edit the tomcat argument in Eclipse IDE. (Run -> Run Config... -> Apache Tomcat -> [Click] Tomcat vX Server -> at the right screen, click "Argument" -> Working directory section -> I change to Other and specify my actual working directory.)
It's just wierd that even I run tomcat Not by eclipse IDE, but Dos cmd and even deploy to server, it still apply the working directory as D:\Eclipse. But change the working directory worked anyway.

To read files from the root of the classpath use (eclipse automatically copies any non java file from src to classes):
this.getClass().getClassLoader().getResourceAsStream("filename.txt");
So you don't have to mess with the current folder at all.

try not to change the system properties, instead, add one more parameter into the system properties.
For Eg. add following arguments -Duser.home='Your Path' make sure you add -D at the begining of your system variable. And this variable you can put in the VM Arguments box provided under arguments tab when you Open the Launch Configuration when using tomcat server.
And if you are runing the same from some main method, then add the vairable in the run configuration, as this will maintain sactity in you code.

Why is a file being saved to a different directory path in NetBeans?

For some unusual reason, when I am using FileWriter for Java Netbean, the file gets written into this directory:
C:\Users\myname\AppData\Roaming\NetBeans\7.2\config\GF3\domain1
rather than to my working directory, which is at the desktop.
I used this code to check my User Directory, and it returns this:
System.out.println(System.getProperty("user.dir"));
INFO: C:\Users\myname\AppData\Roaming\NetBeans\7.2\config\GF3\domain1
which is obviously NOT my working directory where my source code is. I thought I could have accidentally configured Netbeans to change the directory, but I checked through NetBeans menu and can't figure out how to undo this.
I have never had this problem before in my previous projects. As simple as the following code, the file should appear in my working directory.
File file = new File("myFile.xml");
Instead now I'm being forced to enter the path name to make the file save into my working directory, which is not going to be dynamic if I change computer.
String dir = "C:\\Users\\myname\\Desktop\\Assignment\\IRAssignmentJ\\";
File file = new File(dir + "myFile.xml");
Please enlighten me how do I solve this.

rather than to my working directory, which is at the desktop
No it isn't. The current working directory is whereever the file got saved, by definition. If Netbeans chooses to change directory to where it was saved, there's nothing you can do about it. If you want it in your home directory, there is a system property for that. If you want it saved somewhere else, use a full pathname.
But the behaviour of the application under Netbeans is of little interest. What matters is when you run it as though standalone, like a customer would.

Writing file in web Server without specifying real path

In my application, i got an function where i need to write a file inside webcontent folder, i got a folder called data and i need to write a new name, if i gave the real path( C:\Users\SanWin\workspace\RoleAccessControl\data\ActivityLog.txt) it writes the file but this has to change when the project is to run on different machine, so i used this to get the real path
ServletContext ctx = getServletContext();
String path = ctx.getRealPath("/data/ActivityLog.txt");
System.out.println(path);
when i print i got the following message in console
C:\Users\SanWin\workspace.metadata.plugins\org.eclipse.wst.server.core\tmp0\wtpwebapps\RoleAccessControl\data\ActivityLog.txt
i dont know how the system gets this line
.metadata.plugins\org.eclipse.wst.server.core\tmp0\wtpwebapps\
this is in eclipse, i was expecting something like
C:\Users\SanWin\workspace\RoleAccessControl\data\ActivityLog.txt
how to get the real path i want to get rid of the lines (.metadata.plugins\org.eclipse.wst.server.core\tmp0\wtpwebapps), I looked and did all possible i seen in internet, but failed, sorry if I made an duplicate post,kindly excuse me
Thanks for your time and responses

In the Servers view in Eclipse you can double click your server to open a configuration screen which allows you to set a different deploy path (at least in Tomcat). Note that you can only modify that setting when there is nothing deployed, otherwise you will see the options grayed out.
The .metadata.plugins\org.eclipse.wst.server.core\tmp0\wtpwebapps\ you are getting is because you have the Use workspace metadata option.
Anyway, if you deploy your war manually directly into Tomcat webapps folder, without Eclipse, you will be getting the correct path.
In other words, your code is correct and is giving you the correct path, you are just not liking the path where your app is being deployed.
Hope this helps.

Where does Netbeans read files from?

I'm trying to read from a text file in Netbeans. In the top level of my project directory I have foo.txt. Then in my code I have:
File file = new File("foo.txt");
It throws a FileNotFoundException, however. It's a Java web application using Spring and Tomcat, but I'm not sure if those details matter since I'm running the whole thing inside Netbeans. Basically, I just want to know where I need to put the file so Netbeans will read it.
Update - good call guys, it's looking in Tomcat's bin directory. Now this may be a stupid question but, how would I go about getting it to look in my top level project directory? I feel like dropping text files into tomcat's bin would be innapropriate.

You can try printing the absolute path of the File object to see where it is looking on the filesystem.
System.out.println(file.getAbsolutePath());

I would use the following to figure out where to put the file:
System.out.println(System.getProperty("user.dir"));

To directly answer your question, If you're running an application on Tomcat, files will be opened from the current working directory. That will likely be the bin/ folder in your tomcat directory.
You can find out for sure where your program is looking by examining the result of file.getAbsolutePath().
However, for web applications, I would suggest putting files you need to read in your classpath so you don't have to depend on a certain file structure when you deploy your web application.

try System.getProperty("user.dir") to get current working directory

Where do I place axis2.xml to be read by a jar with a soap client?

I have a java console application inside of a jar file. It makes calls to a soap service via axis2. I am using this blog as the example. The exact configuration items I am adding are as follows:
<parameter name="Proxy">
<Configuration>
<ProxyHost>localhost</ProxyHost>
<ProxyPort>8888</ProxyPort>
</Configuration>
</parameter>
I tried putting that in an axis2.xml file in the root of my jar. I also edited C:\Program Files\Apache Software Foundation\axis2-1.5.4\conf\axis2.xml.
My AXIS2_HOME is set correctly:
set AXIS2_HOME
AXIS2_HOME=c:\Program Files\Apache Software Foundation\axis2-1.5.4
I verified the traffic is definitely being sent directly to the server via WireShark.

You are having this problem because JRE is unable to find the configuration file.
Yes, the configuration file should be placed outside the jar file because a program cannot read the configuration file inside a jar file (which is compressed).
The problem here is that you have to point your program to the configuration file correctly.
Relative filepaths are calculated from where the Java Runtime Environment was started.
(We should use relative filepaths because we want to avoid using absolute filepaths since not everyone will have the same system environment and thus absolute filepaths will not work in a different environment)
In this case, if you are unsure where your JRE is started from, making you unable to calculate your relative filepath, you can do:
File file = new File("");
System.out.println(file.getAbsolutePath());
This will help you find out where your JRE is started from. You should know that relative file paths are calculated from the directory where your JRE is started from.
For axis2, the working directory(where JRE is started from) should be the bin folder of your Apache Tomcat, while for your program, it will depend on where you made the call to the JRE to start the program from.
I would advise you to place your configuration file in a place where is easily accessible.
Say if you wanted to use AXIS2_HOME, and you place your configuration file in the AXIS2_HOME directory, you can do the following inside your jar program to find your configuration file:
String value = System.getenv("AXIS2_HOME"); // gets the AXIS2_HOME environment variable
File file = new File(value+"/"+axis2.xml);
I think you get the gist of what I am saying. Hope that helps! (: