int main () { TCHAR appdata[MAX_PATH]; // Get the appdata directory: if(SUCCEEDED(SHGetFolderPath(NULL, CSIDL_APPDATA, NULL, 0, appdata))) { // This prints NOTHING! cout << string(appdata) << endl; home_dir = string(appdata) + "\\myapp\\"; // This prints what I'd expect from appdata + the additional above??? cout << home_dir << endl; } }