Changing the default folder in Emacs

You didn't say so, but it sounds like you're starting Emacs from a Windows shortcut.

The directory that you see with c-x c-f is the cwd, in Emacs terms, the default-directory (a variable).

When you start Emacs using an MS Windows shortcut, the default-directory is initially the folder (directory) specified in the "Start In" field of the shortcut properties. Right click the shortcut, select Properties, and type the path to your desktop in the Start In field.

If you're using Emacs from the command line, default-directory starts as the directory where you started Emacs (the cwd).

This approach is better than editing your .emacs file, since it will allow you to have more than one shortcuts with more than one starting directory, and it lets you have the normal command line behavior of Emacs if you need it.

CWD = current working directory = PWD = present working directory. It makes a lot more sense at the command line than in a GUI.

I think the line you need to add to your .emacs is is

(setq default-directory "C:/Documents and Settings/USER NAME/Desktop/" )

Emacs will start in your desktop that way, unless you have a file open. It will usually start in the same directory as the file in your current buffer otherwise.

I've put

(cd "c:/cvsroot/")

in my .emacs and it did the job

The default folder is actually the same as the current working folder for the buffer, i.e. it can be different for every file you work with. Say that the file you are working with is located in C:\dir_a, then the working directory for that buffer will by default be C:\dir_a. You can change this with M-x cd and type in whatever directory you would like to be the default instead (and by default I mean the one that will show up when you do C-x C-f).

If you start emacs without opening a file, you will end up with the *scratch* buffer open. If you started emacs from a Windows shortcut, the working directory will be the same as that specified in the shortcut properties. If you started it from the command line, it will be the directory from where you started it. You can still change this default directory with M-x cd, also from the *scratch* buffer.

Finally, you can do as Vadim suggests and put

(cd "c:/dir_a/")

in your .emacs file, to make that directory the default no matter how you start emacs.

As you're on Windows you can do it with a shortcut.

Create a shortcut to C:\emacs\emacs-21.3\bin\runemacs.exe. Edit the properties of the shortcut and change the value of Start In: to be whatever you want your default directory to be.

I am using emacs 22.2.1 under Windows XP and have been helped by the answers above to get the response in the minibuffer I want to the command C-x C-f. Initially I was getting "Find file: C:\Program Files\emacs\bin/" like Anton. I have HOME set to "C:\Documents and settings\USER NAME\My Documents". The response to C-x C-f I want in the minibuffer is "Find file: ~/". By adding (setq default-directory "C:/Documents and Settings/USER NAME/My Documents") to my .emacs file I was able to get the response "Find file: C:\Documents and settings\USER NAME\My Documents/" which is functionally the same as "Find file: ~/". However, I noticed one further point. "Customize Emacs" under "Options" allowed me to inhibit the startup screen. Now when I open emacs I go immediately to the scratch buffer. When I type C-x C-f in the scratch buffer I get the exact response I want.

For windows users, the best way that I found is to create the shortcut for runemacs.exe and placing the shortcut in the root directory of my notes folder.

This way, when you use this shortcut to open emacs, it will by default open in the root directory without having to specifically set the Start In property (you can leave the Start In property blank).

Reference: According to Microsoft, if you leave the 'Start In' box empty, the script will run in the current working directory

TIP:

Additionally, if you have organized your notes into multiple root folders (Personal, Work etc...), you can copy multiple such shortcuts in each folder to open various instances of emacs with their own default directories.