I'm adding relative path support for a custom layer that implements IDataLayer. From what I can tell from the minimal documentation on the subject, this is handled like this:
- Serialize the path that gets passed to IDataLayer::put_RelativePath() during serialization (which is typically the directory containing the .mxd-- it's different when saving to .lyr though...).
- When deserializing the layer, find the current path of the map document containing this layer, and replace the serialized document path with the new one.
Here's the question: is there any other way to know the location of the map document at the time IPersist::Load() is called other than getting the AppRef? My extension is used in geoprocessing scenarios when there is no AppRef or IMxDocument. Is there any other way, or do I have to manage the map document name myself?
I looked at the FileStream coclass as well. I was thinking the IStream* passed to Load() might have a file reference accessor. It doesn't look like the path is exposed there either. The tagSTATSTG struct returned form IStream::Stat() looked promising, but the pwcsName member was just "Maps". So, no luck there.
The next question would be what if the IDataLayer is in a .lyr file rather than an .mxd? How do I find the path of the .lyr if it is moved?
