Last opened directory

Every file open and save dialog in the Atomize GUI reopens in the folder you last used, instead of always jumping back to the configured default. The folder is remembered per category and survives a relaunch, so the script picker and the data loader each keep their own working directory.

Why this is needed

Atomize can run as several independent Qt processes — the main window plus, in multi-tool builds, each control-center tool in its own QProcess. A plain QFileDialog has no memory of its own across processes or restarts, and the config only provides a single static open_dir / script_dir. Without help, every dialog opens in that one configured folder, even after you have navigated somewhere else.

The last_dir helper gives each category of dialog a small persistent note of the last directory the user actually browsed to, shared by every dialog in that category and reloaded on the next launch.

Categories

Two categories exist in every build:

Key	Used by	Remembers
script	the experimental-script Open / Save dialogs	your scripts folder
data	the 1D / 2D data-open dialogs, including the Open 1D Data item in the pyqtgraph plot menu	your data folder

Specific builds may add further categories — one per extra dialog — so each remembers its own folder independently.

The first time a category is used (no note yet) the dialog falls back to the configured open_dir / script_dir; from then on it opens where you left off.

Where it is stored

Each category keeps its directory in a one-line text file named <key>_lastdir.txt, stored under the per-user config directory (platformdirs.user_config_dir("atomize-py")/lastdir/), the same place the copied configs live. (Some builds redirect this to their own runtime directory.)

A note is rewritten every time a file is successfully opened or saved, so saving a preset into a new folder also moves the next open there. A stale note (folder deleted) is ignored and the configured default is used again.

Using it from a module

Module authors wire a dialog into the memory with two calls. Load the remembered directory when building the dialog (passing the config value as the fallback), and save it back in the handler once a file is chosen:

import atomize.general_modules.last_dir as ldir

# when opening the dialog — start where the user left off, else the config default
filedialog = QFileDialog(self, 'Open File',
                         directory=ldir.load('data', self.open_dir),
                         filter="CSV (*.csv)")
...

# in the slot that receives the chosen file — remember its folder
def open_file(self, filename):
    self.open_dir = os.path.dirname(filename)
    ldir.save('data', self.open_dir)
    ...

API

load(key, default='') : Return the remembered directory for key, or default if nothing is stored yet or the stored path no longer exists. Never raises.

save(key, path) : Remember path (or its parent directory if path is a file) under key. Creates the storage location on first use. Never raises.

Pick a new key per logical category of dialog; dialogs that should share one working folder simply pass the same key.