--- a/Constants.cs	Tue Jun 26 20:09:01 2012 +0100
+++ b/Constants.cs	Sat Jul 14 15:24:17 2012 +0100
@@ -14,28 +14,55 @@
 	{
 		public static readonly char DirectoryChar = Path.DirectorySeparatorChar;
 		public static readonly string DirectoryString = Path.DirectorySeparatorChar.ToString();
-		private static string executablePath = AppDomain.CurrentDomain.BaseDirectory.TrimEnd(DirectoryChar);
+		private static string executablePath;        
+		private static string userDataPath;
+		private static bool initialised;
 
 		static Constants()
 		{
-            string appDataDir = Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.ApplicationData);
-			string exe = Environment.GetCommandLineArgs()[0];
-			exe = Path.GetFileNameWithoutExtension(exe);
-            userDataPath = Path.Combine(Path.Combine(appDataDir, "IBBoard"), exe);
+			if (AppDomain.CurrentDomain.BaseDirectory != null && Environment.GetCommandLineArgs() != null)
+			{
+				string exe = Environment.GetCommandLineArgs()[0];
+				Initialise(Path.GetFileNameWithoutExtension(exe), AppDomain.CurrentDomain.BaseDirectory);
+			}
+		}
+
+		private static void Initialise(string appName, string baseDir)
+		{
+			string appDataDir = Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.ApplicationData);
+			userDataPath = Path.Combine(Path.Combine(appDataDir, "IBBoard"), appName);
+			executablePath = baseDir;
+			initialised = true;
+		}
+
+		public static void Initialise(string appName)
+		{
+			if (initialised)
+			{
+				throw new InvalidOperationException("IBBoard.Constants have already been initialised");
+			}
+
+			Initialise(appName, "");
 		}
 
 		/// <summary>
 		/// Gets the path of the directory that contains the executable.
 		/// </summary>
 		/// <value>
-		/// The path that the executable is in.
+		/// The path that the executable is in, or an empty string if it cannot be determined
 		/// </value>
 		public static string ExecutablePath
 		{
-			get { return executablePath; }
+			get
+			{ 
+				if (!initialised)
+				{
+					throw new InvalidOperationException("IBBoard.Constants have not been initialised");
+				}
+
+				return executablePath; 
+			}
 		}
-		
-		private static string userDataPath;
 
 		/// <summary>
 		/// Gets the standard user data path for this app. This follows a convention of using the app name for the folder
@@ -46,7 +73,15 @@
 		/// </value>
 		public static string UserDataPath
 		{
-			get { return userDataPath; }
+			get
+			{
+				if (!initialised)
+				{
+					throw new InvalidOperationException("IBBoard.Constants have not been initialised");
+				}
+
+				return userDataPath;
+			}
 		}
 	}
 }