title: Spring boot external properties file in "current directory" is ignored
body: <p><a href="http://docs.spring.io/spring-boot/docs/current/reference/html/boot-features-external-config.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">from the manual:</a></p>
  
  <blockquote>
    <p>24.3 Application property files SpringApplication will load properties from application.properties files in the following locations and add
    them to the Spring Environment:</p>
    
    <p>A /config subdirectory of the current directory.</p>
    
    <p>The current directory</p>
    
    <p>A classpath /config package</p>
    
    <p>The classpath root</p>
  </blockquote>
  
  <p>It mentions current directory twice but this really doesn't mean anything:</p>
  
  <p>I tried putting it in the root of my project (i.e. above <code>src</code> in the folder that matches the output of <code>java.io.File( "." ).getCanonicalPath()</code> and <code>System.getProperty("user.dir");</code>), and I tried putting it with the war files (i.e. in <code>build\libs</code>)</p>
  
  <p>But the only place to put it that actually works is the default location (<code>src\main\resources</code>).</p>
  
  <p>So what does "current directory" even mean and where do the files really go?</p>
  
  <p>I need to find the correct external location for the files so I don't have to build database credentials into the app.</p>
  
  <p>The guides say that putting <code>application.properties</code> in current directory will work and I found the exact current directory to put it in but it still doesn't work, which I can verify by the output of: <code>System.out.println(System.getProperty("spring.datasource.url"));</code> which is <code>null</code> It does output the correct value only with an embedded properties file. </p>