Changing the default folder in Emacs

Question

I am fairly new to Emacs and I have been trying to figure out how to change the default folder for C-x C-f on start-up. For instance when I first load Emacs and h

Answer 1

I have added to my shortcut (in Gnome, Linux) a pramater which is a blank dummy file name, and I specify the directory. Since my emacs defaults to "home" I simply say:

/Desktop/blank_file

and that opens a file called "blank_file"

That also moves the current working directory for that emacs session to the desktop.

If I happen to put stuff in "blank_file" then save it, of course, I've got that stuff saved. Which might be an annoyance or it might be a good thing, depending!