Hey all…
When I run packer via a specified path (not in my current working directory), it does not seem to be able to find files, such as the userdata file (for the AWS provider) in that directory. An example of the command line and file structure I’m using is below.
Command Line:
C:\Users\User\TempFolder\PackerFiles\packer.exe build -timestamp-ui C:\Users\User\TempFolder\PackerFiles
Files:
C:\Users\User\TempFolder\PackerFiles\packer.exe
C:\Users\User\TempFolder\PackerFiles\packerhcl.pkr.hcl
C:\Users\User\TempFolder\PackerFiles\userdatafile.txt
If I make that path the current working directory, everything works fine via the command:
.\packer.exe build -timestamp-ui .
The problem is, I do not want to change to that as the working directory. I want to refer to the packer exe and the files from a different working directory… It just has issues finding “files” such as the userdata file, all of the other variables resolve just fine.
If anyone has any ideas I would appreciate hearing them. 
Thanks!