FileInfo FileInfo FileInfo FileInfo Class

Definition

public ref class FileInfo sealed : System::IO::FileSystemInfo

[System.Runtime.InteropServices.ComVisible(true)]
[System.Serializable]
public sealed class FileInfo : System.IO.FileSystemInfo

type FileInfo = class
    inherit FileSystemInfo

Public NotInheritable Class FileInfo
Inherits FileSystemInfo

Inheritance

ObjectObjectObjectObject

MarshalByRefObjectMarshalByRefObjectMarshalByRefObjectMarshalByRefObject

FileSystemInfoFileSystemInfoFileSystemInfoFileSystemInfo

FileInfoFileInfoFileInfoFileInfo

Attributes

ComVisibleAttribute SerializableAttribute

Examples

The following example demonstrates some of the main members of the FileInfo class.

When the properties are first retrieved, FileInfo calls the Refresh method and caches information about the file. On subsequent calls, you must call Refresh to get the latest copy of the information.

using namespace System;
using namespace System::IO;

int main()
{
   String^ path = Path::GetTempFileName();
   FileInfo^ fi1 = gcnew FileInfo( path );
   //Create a file to write to.
   StreamWriter^ sw = fi1->CreateText();
   try
   {
	 sw->WriteLine( "Hello" );
	 sw->WriteLine( "And" );
	 sw->WriteLine( "Welcome" );
   }
   finally
   {
	 if ( sw )
		delete (IDisposable^)sw;
   }

   //Open the file to read from.
   StreamReader^ sr = fi1->OpenText();
   try
   {
      String^ s = "";
      while ( s = sr->ReadLine() )
      {
         Console::WriteLine( s );
      }
   }
   finally
   {
      if ( sr )
         delete (IDisposable^)sr;
   }

   try
   {
      String^ path2 = Path::GetTempFileName();
      FileInfo^ fi2 = gcnew FileInfo( path2 );

      //Ensure that the target does not exist.
      fi2->Delete();

      //Copy the file.
      fi1->CopyTo( path2 );
      Console::WriteLine( "{0} was copied to {1}.", path, path2 );

      //Delete the newly created file.
      fi2->Delete();
      Console::WriteLine( "{0} was successfully deleted.", path2 );
   }
   catch ( Exception^ e )
   {
      Console::WriteLine( "The process failed: {0}", e );
   }
}

using System;
using System.IO;

class Test 
{
	
    public static void Main() 
    {
        string path = Path.GetTempFileName();
        FileInfo fi1 = new FileInfo(path);

        //Create a file to write to.
        using (StreamWriter sw = fi1.CreateText()) 
        {
            sw.WriteLine("Hello");
            sw.WriteLine("And");
            sw.WriteLine("Welcome");
        }	

        //Open the file to read from.
        using (StreamReader sr = fi1.OpenText()) 
        {
            string s = "";
            while ((s = sr.ReadLine()) != null) 
            {
                Console.WriteLine(s);
            }
        }

        try 
        {
            string path2 = Path.GetTempFileName();
            FileInfo fi2 = new FileInfo(path2);

            //Ensure that the target does not exist.
            fi2.Delete();

            //Copy the file.
            fi1.CopyTo(path2);
            Console.WriteLine("{0} was copied to {1}.", path, path2);

            //Delete the newly created file.
            fi2.Delete();
            Console.WriteLine("{0} was successfully deleted.", path2);

        } 
        catch (Exception e) 
        {
            Console.WriteLine("The process failed: {0}", e.ToString());
        }
    }
}

Imports System
Imports System.IO

Public Class Test

    Public Shared Sub Main()
        Dim path1 As String = Path.GetTempFileName()
        Dim path2 As String = Path.GetTempFileName()
        Dim fi As FileInfo = New FileInfo(path1)

        'Create a file to write to.
        Dim sw As StreamWriter = fi.CreateText()

        sw.WriteLine("Hello")
        sw.WriteLine("And")
        sw.WriteLine("Welcome")
        sw.Flush()
        sw.Close()

        Try
            'Open the file to read from.
            Dim sr As StreamReader = fi.OpenText()

            Do While sr.Peek() >= 0
                Console.WriteLine(sr.ReadLine())
            Loop
            sr.Close()
            Dim fi2 As FileInfo = New FileInfo(path2)

            'Ensure that the target does not exist.
            fi2.Delete()

            'Copy the file.
            fi.CopyTo(path2)
            Console.WriteLine("{0} was copied to {1}.", path1, path2)

            'Delete the newly created file.
            fi2.Delete()
            Console.WriteLine("{0} was successfully deleted.", path2)

        Catch e As Exception
            Console.WriteLine("The process failed: {0}.", e.ToString())
        End Try
    End Sub
End Class

This example produces output similar to the following.

Hello  
And  
Welcome  
C:\Users\userName\AppData\Local\Temp\tmp70AB.tmp was copied to C:\Users\userName\AppData\Local\Temp\tmp70CB.tmp.  
C:\Users\userName\AppData\Local\Temp\tmp70CB.tmp was successfully deleted.  

Remarks

Use the FileInfo class for typical operations such as copying, moving, renaming, creating, opening, deleting, and appending to files.

If you are performing multiple operations on the same file, it can be more efficient to use FileInfo instance methods instead of the corresponding static methods of the File class, because a security check will not always be necessary.

Many of the FileInfo methods return other I/O types when you create or open files. You can use these other types to further manipulate a file. For more information, see specific FileInfo members such as Open, OpenRead, OpenText, CreateText, or Create.

By default, full read/write access to new files is granted to all users.

The following table describes the enumerations that are used to customize the behavior of various FileInfo methods.

In members that accept a path, the path can refer to a file or just a directory. The specified path can also refer to a relative path or a Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path for a server and share name. For example, all the following are acceptable paths:

• "c:\\MyDir\\MyFile.txt" in C#, or "c:\MyDir\MyFile.txt" in Visual Basic.

• "c:\\MyDir" in C#, or "c:\MyDir" in Visual Basic.

• "MyDir\\MySubdir" in C#, or "MyDir\MySubDir" in Visual Basic.

• "\\\\MyServer\\MyShare" in C#, or "\\MyServer\MyShare" in Visual Basic.

The FileInfo class provides the following properties that enable you to retrieve information about a file. For an example of how to use each property, see the property pages.

• The Directory property retrieves an object that represents the parent directory of a file.

• The DirectoryName property retrieves the full path of the parent directory of a file.

• The Exists property checks for the presence of a file before operating on it.

• The IsReadOnly property retrieves or sets a value that specifies whether a file can be modified.

• The Length retrieves the size of a file.

• The Name retrieves the name of a file.

Constructors

Properties

Methods

Fields

Extension Methods

Applies to

See also

• FileSystemWatcher
• DriveInfo
• File and Stream I/O
• How to: Read Text from a File
• How to: Write Text to a File
• How to: Read and Write to a Newly Created Data File