Common I/O Tasks

The System.IO namespace provides several classes that allow for various actions, such as reading and writing, to be performed on files, directories, and streams. For more information, see File and Stream I/O.

Common File Tasks

To do this... See the example in this topic...
Create a text file File.CreateText method

FileInfo.CreateText method

File.Create method

FileInfo.Create method
Write to a text file How to: Write Text to a File

How to: Write a Text File (C++/CLI)
Read from a text file How to: Read Text from a File
Append text to a file How to: Open and Append to a Log File

File.AppendText method

FileInfo.AppendText method
Rename or move a file File.Move method

FileInfo.MoveTo method
Delete a file File.Delete method

FileInfo.Delete method
Copy a file File.Copy method

FileInfo.CopyTo method
Get the size of a file FileInfo.Length property
Get the attributes of a file File.GetAttributes method
Set the attributes of a file File.SetAttributes method
Determine whether a file exists File.Exists method
Read from a binary file How to: Read and Write to a Newly Created Data File
Write to a binary file How to: Read and Write to a Newly Created Data File
Retrieve a file name extension Path.GetExtension method
Retrieve the fully qualified path of a file Path.GetFullPath method
Retrieve the file name and extension from a path Path.GetFileName method
Change the extension of a file Path.ChangeExtension method

Common Directory Tasks

To do this... See the example in this topic...
Access a file in a special folder such as My Documents How to: Write Text to a File
Create a directory Directory.CreateDirectory method

FileInfo.Directory property
Create a subdirectory DirectoryInfo.CreateSubdirectory method
Rename or move a directory Directory.Move method

DirectoryInfo.MoveTo method
Copy a directory How to: Copy Directories
Delete a directory Directory.Delete method

DirectoryInfo.Delete method
See the files and subdirectories in a directory How to: Enumerate Directories and Files
Find the size of a directory System.IO.Directory class
Determine whether a directory exists Directory.Exists method

See also