ChDir Function

Changes the current directory or folder.

The My feature provides you with greater productivity and performance in file I/O operations than the ChDir function. For more information, see My.Computer.FileSystem.CurrentDirectory Property

Public Sub ChDir(ByVal Path As String)

Parameters

  • Path
    Required. A String expression that identifies which directory or folder becomes the new default directory or folder. Path may include the drive. If no drive is specified, ChDir changes the default directory or folder on the current drive.

Exceptions

Exception type

Error number

Condition

ArgumentException

52

Path is empty.

FileNotFoundException

76

Invalid drive is specified, or drive is unavailable.

See the "Error number" column if you are upgrading Visual Basic 6.0 applications that use unstructured error handling. (You can compare the error number against the Number Property (Err Object).) However, when possible, you should consider replacing such error control with Structured Exception Handling Overview for Visual Basic.

Remarks

The ChDir function changes the default directory, but not the default drive. For example, if the default drive is C, the following statement changes the default directory on drive D, but C remains the default drive:

ChDir("D:\TMP")

Making relative directory changes is accomplished by typing two periods, as follows:

ChDir("..") ' Moves up one directory.
Security noteSecurity Note:

The ChDir function requires unmanaged code permission, which may affect its execution in partial-trust situations. For more information, see SecurityPermission Class and Code Access Permissions.

Example

This example uses the ChDir function to change the current directory or folder.

' Change current directory or folder to "MYDIR".
ChDir("MYDIR")

' Assume "C:" is the current drive. The following statement changes 
' the default directory on drive "D:". "C:" remains the current drive.
ChDir("D:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM")

Smart Device Developer Notes

This function is not supported.

Requirements

Namespace: Microsoft.VisualBasic

**Module:**FileSystem

Assembly: Visual Basic Runtime Library (in Microsoft.VisualBasic.dll)

See Also

Tasks

How to: Parse File Paths in Visual Basic

Reference

ChDrive Function

CurDir Function

Dir Function

MkDir Function

RmDir Function

ArgumentException

FileNotFoundException

Other Resources

Creating, Deleting, and Moving Files and Directories in Visual Basic