• Article

DirectoryInfo.EnumerateFiles Method (String, SearchOption)

Microsoft Silverlight will reach end of support after October 2021. Learn more.

When it is called by trusted applications, returns an enumerable collection of file information that matches a specified search pattern and search subdirectory option.

Namespace:  System.IO
Assembly:  mscorlib (in mscorlib.dll)

Syntax

'Declaration
Public Function EnumerateFiles ( _
    searchPattern As String, _
    searchOption As SearchOption _
) As IEnumerable(Of FileInfo)

public IEnumerable<FileInfo> EnumerateFiles(
    string searchPattern,
    SearchOption searchOption
)

Parameters

  • searchPattern
    Type: System.String
    The search string. The default pattern is "*", which returns all files.
  • searchOption
    Type: System.IO.SearchOption
    One of the enumeration values that specifies whether the search operation should include only the current directory or all subdirectories. The default value is TopDirectoryOnly.

Return Value

Type: System.Collections.Generic.IEnumerable<FileInfo>
An enumerable collection of files that matches searchPattern and searchOption.

Exceptions

Exception Condition
ArgumentNullException

searchPattern is nulla null reference (Nothing in Visual Basic).
ArgumentOutOfRangeException

searchOption is not a valid SearchOption value.
DirectoryNotFoundException

The path encapsulated in the FileInfo object is invalid (for example, it is on an unmapped drive).
SecurityException

The caller does not have the required permission.

Remarks

The following wildcard specifiers are permitted in the searchPattern parameter.

Wildcard character

Description

*

Zero or more characters.

?

Exactly one character.

Version Information

Silverlight

Supported in: 5, 4

Platforms

For a list of the operating systems and browsers that are supported by Silverlight, see Supported Operating Systems and Browsers.