FileSystem.Rename(String, String) Method

Definition

Namespace:

Microsoft.VisualBasic

Assembly:

Microsoft.VisualBasic.Core.dll

Source:

FileSystem.vb

Renames a disk file or directory. The My feature gives you better productivity and performance in file I/O operations than Rename. For more information, see FileSystem.

public:
 static void Rename(System::String ^ OldPath, System::String ^ NewPath);

[System.Runtime.Versioning.SupportedOSPlatform("windows")]
public static void Rename (string OldPath, string NewPath);

[<System.Runtime.Versioning.SupportedOSPlatform("windows")>]
static member Rename : string * string -> unit

Public Sub Rename (OldPath As String, NewPath As String)

Parameters

OldPath

String

Required. A string expression that specifies the existing file name and location. OldPath may include the directory, and drive, of the file.

NewPath

String

Required. A string expression that specifies the new file name and location. NewPath may include directory and drive of the destination location. The file name specified by NewPath cannot already exist.

Attributes

SupportedOSPlatformAttribute

Exceptions

ArgumentException

Path is invalid.

FileNotFoundException

OldPath file does not exist.

IOException

Cannot rename to different device.

Examples

This example uses the Rename function to rename a file. For purposes of this example, assume that the directories that are specified already exist.

Dim OldName, NewName As String
OldName = "OLDFILE"
' Define file names.
NewName = "NEWFILE"
' Rename file.
Rename(OldName, NewName)

OldName = "C:\OLDDIR\OLDFILE"
NewName = "C:\NEWDIR\NEWFILE"
' Move and rename file.
Rename(OldName, NewName)

Remarks

TheRename function renames a file and moves it to a different directory, if it is required. The Rename function can move a file across drives, but it can only rename an existing directory when both NewPath and OldPath are located on the same drive. Rename cannot create a new file or directory.

Using the Rename function on an open file produces an error. You must close an open file before renaming it. Rename arguments cannot include multiple-character (*) and single-character (?) wildcards.

Important

When using Rename to copy a file from an unprotected location to a protected location, the file retains the less restricted rights. Check to make sure that you are not introducing a possible security risk.

See also

• Kill(String)
• ArgumentException
• FileNotFoundException
• IOException
• How to: Rename a File in Visual Basic