DirectoryInfo Class

Definition

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

public sealed class DirectoryInfo : System.IO.FileSystemInfo

[System.Serializable]
public sealed class DirectoryInfo : System.IO.FileSystemInfo

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

type DirectoryInfo = class
    inherit FileSystemInfo

[<System.Serializable>]
type DirectoryInfo = class
    inherit FileSystemInfo

[<System.Serializable>]
[<System.Runtime.InteropServices.ComVisible(true)>]
type DirectoryInfo = class
    inherit FileSystemInfo

Public NotInheritable Class DirectoryInfo
Inherits FileSystemInfo

Inheritance

Object

FileSystemInfo

DirectoryInfo

Inheritance

Object

MarshalByRefObject

FileSystemInfo

DirectoryInfo

Attributes

SerializableAttribute ComVisibleAttribute

Examples

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

using namespace System;
using namespace System::IO;
int main()
{
   
   // Specify the directories you want to manipulate.
   DirectoryInfo^ di = gcnew DirectoryInfo( "c:\\MyDir" );
   try
   {
      
      // Determine whether the directory exists.
      if ( di->Exists )
      {
         
         // Indicate that the directory already exists.
         Console::WriteLine( "That path exists already." );
         return 0;
      }
      
      // Try to create the directory.
      di->Create();
      Console::WriteLine( "The directory was created successfully." );
      
      // Delete the directory.
      di->Delete();
      Console::WriteLine( "The directory was deleted successfully." );
   }
   catch ( Exception^ e ) 
   {
      Console::WriteLine( "The process failed: {0}", e );
   }

}

using System;
using System.IO;

class Test
{
    public static void Main()
    {
        // Specify the directories you want to manipulate.
        DirectoryInfo di = new DirectoryInfo(@"c:\MyDir");
        try
        {
            // Determine whether the directory exists.
            if (di.Exists)
            {
                // Indicate that the directory already exists.
                Console.WriteLine("That path exists already.");
                return;
            }

            // Try to create the directory.
            di.Create();
            Console.WriteLine("The directory was created successfully.");

            // Delete the directory.
            di.Delete();
            Console.WriteLine("The directory was deleted successfully.");
        }
        catch (Exception e)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("The process failed: {0}", e.ToString());
        }
        finally {}
    }
}

open System.IO

// Specify the directories you want to manipulate.
let di = DirectoryInfo @"c:\MyDir"
try
    // Determine whether the directory exists.
    if di.Exists then
        // Indicate that the directory already exists.
        printfn "That path exists already."
    else
        // Try to create the directory.
        di.Create()
        printfn "The directory was created successfully."

        // Delete the directory.
        di.Delete()
        printfn "The directory was deleted successfully."
with e ->
    printfn $"The process failed: {e}"

Imports System.IO

Public Class Test
    Public Shared Sub Main()
        ' Specify the directories you want to manipulate.
        Dim di As DirectoryInfo = New DirectoryInfo("c:\MyDir")
        Try
            ' Determine whether the directory exists.
            If di.Exists Then
                ' Indicate that it already exists.
                Console.WriteLine("That path exists already.")
                Return
            End If

            ' Try to create the directory.
            di.Create()
            Console.WriteLine("The directory was created successfully.")

            ' Delete the directory.
            di.Delete()
            Console.WriteLine("The directory was deleted successfully.")

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

The following example demonstrates how to copy a directory and its contents.

using System;
using System.IO;

class CopyDir
{
    public static void CopyAll(DirectoryInfo source, DirectoryInfo target)
    {
        if (source.FullName.ToLower() == target.FullName.ToLower())
        {
            return;
        }

        // Check if the target directory exists, if not, create it.
        if (!Directory.Exists(target.FullName))
        {
            Directory.CreateDirectory(target.FullName);
        }

        // Copy each file into it's new directory.
        foreach (FileInfo fi in source.GetFiles())
        {
            Console.WriteLine(@"Copying {0}\{1}", target.FullName, fi.Name);
            fi.CopyTo(Path.Combine(target.ToString(), fi.Name), true);
        }

        // Copy each subdirectory using recursion.
        foreach (DirectoryInfo diSourceSubDir in source.GetDirectories())
        {
            DirectoryInfo nextTargetSubDir =
                target.CreateSubdirectory(diSourceSubDir.Name);
            CopyAll(diSourceSubDir, nextTargetSubDir);
        }
    }

    public static void Main()
    {
        string sourceDirectory = @"c:\sourceDirectory";
        string targetDirectory = @"c:\targetDirectory";

        DirectoryInfo diSource = new DirectoryInfo(sourceDirectory);
        DirectoryInfo diTarget = new DirectoryInfo(targetDirectory);

        CopyAll(diSource, diTarget);
    }

    // Output will vary based on the contents of the source directory.
}

open System.IO

let rec copyAll (source: DirectoryInfo) (target: DirectoryInfo) =
    if source.FullName.ToLower() <> target.FullName.ToLower() then
        // Check if the target directory exists, if not, create it.
        if not (Directory.Exists target.FullName) then
            Directory.CreateDirectory target.FullName |> ignore

        // Copy each file into it's new directory.
        for fi in source.GetFiles() do
            printfn $@"Copying {target.FullName}\{fi.Name}"
            fi.CopyTo(Path.Combine(string target, fi.Name), true) |> ignore

        // Copy each subdirectory using recursion.
        for diSourceSubDir in source.GetDirectories() do
            target.CreateSubdirectory diSourceSubDir.Name
            |> copyAll diSourceSubDir

let sourceDirectory = @"c:\sourceDirectory"
let targetDirectory = @"c:\targetDirectory"

let diSource = DirectoryInfo sourceDirectory
let diTarget = DirectoryInfo targetDirectory

copyAll diSource diTarget

// Output will vary based on the contents of the source directory.

Imports System.IO

Class CopyDir
    Shared Sub CopyAll(ByVal source As DirectoryInfo, ByVal target As DirectoryInfo)
        If (source.FullName.ToLower() = target.FullName.ToLower()) Then
            Return
        End If

        ' Check if the target directory exists, if not, create it.
        If Directory.Exists(target.FullName) = False Then
            Directory.CreateDirectory(target.FullName)
        End If

        ' Copy each file into it's new directory.
        For Each fi As FileInfo In source.GetFiles()
            Console.WriteLine("Copying {0}\{1}", target.FullName, fi.Name)
            fi.CopyTo(Path.Combine(target.ToString(), fi.Name), True)
        Next

        ' Copy each subdirectory using recursion.
        For Each diSourceSubDir As DirectoryInfo In source.GetDirectories()
            Dim nextTargetSubDir As DirectoryInfo = target.CreateSubdirectory(diSourceSubDir.Name)
            CopyAll(diSourceSubDir, nextTargetSubDir)
        Next
    End Sub

    Shared Sub Main()
        Dim sourceDirectory As String = "c:\\sourceDirectory"
        Dim targetDirectory As String = "c:\\targetDirectory"

        Dim diSource As DirectoryInfo = New DirectoryInfo(sourceDirectory)
        Dim diTarget As DirectoryInfo = New DirectoryInfo(targetDirectory)

        CopyAll(diSource, diTarget)
    End Sub
    ' Output will vary based on the contents of the source directory.
End Class

Remarks

Use the DirectoryInfo class for typical operations such as copying, moving, renaming, creating, and deleting directories.

If you are going to reuse an object several times, consider using the instance method of DirectoryInfo instead of the corresponding static methods of the Directory class, because a security check will not always be necessary.

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.

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

For a list of common I/O tasks, see Common I/O Tasks.

Constructors

Fields

Properties

Methods

Extension Methods

Applies to

See also

• File
• Attributes
• FileSystemWatcher
• Directory
• Path
• 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