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Directory.Move Method

.NET Framework 2.0

Other Versions

Moves a file or a directory and its contents to a new location.

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

Syntax

C++

Copy

public static void Move (
	string sourceDirName,
	string destDirName
)

Copy

public static void Move (
	String sourceDirName, 
	String destDirName
)

JScript

Copy

public static function Move (
	sourceDirName : String, 
	destDirName : String
)

Parameters

sourceDirName: The path of the file or directory to move.

destDirName: The path to the new location for sourceDirName.

Exceptions

Exception type	Condition
IOException	An attempt was made to move a directory to a different volume. -or- destDirName already exists. -or- The sourceDirName and destDirName parameters refer to the same file or directory.
UnauthorizedAccessException	The caller does not have the required permission.
ArgumentException	sourceDirName or destDirName is a zero-length string, contains only white space, or contains one or more invalid characters as defined by InvalidPathChars.
ArgumentNullException	sourceDirName or destDirName is a null reference (Nothing in Visual Basic).
PathTooLongException	The specified path, file name, or both exceed the system-defined maximum length. For example, on Windows-based platforms, paths must be less than 248 characters and file names must be less than 260 characters.
DirectoryNotFoundException	The path specified by sourceDirName is invalid (for example, it is on an unmapped drive).

Remarks

This method throws an IOException if, for example, you try to move c:\mydir to c:\public, and c:\public already exists. You must specify "c:\\public\\mydir" as the destDirName parameter, provided that "mydir" does not exist under "c:\\public", or specify a new directory name such as "c:\\newdir".

The sourceDirName and destDirName arguments are permitted to specify relative or absolute path information. Relative path information is interpreted as relative to the current working directory. To obtain the current working directory, see GetCurrentDirectory.

The following table lists examples of other typical or related I/O tasks.

To do this...	See the example in this topic...
Create a text file.	How to: Write Text to a File
Write to a text file.	How to: Write Text to a File
Read from a text file.	How to: Read Text from a File
Delete a directory.	Directory.Delete DirectoryInfo.Delete
Create a directory.	CreateDirectory Directory
Create a subdirectory.	CreateSubdirectory
See the files in a directory.	Name
See the subdirectories of a directory.	GetDirectories GetDirectories
See all the files in all subdirectories of a directory.	GetFileSystemInfos
Find the size of a directory.	Directory
Determine if a file exists.	Exists
Determine if a directory exists.	Exists

Example

C++

Copy

using System;

namespace GetFileSystemEntries
{
    class Class1 
    {
        static void Main(string[] args) 
        {
            Class1 snippets = new Class1();

            string path = System.IO.Directory.GetCurrentDirectory();
            string filter = "*.exe";

            snippets.PrintFileSystemEntries(path);
            snippets.PrintFileSystemEntries(path, filter);		
            snippets.GetLogicalDrives();
            snippets.GetParent(path);
            snippets.Move("C:\\proof", "C:\\Temp");
        }

		
        void PrintFileSystemEntries(string path) 
        {
			
            try 
            {
                // Obtain the file system entries in the directory path.
                string[] directoryEntries =
                    System.IO.Directory.GetFileSystemEntries(path); 

                foreach (string str in directoryEntries) 
                {
                    System.Console.WriteLine(str);
                }
            }
            catch (ArgumentNullException) 
            {
                System.Console.WriteLine("Path is a null reference.");
            }
            catch (System.Security.SecurityException) 
            {
                System.Console.WriteLine("The caller does not have the " +
                    "required permission.");
            }
            catch (ArgumentException) 
            {
                System.Console.WriteLine("Path is an empty string, " +
                    "contains only white spaces, " + 
                    "or contains invalid characters.");
            }
            catch (System.IO.DirectoryNotFoundException) 
            {
                System.Console.WriteLine("The path encapsulated in the " + 
                    "Directory object does not exist.");
            }
        }
        void PrintFileSystemEntries(string path, string pattern) 
        {
            try 
            {
                // Obtain the file system entries in the directory
                // path that match the pattern.
                string[] directoryEntries =
                    System.IO.Directory.GetFileSystemEntries(path, pattern); 

                foreach (string str in directoryEntries) 
                {
                    System.Console.WriteLine(str);
                }
            }
            catch (ArgumentNullException) 
            {
                System.Console.WriteLine("Path is a null reference.");
            }
            catch (System.Security.SecurityException) 
            {
                System.Console.WriteLine("The caller does not have the " +
                    "required permission.");
            }
            catch (ArgumentException) 
            {
                System.Console.WriteLine("Path is an empty string, " +
                    "contains only white spaces, " + 
                    "or contains invalid characters.");
            }
            catch (System.IO.DirectoryNotFoundException) 
            {
                System.Console.WriteLine("The path encapsulated in the " + 
                    "Directory object does not exist.");
            }
        }

        // Print out all logical drives on the system.
        void GetLogicalDrives() 
        {
            try 
            {
                string[] drives = System.IO.Directory.GetLogicalDrives();

                foreach (string str in drives) 
                {
                    System.Console.WriteLine(str);
                }
            }
            catch (System.IO.IOException) 
            {
                System.Console.WriteLine("An I/O error occurs.");
            }
            catch (System.Security.SecurityException) 
            {
                System.Console.WriteLine("The caller does not have the " +
                    "required permission.");
            }
        }
        void GetParent(string path) 
        {
            try 
            {
                System.IO.DirectoryInfo directoryInfo =
                    System.IO.Directory.GetParent(path);

                System.Console.WriteLine(directoryInfo.FullName);
            }
            catch (ArgumentNullException) 
            {
                System.Console.WriteLine("Path is a null reference.");
            }
            catch (ArgumentException) 
            {
                System.Console.WriteLine("Path is an empty string, " +
                    "contains only white spaces, or " +
                    "contains invalid characters.");
            }
        }
        void Move(string sourcePath, string destinationPath) 
        {
            try 
            {
                System.IO.Directory.Move(sourcePath, destinationPath);
                System.Console.WriteLine("The directory move is complete.");
            }
            catch (ArgumentNullException) 
            {
                System.Console.WriteLine("Path is a null reference.");
            }
            catch (System.Security.SecurityException) 
            {
                System.Console.WriteLine("The caller does not have the " +
                    "required permission.");
            }
            catch (ArgumentException) 
            {
                System.Console.WriteLine("Path is an empty string, " +
                    "contains only white spaces, " + 
                    "or contains invalid characters.");	
            }
            catch (System.IO.IOException) 
            {
                System.Console.WriteLine("An attempt was made to move a " +
                    "directory to a different " +
                    "volume, or destDirName " +
                    "already exists."); 
            }
        }
    }
}

Copy

package GetFileSystemEntries ;
import System.*;

class Class1
{
    public static void main(String[] args)
    {
        Class1 snippets = new Class1();

        String path = System.IO.Directory.GetCurrentDirectory();
        String filter = "*.exe";

        snippets.PrintFileSystemEntries(path);
        snippets.PrintFileSystemEntries(path, filter);
        snippets.GetLogicalDrives();
        snippets.GetParent(path);
        snippets.Move("C:\\proof", "C:\\Temp");
    } //main

    void PrintFileSystemEntries(String path)
    {
        try {
            // Obtain the file system entries in the directory path.
            String directoryEntries[] = 
                System.IO.Directory.GetFileSystemEntries(path);

            for (int iCtr = 0; iCtr < directoryEntries.length; iCtr++) {
                String str = directoryEntries[iCtr];
                System.Console.WriteLine(str);
            }
        }
        catch (ArgumentNullException exp) {
            System.Console.WriteLine("Path is a null reference.");
        }
        catch (System.Security.SecurityException exp) {
            System.Console.WriteLine(("The caller does not have the "
                + "required permission."));
        }
        catch (ArgumentException exp) {
            System.Console.WriteLine(("Path is an empty string, "
                + "contains only white spaces, "
                + "or contains invalid characters."));
        }
        catch (System.IO.DirectoryNotFoundException exp) {
            System.Console.WriteLine(("The path encapsulated in the "
                + "Directory object does not exist."));
        }
    } //PrintFileSystemEntries

    void PrintFileSystemEntries(String path, String pattern)
    {
        try {
            // Obtain the file system entries in the directory
            // path that match the pattern.
            String directoryEntries[] = 
                System.IO.Directory.GetFileSystemEntries(path, pattern);

            for (int iCtr = 0; iCtr < directoryEntries.length; iCtr++) {
                String str = directoryEntries[iCtr];
                System.Console.WriteLine(str);
            }
        }
        catch (ArgumentNullException exp) {
            System.Console.WriteLine("Path is a null reference.");
        }
        catch (System.Security.SecurityException exp) {
            System.Console.WriteLine(("The caller does not have the "
                + "required permission."));
        }
        catch (ArgumentException exp) {
            System.Console.WriteLine(("Path is an empty string, "
                + "contains only white spaces, "
                + "or contains invalid characters."));
        }
        catch (System.IO.DirectoryNotFoundException exp) {
            System.Console.WriteLine(("The path encapsulated in the "
                + "Directory object does not exist."));
        }
    } //PrintFileSystemEntries

    // Print out all logical drives on the system.
    void GetLogicalDrives()
    {
        try {
            String drives[] = System.IO.Directory.GetLogicalDrives();

            for (int iCtr = 0; iCtr < drives.length; iCtr++) {
                String str = drives[iCtr];
                System.Console.WriteLine(str);
            }
        }
        catch (System.IO.IOException exp) {
            System.Console.WriteLine("An I/O error occurs.");
        }
        catch (System.Security.SecurityException exp) {
            System.Console.WriteLine(("The caller does not have the "
                + "required permission."));
        }
    } //GetLogicalDrives

    void GetParent(String path)
    {
        try {
            System.IO.DirectoryInfo directoryInfo = 
                System.IO.Directory.GetParent(path);
            System.Console.WriteLine(directoryInfo.get_FullName());
        }
        catch (ArgumentNullException exp) {
            System.Console.WriteLine("Path is a null reference.");
        }
        catch (ArgumentException exp) {
            System.Console.WriteLine(("Path is an empty string, "
                +"contains only white spaces, or contains invalid characters."));
        }
    } //GetParent

    void Move(String sourcePath, String destinationPath)
    {
        try {
            System.IO.Directory.Move(sourcePath, destinationPath);
            System.Console.WriteLine("The directory move is complete.");
        }
        catch (ArgumentNullException exp) {
            System.Console.WriteLine("Path is a null reference.");
        }
        catch (System.Security.SecurityException exp) {
            System.Console.WriteLine(("The caller does not have the "
                + "required permission."));
        }
        catch (ArgumentException exp) {
            System.Console.WriteLine(("Path is an empty string, "
                +"contains only white spaces, or contains invalid characters."));
        }
        catch (System.IO.IOException exp) {
            System.Console.WriteLine(("An attempt was made to move a "
                + "directory to a different "
                + "volume, or destDirName "
                + "already exists."));
        }
    } //Move
} //Class1

.NET Framework Security

FileIOPermission for reading from sourceDirName and writing to sourceDirName and destDirName. Associated enumerations: FileIOPermissionAccess.Read, FileIOPermissionAccess.Write

Platforms

Windows 98, Windows 2000 SP4, Windows CE, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows Mobile for Pocket PC, Windows Mobile for Smartphone, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP SP2, Windows XP Starter Edition

The .NET Framework does not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see System Requirements.

Version Information

.NET Framework

Supported in: 2.0, 1.1, 1.0

.NET Compact Framework

Supported in: 2.0, 1.0

Reference

Directory Class
Directory Members
System.IO Namespace

Other Resources

File and Stream I/O
How to: Read Text from a File
How to: Write Text to a File

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