Updated: October 2009
Returns the names of files in the specified directory that match the specified search pattern, using a value to determine whether to search subdirectories.
(in mscorlib.dll)
Visual Basic (Declaration)
Public Shared Function GetFiles ( _
path As String, _
searchPattern As String, _
searchOption As SearchOption _
) As String()
Dim path As String
Dim searchPattern As String
Dim searchOption As SearchOption
Dim returnValue As String()
returnValue = Directory.GetFiles(path, _
searchPattern, searchOption)
public static string[] GetFiles(
string path,
string searchPattern,
SearchOption searchOption
)
public:
static array<String^>^ GetFiles(
String^ path,
String^ searchPattern,
SearchOption searchOption
)
public static function GetFiles(
path : String,
searchPattern : String,
searchOption : SearchOption
) : String[]
Return Value
Type:
array<System..::.String>[]()[]A String array containing the names of files in the specified directory that match the specified search pattern. File names include the full path.
The file names include the full path.
If there are no files, or no files match the searchPattern parameter, this method returns an empty array.
The order of the returned file names is not guaranteed; use the Sort()()() method if a specific sort order is required.
The following wildcard specifiers are permitted in the searchPattern parameter.
Wildcard character | Description |
|---|
* | Zero or more characters. |
? | Exactly zero or one character. |
Characters other than the wildcard specifiers represent themselves. For example, the searchPattern string "*t" searches for all names in the path parameter ending with the letter "t". The searchPattern string "s*" searches for all names in path beginning with the letter "s".
.gif) Note: |
|---|
When using the asterisk wildcard character in a searchPattern, such as "*.txt", the matching behavior when the extension is exactly three characters long is different than when the extension is more or less than three characters long. A searchPattern with a file extension of exactly three characters returns files having an extension of three or more characters, where the first three characters match the file extension specified in the searchPattern. A searchPattern with a file extension of one, two, or more than three characters returns only files having extensions of exactly that length that match the file extension specified in the searchPattern. When using the question mark wildcard character, this method returns only files that match the specified file extension. For example, given two files, "file1.txt" and "file1.txtother", in a directory, a search pattern of "file?.txt" returns just the first file, while a search pattern of "file*.txt" returns both files. |
The following list shows the behavior of different lengths for the searchPattern parameter:
"*.abc" returns files having an extension of .abc, .abcd, .abcde, .abcdef, and so on.
"*.abcd" returns only files having an extension of .abcd.
"*.abcde" returns only files having an extension of .abcde.
"*.abcdef" returns only files having an extension of .abcdef.
| Note: |
|---|
Because this method checks against file names with both the 8.3 file name format and the long file name format, a search pattern similar to "*1*.txt" may return unexpected file names. For example, using a search pattern of "*1*.txt" returns "longfilename.txt" because the equivalent 8.3 file format is "LONGFI~1.TXT". |
The path parameter is 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 path parameter is not case-sensitive.
For a list of common I/O tasks, see Common I/O Tasks.
Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP SP2, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP Starter Edition, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2000 SP4, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows 98
The .NET Framework and .NET Compact Framework do not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see .NET Framework System Requirements.
.NET Framework
Supported in: 3.5, 3.0, 2.0
Reference
Other Resources