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File.Move Method

.NET Framework 4

Other Versions

Updated: August 2011

Moves a specified file to a new location, providing the option to specify a new file name.

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

Syntax

C++

Copy

public static void Move(
	string sourceFileName,
	string destFileName
)

Parameters

sourceFileName: Type: System.String
The name of the file to move.

destFileName: Type: System.String
The new path for the file.

Exceptions

Exception	Condition
IOException	The destination file already exists. -or- sourceFileName was not found.
ArgumentNullException	sourceFileName or destFileName is Nothing.
ArgumentException	sourceFileName or destFileName is a zero-length string, contains only white space, or contains invalid characters as defined in InvalidPathChars.
UnauthorizedAccessException	The caller does not have the required permission.
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 in sourceFileName or destFileName is invalid, (for example, it is on an unmapped drive).
NotSupportedException	sourceFileName or destFileName is in an invalid format.

Remarks

This method works across disk volumes, and it does not throw an exception if the source and destination are the same. Note that if you attempt to replace a file by moving a file of the same name into that directory, you get an IOException. You cannot use the Move method to overwrite an existing file.

The sourceFileName and destFileName 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.

If you try to move a file across disk volumes and that file is in use, the file is copied to the destination but not deleted from the source.

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

Examples

The following example moves a file.

C++

Copy


using System;
using System.IO;

class Test 
{
    public static void Main() 
    {
        string path = @"c:\temp\MyTest.txt";
        string path2 = @"c:\temp2\MyTest.txt";
        try 
        {
            if (!File.Exists(path)) 
            {
                // This statement ensures that the file is created,
                // but the handle is not kept.
                using (FileStream fs = File.Create(path)) {}
            }

            // Ensure that the target does not exist.
            if (File.Exists(path2))	
            File.Delete(path2);

            // Move the file.
            File.Move(path, path2);
            Console.WriteLine("{0} was moved to {1}.", path, path2);

            // See if the original exists now.
            if (File.Exists(path)) 
            {
                Console.WriteLine("The original file still exists, which is unexpected.");
            } 
            else 
            {
                Console.WriteLine("The original file no longer exists, which is expected.");
            }			

        } 
        catch (Exception e) 
        {
            Console.WriteLine("The process failed: {0}", e.ToString());
        }
    }
}

Version Information

.NET Framework

Supported in: 4, 3.5, 3.0, 2.0, 1.1, 1.0

.NET Framework Client Profile

Supported in: 4, 3.5 SP1

.NET Framework Security

FileIOPermission
for reading from sourceFileName and writing to destFileName. Associated enumerations: FileIOPermissionAccess.Read, FileIOPermissionAccess.Write

Platforms

Windows 7, Windows Vista SP1 or later, Windows XP SP3, Windows XP SP2 x64 Edition, Windows Server 2008 (Server Core not supported), Windows Server 2008 R2 (Server Core supported with SP1 or later), Windows Server 2003 SP2

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