Directory.Delete Method (String, Boolean) (System.IO)

Delete Method (String, Boolean)

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This page is specific to

Microsoft Visual Studio 2008/.NET Framework 3.5

Other versions are also available for the following:

.NET Framework Class Library

Directory..::.Delete Method (String, Boolean)

Deletes the specified directory and, if indicated, any subdirectories in the directory.

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

Syntax

Visual Basic (Declaration)

Public Shared Sub Delete ( _
    path As String, _
    recursive As Boolean _
)

Visual Basic (Usage)

Dim path As String
Dim recursive As Boolean

Directory.Delete(path, recursive)

public static void Delete(
    string path,
    bool recursive
)

Visual C++

public:
static void Delete(
    String^ path, 
    bool recursive
)

JScript

public static function Delete(
    path : String, 
    recursive : boolean
)

Parameters

path: Type: System..::.String
The name of the directory to remove.

recursive: Type: System..::.Boolean
true to remove directories, subdirectories, and files in path; otherwise, false.

Exceptions

Exception	Condition
IOException	A file with the same name and location specified by path exists. -or- The directory specified by path is read-only, or recursive is false and path is not an empty directory. -or- The directory is the application's current working directory.
UnauthorizedAccessException	The caller does not have the required permission. -or- The directory contains a read-only file.
ArgumentException	path is a zero-length string, contains only white space, or contains one or more invalid characters as defined by InvalidPathChars.
ArgumentNullException	path is nullNothingnullptra 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 specified path does not exist or could not be found. -or- The specified path is invalid (for example, it is on an unmapped drive).

Remarks

The path parameter may 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.

If the recursive parameter is true, the user must have write permission for the current directory as well as for all subdirectories.

The behavior of this method differs slightly when deleting a directory that contains a reparse point, such as a symbolic link or a mount point. If the reparse point is a directory, such as a mount point, it is unmounted and the mount point is deleted. This method does not recurse through the reparse point. If the reparse point is a symbolic link to a file, the reparse point is deleted and not the target of the symbolic link.

In some cases, if you have the specified directory open in Windows Explorer, the Delete method may not be able to delete it.

Windows Mobile for Pocket PC, Windows Mobile for Smartphone, Windows CE Platform Note: Some device file systems do not support relative paths. Specify absolute path information.

Examples

The following code example creates and deletes the specified directory and subdirectories.

Visual Basic

Imports System
Imports System.IO

Public Class Test
    Public Shared Sub Main()
        ' Specify the directories you want to manipulate.
        Dim path As String = "c:\MyDir"
        Dim subPath As String = "c:\MyDir\temp"

        Try
            ' Determine whether the directory exists.
            If Directory.Exists(path) = False Then
                ' Create the directory.
                Directory.CreateDirectory(path)
            End If

            ' Determine whether the directory exists.
            If Directory.Exists(subPath) = False Then
                ' Create the directory.
                Directory.CreateDirectory(subPath)
            End If

            'This will succeed because subdirectories are being deleted.
            Console.WriteLine("I am about to attempt to delete {0}", path)
            Directory.Delete(path, True)
            Console.WriteLine("The Delete operation was successful.")

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

using System;
using System.IO;

class Test 
{
    
    public static void Main() 
    {
        // Specify the directories you want to manipulate.
        string path = @"c:\MyDir";
        string subPath = @"c:\MyDir\temp";

        try 
        {
            // Determine whether the directory exists.
            if (!Directory.Exists(path)) 
            {
                // Create the directory.
                Directory.CreateDirectory(path);
            }


            if (!Directory.Exists(subPath)) 
            {
                // Create the directory.
                Directory.CreateDirectory(subPath);
            }

            // This will succeed because subdirectories are being deleted.
            Console.WriteLine("I am about to attempt to delete {0}", path);
            Directory.Delete(path, true);
            Console.WriteLine("The Delete operation was successful.");

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

Visual C++

using namespace System;
using namespace System::IO;
int main()
{

   // Specify the directories you want to manipulate.
   String^ path = "c:\\MyDir";
   String^ subPath = "c:\\MyDir\\temp";
   try
   {

      // Determine whether the directory exists.
      if (  !Directory::Exists( path ) )
      {

         // Create the directory.
         Directory::CreateDirectory( path );
      }
      if (  !Directory::Exists( subPath ) )
      {

         // Create the directory.
         Directory::CreateDirectory( subPath );
      }

      // This will succeed because subdirectories are being deleted.
      Console::WriteLine( "I am about to attempt to delete {0}", path );
      Directory::Delete( path, true );
      Console::WriteLine( "The Delete operation was successful." );
   }
   catch ( Exception^ e ) 
   {
      Console::WriteLine( "The process failed: {0}", e );
   }

}

.NET Framework Security

FileIOPermission
for writing to the specified directory. Associated enumeration: FileIOPermissionAccess..::.Write

Platforms

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, Windows CE, Windows Mobile for Smartphone, Windows Mobile for Pocket PC, Xbox 360, Zune

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.

Version Information

.NET Framework

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

.NET Compact Framework

Supported in: 3.5, 2.0, 1.0

XNA Framework

Supported in: 3.0, 2.0, 1.0

Reference

Other Resources

File and Stream I/O