File.Exists Method

The Exists method should not be used for path validation, this method merely checks if the file specified in path exists. Passing an invalid path to Existsl returns false.

Be aware that another process can potentially do something with the file in between the time you call the Exists method and perform another operation on the file, such as Delete.

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.

If path describes a directory, this method returns false. Trailing spaces are removed from the path parameter before determining if the file exists.

The Exists method returns false if any error occurs while trying to determine if the specified file exists. This can occur in situations that raise exceptions such as passing a file name with invalid characters or too many characters, a failing or missing disk, or if the caller does not have permission tcpo read the file.

The following example determines if a file exists.

string curFile = @"c:\temp\test.txt";
Console.WriteLine(File.Exists(curFile) ? "File exists." : "File does not exist.");

• FileIOPermission 

  for reading from the specified file. Associated enumeration: FileIOPermissionAccess.Read

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.

.NET Framework

.NET Compact Framework

XNA Framework

Reference

Other Resources