.NET Framework Class Library
File..::.Exists Method

Determines whether the specified file exists.

Namespace:  System.IO
Assembly:  mscorlib (in mscorlib.dll)
Syntax
Visual Basic (Declaration) 
Public Shared Function Exists ( _
    path As String _
) As Boolean
Visual Basic (Usage) 
Dim path As String
Dim returnValue As Boolean

returnValue = File.Exists(path)
C# 
public static bool Exists(
    string path
)
Visual C++ 
public:
static bool Exists(
    String^ path
)
JScript 
public static function Exists(
    path : String
) : boolean

Parameters

path
Type: System..::.String
The file to check.

Return Value

Type: System..::.Boolean
true if the caller has the required permissions and path contains the name of an existing file; otherwise, false. This method also returns false if path is nullNothingnullptra null reference (Nothing in Visual Basic), an invalid path, or a zero-length string. If the caller does not have sufficient permissions to read the specified file, no exception is thrown and the method returns false regardless of the existence of path.
Remarks

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.
Examples

The following example determines if a file exists.

Visual Basic 
Dim curFile As String = "c:\temp\test.txt"
Console.WriteLine(If(File.Exists(curFile), "File exists.", "File does not exist."))
C# 
string curFile = @"c:\temp\test.txt";
Console.WriteLine(File.Exists(curFile) ? "File exists." : "File does not exist.");
.NET Framework Security
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
See Also

Reference

File Class
File 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
Tags :


Community Content

Thomas Lee
What try...catch block?
The text says that "A recommended programming practice is to wrap the Exists method, and the operations you take on the file, in a try...catch block as shown in the example" but the example does not use a try...catch block.
Tags : contentbug

Thomas Lee
Sample using PowerShell
  
<#
.SYNOPSIS
    This script displays the usage of the Exists and the
    copy methods of System.IP.File 
.DESCRIPTION
    This script sets up two file names, then checks to see if
    the sorucefile exists. if so, it's copied to a new file.
.NOTES
    File Name  : copy-file.ps1
    Author     : Thomas Lee - tfl@psp.co.uk
    Requires   : PowerShell V2 CTP3
.LINK
    This script posted to:
     http://www.pshscripts.blogspot.com
    MSDN Sample posted at:
     http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.io.file.exists.aspx
#>
  
##
# start of script
##
  
# Setup source and destination files
$SourceFile = "c:\foo\Test.txt";
$NewFile    = "c:\foo\Test2.txt";
  
# Now - check to see if $Sourcefile exists, and if so,
# copy it to $newfile 
if ([System.IO.File]::Exists($SourceFile))  {
   [System.IO.File]::Copy($SourceFile, $NewFile)
   "Source File ($SourceFile) copied to ($newFile)"
}
else {
"Source file ($Sourcefile) does not exist."
}
# End of script

joshzilla
wrong example description
The description to an example reads "The following example uses the Exists method to help ensure that a file is not overwritten."
But all the example does is make sure the source file exists, happily overwriting any existing files.
Tags : contentbug

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