Provides instance methods for the creation, copying, deletion, moving, and opening of files, and aids in the creation of
FileStream objects. This class cannot be inherited.
Namespace: System.IO
Assembly: mscorlib (in mscorlib.dll)
Visual Basic (Declaration)
<SerializableAttribute> _
<ComVisibleAttribute(True)> _
Public NotInheritable Class FileInfo
Inherits FileSystemInfo
[SerializableAttribute]
[ComVisibleAttribute(true)]
public sealed class FileInfo : FileSystemInfo
[SerializableAttribute]
[ComVisibleAttribute(true)]
public ref class FileInfo sealed : public FileSystemInfo
/** @attribute SerializableAttribute() */
/** @attribute ComVisibleAttribute(true) */
public final class FileInfo extends FileSystemInfo
SerializableAttribute
ComVisibleAttribute(true)
public final class FileInfo extends FileSystemInfo
Use the FileInfo class for typical operations such as copying, moving, renaming, creating, opening, deleting, and appending to files.
Many of the FileInfo methods return other I/O types when you create or open files. You can use these other types to further manipulate a file. For more information, see specific FileInfo members such as Open, OpenRead, OpenText, CreateText, or Create.
If you are going to reuse an object several times, consider using the instance method of FileInfo instead of the corresponding static methods of the File class, because a security check will not always be necessary.
By default, full read/write access to new files is granted to all users.
The following table describes the enumerations that are used to customize the behavior of various FileInfo methods.
| Enumeration | Description |
| FileAccess | Specifies read and write access to a file. |
| FileShare | Specifies the level of access permitted for a file that is already in use. |
| FileMode | Specifies whether the contents of an existing file are preserved or overwritten, and whether requests to create an existing file cause an exception. |
Note |
|---|
| In members that accept a path as an input string, that path must be well-formed or an exception is raised. For example, if a path is fully qualified but begins with a space, the path is not trimmed in methods of the class. Therefore, the path is malformed and an exception is raised. Similarly, a path or a combination of paths cannot be fully qualified twice. For example, "c:\temp c:\windows" also raises an exception in most cases. Ensure that your paths are well-formed when using methods that accept a path string. |
In members that accept a path, the path can refer to a file or just a directory. The specified path can also refer to a relative path or a Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path for a server and share name. For example, all the following are acceptable paths:
-
"c:\\MyDir\\MyFile.txt" in C#, or "c:\MyDir\MyFile.txt" in Visual Basic.
-
"c:\\MyDir" in C#, or "c:\MyDir" in Visual Basic.
-
"MyDir\\MySubdir" in C#, or "MyDir\MySubDir" in Visual Basic.
-
"\\\\MyServer\\MyShare" in C#, or "\\MyServer\MyShare" in Visual Basic.
The following table lists examples of other typical or related I/O tasks.
Windows Mobile for Pocket PC,
Windows Mobile for Smartphone,
Windows CE Platform Note:
Because file systems for devices operate differently, the .NET Compact Framework does not support getting or setting file attributes.
The following example demonstrates some of the main members of the FileInfo class.
Imports System
Imports System.IO
Public Class Test
Public Shared Sub Main()
Dim path1 As String = Path.GetTempFileName()
Dim path2 As String = Path.GetTempFileName()
Dim fi As FileInfo = New FileInfo(path1)
If fi.Exists = False Then
'Create a file to write to.
Dim sw As StreamWriter = fi.CreateText()
sw.WriteLine("Hello")
sw.WriteLine("And")
sw.WriteLine("Welcome")
sw.Flush()
sw.Close()
End If
Try
'Open the file to read from.
Dim sr As StreamReader = fi.OpenText()
Do While sr.Peek() >= 0
Console.WriteLine(sr.ReadLine())
Loop
sr.Close()
Dim fi2 As FileInfo = New FileInfo(path2)
'Ensure that the target does not exist.
fi2.Delete()
'Copy the file.
fi.CopyTo(path2)
Console.WriteLine("{0} was copied to {1}.", path1, path2)
'Delete the newly created file.
fi2.Delete()
Console.WriteLine("{0} was successfully deleted.", path2)
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()
{
string path = Path.GetTempFileName();
FileInfo fi1 = new FileInfo(path);
if (!fi1.Exists)
{
//Create a file to write to.
using (StreamWriter sw = fi1.CreateText())
{
sw.WriteLine("Hello");
sw.WriteLine("And");
sw.WriteLine("Welcome");
}
}
//Open the file to read from.
using (StreamReader sr = fi1.OpenText())
{
string s = "";
while ((s = sr.ReadLine()) != null)
{
Console.WriteLine(s);
}
}
try
{
string path2 = Path.GetTempFileName();
FileInfo fi2 = new FileInfo(path2);
//Ensure that the target does not exist.
fi2.Delete();
//Copy the file.
fi1.CopyTo(path2);
Console.WriteLine("{0} was copied to {1}.", path, path2);
//Delete the newly created file.
fi2.Delete();
Console.WriteLine("{0} was successfully deleted.", path2);
}
catch (Exception e)
{
Console.WriteLine("The process failed: {0}", e.ToString());
}
}
}
using namespace System;
using namespace System::IO;
int main()
{
String^ path = Path::GetTempFileName();
FileInfo^ fi1 = gcnew FileInfo( path );
if ( !fi1->Exists )
{
//Create a file to write to.
StreamWriter^ sw = fi1->CreateText();
try
{
sw->WriteLine( "Hello" );
sw->WriteLine( "And" );
sw->WriteLine( "Welcome" );
}
finally
{
if ( sw )
delete (IDisposable^)sw;
}
}
//Open the file to read from.
StreamReader^ sr = fi1->OpenText();
try
{
String^ s = "";
while ( s = sr->ReadLine() )
{
Console::WriteLine( s );
}
}
finally
{
if ( sr )
delete (IDisposable^)sr;
}
try
{
String^ path2 = Path::GetTempFileName();
FileInfo^ fi2 = gcnew FileInfo( path2 );
//Ensure that the target does not exist.
fi2->Delete();
//Copy the file.
fi1->CopyTo( path2 );
Console::WriteLine( "{0} was copied to {1}.", path, path2 );
//Delete the newly created file.
fi2->Delete();
Console::WriteLine( "{0} was successfully deleted.", path2 );
}
catch ( Exception^ e )
{
Console::WriteLine( "The process failed: {0}", e );
}
}
import System.*;
import System.IO.*;
class Test
{
public static void main(String[] args)
{
String path = "c:\\temp\\MyTest.txt";
FileInfo fi1 = new FileInfo(path);
if (!(fi1.get_Exists())) {
//Create a file to write to.
StreamWriter sw = fi1.CreateText();
try {
sw.WriteLine("Hello");
sw.WriteLine("And");
sw.WriteLine("Welcome");
}
finally {
sw.Dispose();
}
}
//Open the file to read from.
StreamReader sr = fi1.OpenText();
try {
String s = "";
while ((s = sr.ReadLine())!= null) {
Console.WriteLine(s);
}
}
finally {
sr.Dispose();
}
try {
String path2 = path + "temp";
FileInfo fi2 = new FileInfo(path2);
//Ensure that the target does not exist.
fi2.Delete();
//Copy the file.
fi1.CopyTo(path2);
Console.WriteLine("{0} was copied to {1}.", path, path2);
//Delete the newly created file.
fi2.Delete();
Console.WriteLine("{0} was successfully deleted.", path2);
}
catch (System.Exception e) {
Console.WriteLine("The process failed: {0}", e.ToString());
}
} //main
} //Test
System.Object
System.MarshalByRefObject
System.IO.FileSystemInfo
System.IO.FileInfo
Any public static (Shared in Visual Basic) members of this type are thread safe. Any instance members are not guaranteed to be thread safe.
Windows 98, Windows 2000 SP4, Windows CE, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows Mobile for Pocket PC, Windows Mobile for Smartphone, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP SP2, Windows XP Starter Edition
The .NET Framework does not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see System Requirements.
.NET Framework
Supported in: 2.0, 1.1, 1.0
.NET Compact Framework
Supported in: 2.0, 1.0