Updated: December 2010
Gets or sets the filter string used to determine what files are monitored in a directory.
Assembly: System (in System.dll)
<SettingsBindableAttribute(True)> _
<IODescriptionAttribute("FSW_Filter")> _
<TypeConverterAttribute("System.Diagnostics.Design.StringValueConverter, System.Design, Version=4.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a")> _
Public Property Filter As String[SettingsBindableAttribute(true)]
[IODescriptionAttribute("FSW_Filter")]
[TypeConverterAttribute("System.Diagnostics.Design.StringValueConverter, System.Design, Version=4.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a")]
public string Filter { get; set; }[SettingsBindableAttribute(true)]
[IODescriptionAttribute(L"FSW_Filter")]
[TypeConverterAttribute(L"System.Diagnostics.Design.StringValueConverter, System.Design, Version=4.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a")]
public:
property String^ Filter {
String^ get ();
void set (String^ value);
}[<SettingsBindableAttribute(true)>]
[<IODescriptionAttribute("FSW_Filter")>]
[<TypeConverterAttribute("System.Diagnostics.Design.StringValueConverter, System.Design, Version=4.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a")>]
member Filter : string with get, set
To watch changes in all files, set the Filter property to an empty string (""). To watch a specific file, set the Filter property to the file name. For example, to watch for changes in the file MyDoc.txt, set the Filter property to "MyDoc.txt". You can also watch for changes in a certain type of file. For example, to watch for changes in any text files, set the Filter property to "*.txt". Use of multiple filters such as "*.txt|*.doc" is not supported.
The Filter property can be changed after the FileSystemWatcher object has started receiving events.
For more information about filtering out unwanted notifications, see the NotifyFilter, IncludeSubdirectories, and InternalBufferSize properties.
Filter accepts wildcards for matching files, as shown in the following examples.
Filter string | Watches the following files |
|---|---|
*.* | All files (default). An empty string ("") also watches all files. |
*.txt | All files with a "txt" extension. |
*recipe.doc | All files ending in "recipe" with a "doc" extension. |
win*.xml | All files beginning with "win" with an "xml" extension. |
Sales*200?.xls | Matches the following: Sales July 2001.xlsSales Aug 2002.xlsSales March 2004.xls but does not match: Sales Nov 1999.xls |
MyReport.Doc | Watches only MyReport.doc |
The following example creates a FileSystemWatcher to watch the directory specified at run time. The component is set to watch for changes in LastWrite and LastAccess time, the creation, deletion, or renaming of text files in the directory. If a file is changed, created, or deleted, the path to the file prints to the console. When a file is renamed, the old and new paths print to the console.
Use the System.Diagnostics and System.IO namespaces for this example.
Imports System
Imports System.IO
Imports Microsoft.VisualBasic
Imports System.Security.Permissions
Public Class Watcher
Public Shared Sub Main()
Run()
End Sub
<PermissionSet(SecurityAction.Demand, Name:="FullTrust")> _
Private Shared Sub Run
Dim args() As String = System.Environment.GetCommandLineArgs()
' If a directory is not specified, exit the program.
If args.Length <> 2 Then
' Display the proper way to call the program.
Console.WriteLine("Usage: Watcher.exe (directory)")
Return
End If
' Create a new FileSystemWatcher and set its properties.
Dim watcher As New FileSystemWatcher()
watcher.Path = args(1)
' Watch for changes in LastAccess and LastWrite times, and
' the renaming of files or directories.
watcher.NotifyFilter = (NotifyFilters.LastAccess Or NotifyFilters.LastWrite Or NotifyFilters.FileName Or NotifyFilters.DirectoryName)
' Only watch text files.
watcher.Filter = "*.txt"
' Add event handlers.
AddHandler watcher.Changed, AddressOf OnChanged
AddHandler watcher.Created, AddressOf OnChanged
AddHandler watcher.Deleted, AddressOf OnChanged
AddHandler watcher.Renamed, AddressOf OnRenamed
' Begin watching.
watcher.EnableRaisingEvents = True
' Wait for the user to quit the program.
Console.WriteLine("Press 'q' to quit the sample.")
While Chr(Console.Read()) <> "q"c
End While
End Sub
' Define the event handlers.
Private Shared Sub OnChanged(source As Object, e As FileSystemEventArgs)
' Specify what is done when a file is changed, created, or deleted.
Console.WriteLine("File: " & e.FullPath & " " & e.ChangeType)
End Sub
Private Shared Sub OnRenamed(source As Object, e As RenamedEventArgs)
' Specify what is done when a file is renamed.
Console.WriteLine("File: {0} renamed to {1}", e.OldFullPath, e.FullPath)
End Sub
End Class
using System;
using System.IO;
using System.Security.Permissions;
public class Watcher
{
public static void Main()
{
Run();
}
[PermissionSet(SecurityAction.Demand, Name="FullTrust")]
public static void Run()
{
string[] args = System.Environment.GetCommandLineArgs();
// If a directory is not specified, exit program.
if(args.Length != 2)
{
// Display the proper way to call the program.
Console.WriteLine("Usage: Watcher.exe (directory)");
return;
}
// Create a new FileSystemWatcher and set its properties.
FileSystemWatcher watcher = new FileSystemWatcher();
watcher.Path = args[1];
/* Watch for changes in LastAccess and LastWrite times, and
the renaming of files or directories. */
watcher.NotifyFilter = NotifyFilters.LastAccess | NotifyFilters.LastWrite
| NotifyFilters.FileName | NotifyFilters.DirectoryName;
// Only watch text files.
watcher.Filter = "*.txt";
// Add event handlers.
watcher.Changed += new FileSystemEventHandler(OnChanged);
watcher.Created += new FileSystemEventHandler(OnChanged);
watcher.Deleted += new FileSystemEventHandler(OnChanged);
watcher.Renamed += new RenamedEventHandler(OnRenamed);
// Begin watching.
watcher.EnableRaisingEvents = true;
// Wait for the user to quit the program.
Console.WriteLine("Press \'q\' to quit the sample.");
while(Console.Read()!='q');
}
// Define the event handlers.
private static void OnChanged(object source, FileSystemEventArgs e)
{
// Specify what is done when a file is changed, created, or deleted.
Console.WriteLine("File: " + e.FullPath + " " + e.ChangeType);
}
private static void OnRenamed(object source, RenamedEventArgs e)
{
// Specify what is done when a file is renamed.
Console.WriteLine("File: {0} renamed to {1}", e.OldFullPath, e.FullPath);
}
}
#using <System.dll>
using namespace System;
using namespace System::IO;
using namespace System::Security::Permissions;
public ref class Watcher
{
private:
// Define the event handlers.
static void OnChanged( Object^ /*source*/, FileSystemEventArgs^ e )
{
// Specify what is done when a file is changed, created, or deleted.
Console::WriteLine( "File: {0} {1}", e->FullPath, e->ChangeType );
}
static void OnRenamed( Object^ /*source*/, RenamedEventArgs^ e )
{
// Specify what is done when a file is renamed.
Console::WriteLine( "File: {0} renamed to {1}", e->OldFullPath, e->FullPath );
}
public:
[PermissionSet(SecurityAction::Demand, Name="FullTrust")]
int static run()
{
array<String^>^args = System::Environment::GetCommandLineArgs();
// If a directory is not specified, exit program.
if ( args->Length != 2 )
{
// Display the proper way to call the program.
Console::WriteLine( "Usage: Watcher.exe (directory)" );
return 0;
}
// Create a new FileSystemWatcher and set its properties.
FileSystemWatcher^ watcher = gcnew FileSystemWatcher;
watcher->Path = args[ 1 ];
/* Watch for changes in LastAccess and LastWrite times, and
the renaming of files or directories. */
watcher->NotifyFilter = static_cast<NotifyFilters>(NotifyFilters::LastAccess |
NotifyFilters::LastWrite | NotifyFilters::FileName | NotifyFilters::DirectoryName);
// Only watch text files.
watcher->Filter = "*.txt";
// Add event handlers.
watcher->Changed += gcnew FileSystemEventHandler( Watcher::OnChanged );
watcher->Created += gcnew FileSystemEventHandler( Watcher::OnChanged );
watcher->Deleted += gcnew FileSystemEventHandler( Watcher::OnChanged );
watcher->Renamed += gcnew RenamedEventHandler( Watcher::OnRenamed );
// Begin watching.
watcher->EnableRaisingEvents = true;
// Wait for the user to quit the program.
Console::WriteLine( "Press \'q\' to quit the sample." );
while ( Console::Read() != 'q' );
return 0;
}
};
int main() {
Watcher::run();
}
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.