FileMode Enumeration

.NET Framework (current version)

Specifies how the operating system should open a file.

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

Syntax

[SerializableAttribute]
[ComVisibleAttribute(true)]
public enum class FileMode

Members

	Member name	Description
	Append	Opens the file if it exists and seeks to the end of the file, or creates a new file. This requires FileIOPermissionAccess::Append permission. FileMode.Append can be used only in conjunction with FileAccess.Write. Trying to seek to a position before the end of the file throws an IOException exception, and any attempt to read fails and throws a NotSupportedException exception.
	Create	Specifies that the operating system should create a new file. If the file already exists, it will be overwritten. This requires FileIOPermissionAccess::Write permission. FileMode.Create is equivalent to requesting that if the file does not exist, use CreateNew; otherwise, use Truncate. If the file already exists but is a hidden file, an UnauthorizedAccessException exception is thrown.
	CreateNew	Specifies that the operating system should create a new file. This requires FileIOPermissionAccess::Write permission. If the file already exists, an IOException exception is thrown.
	Open	Specifies that the operating system should open an existing file. The ability to open the file is dependent on the value specified by the FileAccess enumeration. A System.IO::FileNotFoundException exception is thrown if the file does not exist.
	OpenOrCreate	Specifies that the operating system should open a file if it exists; otherwise, a new file should be created. If the file is opened with FileAccess.Read, FileIOPermissionAccess::Read permission is required. If the file access is FileAccess.Write, FileIOPermissionAccess::Write permission is required. If the file is opened with FileAccess.ReadWrite, both FileIOPermissionAccess::Read and FileIOPermissionAccess::Write permissions are required.
	Truncate	Specifies that the operating system should open an existing file. When the file is opened, it should be truncated so that its size is zero bytes. This requires FileIOPermissionAccess::Write permission. Attempts to read from a file opened with FileMode.Truncate cause an ArgumentException exception.

Remarks

For an example of creating a file and writing text to a file, see How to: Write Text to a File. For an example of reading text from a file, see How to: Read Text from a File. For an example of reading from and writing to a binary file, see How to: Read and Write to a Newly Created Data File.

A FileMode parameter is specified in many of the constructors for FileStream, IsolatedStorageFileStream, and in the Open methods of File and FileInfo to control how a file is opened.

FileMode parameters control whether a file is overwritten, created, opened, or some combination thereof. Use Open to open an existing file. To append to a file, use Append. To truncate a file or create a file if it doesn't exist, use Create.

Examples

The following FileStream constructor opens an existing file (FileMode.Open).

C++

FileStream^ s2 = gcnew FileStream( name, FileMode::Open, FileAccess::Read, FileShare::Read );

Version Information

Universal Windows Platform
Available since 10
.NET Framework
Available since 1.1
Silverlight
Available since 2.0
Windows Phone Silverlight
Available since 7.0