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OpenFlags Enumeration

Specifies the way to open the X.509 certificate store.

This enumeration has a FlagsAttribute attribute that allows a bitwise combination of its member values.

Namespace:  System.Security.Cryptography.X509Certificates
Assembly:  System (in System.dll)

'Declaration
<FlagsAttribute> _
Public Enumeration OpenFlags
'Usage
Dim instance As OpenFlags

Member nameDescription
Supported by the .NET Compact FrameworkReadOnlyOpen the X.509 certificate store for reading only.
Supported by the .NET Compact FrameworkReadWriteOpen the X.509 certificate store for both reading and writing.
Supported by the .NET Compact FrameworkMaxAllowedOpen the X.509 certificate store for the highest access allowed.
Supported by the .NET Compact FrameworkOpenExistingOnlyOpens only existing stores; if no store exists, the Open method will not create a new store.
Supported by the .NET Compact FrameworkIncludeArchivedOpen the X.509 certificate store and include archived certificates.

The ReadOnly, ReadWrite, and MaxAllowed flags are mutually exclusive. The OpenExistingOnly flag is the only flag that does not require the CreateStore permission to be granted.

The following code example opens an X.509 certificate store, adds and deletes certificates, and then closes the store. It assumes you have three certificates to add to and remove from a local store.

Imports System
Imports System.Security.Cryptography
Imports System.Security.Cryptography.X509Certificates
Imports System.IO



Class X509store2

    Shared Sub Main(ByVal args() As String)
        'Create new X509 store called teststore from the local certificate store. 
        Dim store As New X509Store("teststore", StoreLocation.CurrentUser)
        store.Open(OpenFlags.ReadWrite)
        Dim certificate As New X509Certificate2()

        'Create certificates from certificate files. 
        'You must put in a valid path to three certificates in the following constructors. 
        Dim certificate1 As New X509Certificate2("c:\mycerts\*****.cer")
        Dim certificate2 As New X509Certificate2("c:\mycerts\*****.cer")
        Dim certificate5 As New X509Certificate2("c:\mycerts\*****.cer")

        'Create a collection and add two of the certificates. 
        Dim collection As New X509Certificate2Collection()
        collection.Add(certificate2)
        collection.Add(certificate5)

        'Add certificates to the store.
        store.Add(certificate1)
        store.AddRange(collection)

        Dim storecollection As X509Certificate2Collection = CType(store.Certificates, X509Certificate2Collection)
        Console.WriteLine("Store name: {0}", store.Name)
        Console.WriteLine("Store location: {0}", store.Location)
        Dim x509 As X509Certificate2
        For Each x509 In storecollection
            Console.WriteLine("certificate name: {0}", x509.Subject)
        Next x509

        'Remove a certificate.
        store.Remove(certificate1)
        Dim storecollection2 As X509Certificate2Collection = CType(store.Certificates, X509Certificate2Collection)
        Console.WriteLine("{1}Store name: {0}", store.Name, Environment.NewLine)
        Dim x509a As X509Certificate2
        For Each x509a In storecollection2
            Console.WriteLine("certificate name: {0}", x509a.Subject)
        Next x509a

        'Remove a range of certificates.
        store.RemoveRange(collection)
        Dim storecollection3 As X509Certificate2Collection = CType(store.Certificates, X509Certificate2Collection)
        Console.WriteLine("{1}Store name: {0}", store.Name, Environment.NewLine)
        If storecollection3.Count = 0 Then
            Console.WriteLine("Store contains no certificates.")
        Else 
            Dim x509b As X509Certificate2
            For Each x509b In storecollection3
                Console.WriteLine("certificate name: {0}", x509b.Subject)
            Next x509b
        End If 

        'Close the store.
        store.Close()

    End Sub 
End Class

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

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

Supported in: 3.5, 3.0, 2.0

.NET Compact Framework

Supported in: 3.5
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