• Article

FileInfo.CopyTo Method (String, Boolean)

Microsoft Silverlight will reach end of support after October 2021. Learn more.

When it is called by trusted applications, copies an existing file to a new file, allowing the overwriting of an existing file.

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

Syntax

'Declaration
Public Function CopyTo ( _
    destFileName As String, _
    overwrite As Boolean _
) As FileInfo

public FileInfo CopyTo(
    string destFileName,
    bool overwrite
)

Parameters

  • destFileName
    Type: System.String
    The name of the new file to copy to.
  • overwrite
    Type: System.Boolean
    true to allow an existing file to be overwritten; otherwise, false.

Return Value

Type: System.IO.FileInfo
A new file, or an overwrite of an existing file if overwrite is true. If the file exists and overwrite is false, an IOException is thrown.

Exceptions

Exception Condition
ArgumentException

destFileName is empty, contains only white spaces, or contains invalid characters.
IOException

An error occurs, or the destination file already exists and overwrite is false.
SecurityException

The caller does not have the required permission.
ArgumentNullException

destFileName is nulla null reference (Nothing in Visual Basic).
DirectoryNotFoundException

The directory specified in destFileName does not exist.
UnauthorizedAccessException

A directory path is passed in, or the file is being moved to a different drive.
PathTooLongException

The specified path, file name, or both exceed the system-defined maximum length. For example, on Windows-based platforms, paths must be less than 248 characters, and file names must be less than 260 characters.
NotSupportedException

destFileName contains a colon (:) in the middle of the string.

Remarks

Platform Notes

Silverlight for Windows Phone Silverlight for Windows Phone

 This member has a SecurityCriticalAttribute attribute on Silverlight for Windows Phone, because the attribute was present in Silverlight 3. This attribute restricts this member to internal use. Application code that uses this member throws a MethodAccessException.

Version Information

Silverlight

Supported in: 5, 4, 3

Silverlight for Windows Phone

Supported in: Windows Phone OS 7.1, Windows Phone OS 7.0

XNA Framework

Supported in: Xbox 360, Windows Phone OS 7.0

Platforms

For a list of the operating systems and browsers that are supported by Silverlight, see Supported Operating Systems and Browsers.