Manipulating Directories with the Directory Object

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Manipulating directories (folders) is very similar to manipulating files. However, rather than using System.IO.File, you use System.IO.Directory. Notice that when you specify a directory path , double slashes are used instead of just one. If any of these method calls confuse you, see the previous section on System.IO.File for more detailed information. Following are the method calls:

• To create a directory, call the CreateDirectory() method of System.IO.Directory, passing the name of the new folder, like this: (Note: As discussed in Hour 12, you must preference literal strings containing slashes with the @ character.)

   System.IO.Directory.CreateDirectory(@"c:\my new directory"); 

• To determine whether a directory exists, call the Exists() method of System.IO.Directory, passing it the directory name in question, like this:

   MessageBox.Show(Convert.ToString(System.IO.Directory.Exists(@"c:\temp"))); 

• To move a directory, call the Move() method of System.IO.Directory. The Move() method takes two arguments. The first is the current name of the directory, and the second is the new name and path of the directory. When you move a directory, the contents of it are moved as well. The following illustrates a call to Move().

   System.IO.Directory.Move(@"c:\current directory name",                          @"d:\new directory name"); 

• Deleting directories is even more perilous than deleting files; when you delete a directory, you also delete all files and subdirectories within the directory. To delete a directory, call the Delete() method of System.IO.Directory, passing it to the directory to delete. I can't tell you often enough that you have to be careful when calling this method; it can you get you into a lot of trouble. The following statement illustrates deleting a directory:

   System.IO.Directory.Delete(@"c:\temp"); 

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