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Directory.EnumerateDirectories : Only get back Directores with a special file in it [duplicate]

I wish to get list of all the folders/directories that has a particular file in it. How do I do this using C# code.
Eg: Consider I have 20 folders of which 7 of them have a file named "abc.txt". I wish to know all folders that has the file "abc.txt".
I know that we can do this by looking thru all the folders in the path and for each check if the File.Exists(filename); But I wish to know if there is any other way of doing the same rather than looping through all the folder (which may me little time consuming in the case when there are many folders).
Thanks
-Nayan

I would use the method EnumerateFiles of the Directory class with a search pattern and the SearchOption to include AllDirectories. This will return all files (full filename including directory) that match the pattern.
Using the Path class you get the directory of the file.
string rootDirectory = //your root directory;
var foundFiles = Directory.EnumerateFiles(rootDirectory , "abc.txt", SearchOption.AllDirectories);
foreach (var file in foundFiles){
Console.WriteLine(System.IO.Path.GetDirectoryName(file));
}
EnumerateFiles is only available since .NET Framework 4. If you are working with an older version of the .NET Framework then you could use GetFiles of the Directory class.
Update (see comment from PLB):
The code above will fail if the access to a directory in denied. In this case you will need to search each directory one after one to handle exceptions.
public static void SearchFilesRecursivAndPrintOut(string root, string pattern)
{
//Console.WriteLine(root);
try
{
var childDireactory = Directory.EnumerateDirectories(root);
var files = Directory.EnumerateFiles(root, pattern);
foreach (var file in files)
{
Console.WriteLine(System.IO.Path.GetDirectoryName(file));
}
foreach (var dir in childDireactory)
{
SearchRecursiv(dir, pattern);
}
}
catch (Exception exception)
{
Console.WriteLine(exception);
}
}

The following shows how to narrow down your search by specific criteria (i.e. include only DLLs that contain "Microsoft", "IBM" or "nHibernate" in its name).
var filez = Directory.EnumerateFiles(#"c:\MLBWRT", "*.dll", SearchOption.AllDirectories)
.Where(
s => s.ToLower().Contains("microsoft")
&& s.ToLower().Contains("ibm")
&& s.ToLower().Contains("nhibernate"));
string[] allFiles = filez.ToArray<string>();
for (int i = 0; i < allFiles.Length; i++) {
FileInfo fInfo = new FileInfo(allFiles[i]);
Console.WriteLine(fInfo.Name);
}

How do I modify directory timestamps when File Explorer is open?

My application creates files and directories throughout the year and needs to access the timestamps of those directories to determine if it's time to create another one. So it's vital that when I move a directory I preserve its timestamps. I can do it like this when Directory.Move() isn't an option (e.g. when moving to a different drive).
FileSystem.CopyDirectory(sourcePath, targetPath, overwrite);
Directory.SetCreationTimeUtc (targetPath, Directory.GetCreationTimeUtc (sourcePath));
Directory.SetLastAccessTimeUtc(targetPath, Directory.GetLastAccessTimeUtc(sourcePath));
Directory.SetLastWriteTimeUtc (targetPath, Directory.GetLastWriteTimeUtc (sourcePath));
Directory.Delete(sourcePath, true);
However, all three of these "Directory.Set" methods fail if File Explorer is open, and it seems that it doesn't even matter whether the directory in question is currently visible in File Explorer or not (EDIT: I suspect this has something to do with Quick Access, but the reason isn't particularly important). It throws an IOException that says "The process cannot access the file 'C:\MyFolder' because it is being used by another process."
How should I handle this? Is there an alternative way to modify a timestamp that doesn't throw an error when File Explorer is open? Should I automatically close File Explorer? Or if my application simply needs to fail, then I'd like to fail before any file operations take place. Is there a way to determine ahead of time if Directory.SetCreationTimeUtc() for example will encounter an IOException?
Thanks in advance.
EDIT: I've made a discovery. Here's some sample code you can use to try recreating the problem:
using System;
using System.IO;
namespace CreationTimeTest
{
class Program
{
static void Main( string[] args )
{
try
{
DirectoryInfo di = new DirectoryInfo( #"C:\Test" );
di.CreationTimeUtc = DateTime.UtcNow;
Console.WriteLine( di.FullName + " creation time set to " + di.CreationTimeUtc );
}
catch ( Exception ex )
{
Console.WriteLine( ex );
//throw;
}
finally
{
Console.ReadKey( true );
}
}
}
}
Create C:\Test, build CreationTimeTest.exe, and run it.
I've found that the "used by another process" error doesn't always occur just because File Explorer is open. It occurs if the folder C:\Test had been visible because C:\ was expanded. This means the time stamp can be set just fine if File Explorer is open and C:\ was never expanded. However, once C:\Test becomes visible in File Explorer, it seems to remember that folder and not allow any time stamp modification even after C:\ is collapsed. Can anyone recreate this?
EDIT: I'm now thinking that this is a File Explorer bug.
I have recreated this behavior using CreationTimeTest on multiple Windows 10 devices. There are two ways an attempt to set the creation time can throw the "used by another process" exception. The first is to have C:\Test open in the main pane, but in that case you can navigate away from C:\Test and then the program will run successfully again. But the second way is to have C:\Test visible in the navigation pane, i.e. to have C:\ expanded. And once you've done that, it seems File Explorer keeps a handle open because the program continues to fail even once you collapse C:\ until you close File Explorer.
I was mistaken earlier. Having C:\Test be visible doesn't cause the problem. C:\Test can be visible in the main pane without issue. Its visibility in the navigation pane is what matters.

Try this:
string sourcePath = "";
string targetPath = "";
DirectoryInfo sourceDirectoryInfo = new DirectoryInfo(sourcePath);
FileSystem.CopyDirectory(sourcePath, targetPath, overwrite);
DirectoryInfo targetDirectory = new DirectoryInfo(targetPath);
targetDirectory.CreationTimeUtc = sourceDirectoryInfo.CreationTimeUtc;
targetDirectory.LastAccessTimeUtc = sourceDirectoryInfo.LastAccessTimeUtc;
targetDirectory.LastWriteTimeUtc = sourceDirectoryInfo.LastWriteTimeUtc;
Directory.Delete(sourcePath, true);
This will allow you to set the creation/access/write times for the target directory, so long as the directory itself is not open in explorer (I am assuming it won't be, as it has only just been created).

I am suspecting FileSystem.CopyDirectory ties into Explorer and somehow blocks the directory. Try copying all the files and directories using standard C# methods, like this:
DirectoryCopy(#"C:\SourceDirectory", #"D:\DestinationDirectory", true);
Using these utility methods:
private static void DirectoryCopy(string sourceDirName, string destDirName, bool copySubDirs)
{
// Get the subdirectories for the specified directory.
DirectoryInfo dir = new DirectoryInfo(sourceDirName);
if (!dir.Exists)
{
throw new DirectoryNotFoundException("Source directory does not exist or could not be found: " + sourceDirName);
}
if ((dir.Attributes & FileAttributes.ReparsePoint) == FileAttributes.ReparsePoint)
{
// Don't copy symbolic links
return;
}
var createdDirectory = false;
// If the destination directory doesn't exist, create it.
if (!Directory.Exists(destDirName))
{
var newdir = Directory.CreateDirectory(destDirName);
createdDirectory = true;
}
// Get the files in the directory and copy them to the new location.
DirectoryInfo[] dirs = dir.GetDirectories();
FileInfo[] files = dir.GetFiles();
foreach (FileInfo file in files)
{
if ((file.Attributes & FileAttributes.ReparsePoint) == FileAttributes.ReparsePoint)
continue; // Don't copy symbolic links
string temppath = Path.Combine(destDirName, file.Name);
file.CopyTo(temppath, false);
CopyMetaData(file, new FileInfo(temppath));
}
// If copying subdirectories, copy them and their contents to new location.
if (copySubDirs)
{
foreach (DirectoryInfo subdir in dirs)
{
string temppath = Path.Combine(destDirName, subdir.Name);
DirectoryCopy(subdir.FullName, temppath, copySubDirs);
}
}
if (createdDirectory)
{
// We must set it AFTER copying all files in the directory - otherwise the timestamp gets updated to Now.
CopyMetaData(dir, new DirectoryInfo(destDirName));
}
}
private static void CopyMetaData(FileSystemInfo source, FileSystemInfo dest)
{
dest.Attributes = source.Attributes;
dest.CreationTimeUtc = source.CreationTimeUtc;
dest.LastAccessTimeUtc = source.LastAccessTimeUtc;
dest.LastWriteTimeUtc = source.LastWriteTimeUtc;
}

What need I do to get this code to work in a Portable Class Library?

I'm wondering if the Portable Class Library is even more restricted in functionality than the Compact Framework.
I'm trying to port a CF/Windows CE app (runs on a handheld device) to a Xamarin solution that will target Android, iOS, Windows Phone, and perhaps other things.
One of the problems I run into, though, is that this legacy code (which works under CF):
public static List<string> GetXMLFiles(string fileType, string startingDir)
{
const string EXTENSION = ".XML";
string dirName = startingDir;
// call it like so: GetXMLFiles("ABC", "\\"); <= I think the double-whack is what I need for Windows CE device...am I right?
var fileNames = new List<String>();
try
{
foreach (string f in Directory.GetFiles(dirName))
{
string extension = Path.GetExtension(f);
if (extension != null)
{
string ext = extension.ToUpper();
string fileNameOnly = Path.GetFileNameWithoutExtension(f);
if (fileNameOnly != null &&
((ext.Equals(EXTENSION, StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase)) &&
(fileNameOnly.Contains(fileType))))
{
fileNames.Add(f);
}
}
}
foreach (string d in Directory.GetDirectories(dirName))
{
fileNames.AddRange(GetXMLFiles(fileType, d));
// from Brad Rem's answer here: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/22186198/why-is-this-function-returning-nothing-although-there-is-a-match/22186351?noredirect=1#22186351
}
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
MessageBox.Show(ex.Message);
}
return fileNames;
}
...won't compile in the Xamarin/CPL solution. I get, "The name 'Directory' does not exist in the current context" and right-clicking that word does not afford a "resolve" option.
Is there a way to get PCL to recognize "Directory" or must I completely rewrite the code? If the latter, does anybody have any suggestions on what to do/use in its stead?
Relatedly, is there an URL that will show me what is [not] available in PCL and/or a site that will show how much of a provided block of code is "PCL-ready"?
UPDATE
The first image in this article is very illuminating. Later on, it specifically talks about "Directory" not being available in the PCL scenario.
UPDATE 2
I downloaded the PCLStorage package referenced by Daniel Plaisted below to allow me to access the file system within a PCL project.
Using the sample code at the start of the download page [http://pclstorage.codeplex.com/] as a starting point, I've gotten this far:
public async Task<List<string>> GetXMLFiles(string fileType, string startingDir)
{
const string EXTENSION = ".XML";
IFolder rootFolder = FileSystem.Current.LocalStorage;
IFolder folder = await rootFolder.GetFolderAsync(startingDir, CreationCollisionOption.OpenIfExists); //CreateFolderAsync(startingDir, CreationCollisionOption.OpenIfExists);
List<string> fileNames = await folder.GetFilesAsync(EXTENSION);
return fileNames;
}
...but "EXTENSION" as the arg to GetFilesAsync() is not right. I get with this, "Argument 1: cannot convert from 'string' to 'System.Threading.CancellationToken'"
So what need I do to get all the *.XML files the folder?
UPDATE 3
This compiles, but I'm not at all sure it's the right way to do it, besides the fact that it simply gets all the files from the folder, rather than just those that match "*.XML":
public async Task<List<IFile>> GetXMLFiles(string fileType, string startingDir)
{
const string EXTENSION = ".XML";
IFolder rootFolder = FileSystem.Current.LocalStorage;
IFolder folder = await rootFolder.GetFolderAsync(startingDir, System.Threading.CancellationToken.None);
IList<PCLStorage.IFile> fileNames = await folder.GetFilesAsync(System.Threading.CancellationToken.None);
return fileNames.ToList();
}

Since in a PCL I was unable to get a StreamWriter from a string (it required a stream), I created a simple interface to get some of the data from the platform implementation. You can also do this with DirectoryInfo and FileInfo.
https://github.com/sami1971/SimplyMobile/blob/master/Core/SimplyMobile.Text/IStreamLocator.cs
The implementation is really simple as well, only needs one single compiler flag for WP8:
https://github.com/sami1971/SimplyMobile/blob/master/WP8/SimplyMobile.Text.Platform/StreamLocator.cs
Recursively search for *.XML files:
private static void PrintDirectory(IStreamLocator locator, string dir)
{
foreach (var file in locator.GetFileNames(dir, "*.XML"))
{
System.Diagnostics.Debug.WriteLine(file);
}
foreach (var di in locator.GetFolderNames(dir, "*"))
{
PrintDirectory(locator, di);
}
}

Windows Phone applications do not use the file system of the operating
system and are restricted to using isolated storage to persist and
access files, so this namespace does not provide any additional
functionality.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windowsphone/develop/system.io%28v=vs.105%29.aspx

Xamarin has a scanner which will give you a rough idea of the portability of your code: http://scan.xamarin.com/
For some guidance on how to deal with non-portable APIs from PCLs, see my blog post: How to Make Portable Class Libraries Work for You
For file IO in particular, you can try my PCL Storage library.

Another option is to use Shim if all your platforms are supported by it.
API coverage for file operations isn't exhaustive, but it gets you a long way. As a bonus, it also gives you access to a bunch of other stuff.

C# Visual Studio 2008 Reference to system32.dll ... how?

I need the reference system32/shell32.dll as I use some shell functions to read out the recycling bin. I tried "Add Reference --> COM --> Microsoft Shell Controls and Automatation" and "Add Reference --> Browse ---> [going to the system32/shell32.dll directly]. Both adds the shell32 reference to my references. But when I look at the properties, I see the path of the reference looks like this: "C:\Users\Tim\Documents\Visual Studio 2008\Projects\Wing\FileWing\obj\Debug\Interop.Shell32.dll" ...
I'll not deploy this \obj\Debug\ path to my installer. So how can I reference the end-users shell32.dll directly? Is there a way? Why does VS2008 create this strange path? Can I change this path so it doesn't sit in this strange subfolder?
Hmmm. Okay after revisiting PInvoke, I'm sure that I don't quite get it :-/
Let me illustrate the code I need to handle. I'm digging though the recycling bin and seek for a item that I want to recover. Is there any way NOT fighting though the PInvoke to get this done?
private void recoverRecyclerBinEntry(string fileName, int size)
{
try
{
Shell Shl = new Shell();
Folder Recycler = Shl.NameSpace(10);
// scans through all the recyclers entries till the one to recover has been found
for (int i = 0; i < Recycler.Items().Count; i++)
{
FolderItem FI = Recycler.Items().Item(i);
string FileName = Recycler.GetDetailsOf(FI, 0);
if (Path.GetExtension(FileName) == "")
FileName += Path.GetExtension(FI.Path);
//Necessary for systems with hidden file extensions.
string FilePath = Recycler.GetDetailsOf(FI, 1);
string combinedPath = Path.Combine(FilePath, FileName);
if (size == FI.Size && fileName == combinedPath)
{
Debug.Write("Match found. Restoring " + combinedPath + "...");
Undelete(FI);
Debug.WriteLine("done.");
}
else
{
Debug.WriteLine("No match");
}
}
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
Debug.WriteLine(ex.Message);
Debug.WriteLine(ex.StackTrace);
}
}
private bool Undelete(FolderItem Item)
{
try
{
foreach (FolderItemVerb FIVerb in Item.Verbs())
{
if (
(FIVerb.Name.ToUpper().Contains("WIEDERHERSTELLEN")) ||
(FIVerb.Name.ToUpper().Contains("ESTORE")) ||
(FIVerb.Name.ToUpper().Contains("NDELETE"))
)
{
FIVerb.DoIt();
return true;
}
}
//execute the first one:
Item.Verbs().Item(0).DoIt();
return true;
}
catch (Exception)
{
Debug.WriteLine("ERROR undeleting");
return false;
}
}

I believe you are looking for P/Invoke (Platform Invoke)
Once you get the method for including and using the DLLs down, you can visit pinvoke.net to get specific code snippets for using certain methods.

Are you just using DllImport to access functionality in shell32/kernel32? If so, you don't need to add a reference.
For example:
[DllImport("KERNEL32.DLL", EntryPoint="MoveFileW", SetLastError=true,
CharSet=CharSet.Unicode, ExactSpelling=true,
CallingConvention=CallingConvention.StdCall)]
public static extern bool MoveFile(String src, String dst);
Here's a tutorial on using platform invoke and here's an MSDN article.

After you add the dll reference using VS 2008, you can open the properties for the .dll.
Make sure Copy Local is set to True.
If that doesn't work another solution is to add the .dll as an item to you project, and make is as content, and tell it to copy to the output directory.

How do I get a directory size (files in the directory) in C#?

I want to be able to get the size of one of the local directories using C#. I'm trying to avoid the following (pseudo like code), although in the worst case scenario I will have to settle for this:
int GetSize(Directory)
{
int Size = 0;
foreach ( File in Directory )
{
FileInfo fInfo of File;
Size += fInfo.Size;
}
foreach ( SubDirectory in Directory )
{
Size += GetSize(SubDirectory);
}
return Size;
}
Basically, is there a Walk() available somewhere so that I can walk through the directory tree? Which would save the recursion of going through each sub-directory.

A very succinct way to get a folder size in .net 4.0 is below. It still suffers from the limitation of having to traverse all files recursively, but it doesn't load a potentially huge array of filenames, and it's only two lines of code. Make sure to use the namespaces System.IO and System.Linq.
private static long GetDirectorySize(string folderPath)
{
DirectoryInfo di = new DirectoryInfo(folderPath);
return di.EnumerateFiles("*.*", SearchOption.AllDirectories).Sum(fi => fi.Length);
}

If you use Directory.GetFiles you can do a recursive seach (using SearchOption.AllDirectories), but this is a bit flaky anyway (especially if you don't have access to one of the sub-directories) - and might involve a huge single array coming back (warning klaxon...).
I'd be happy with the recursion approach unless I could show (via profiling) a bottleneck; and then I'd probably switch to (single-level) Directory.GetFiles, using a Queue<string> to emulate recursion.
Note that .NET 4.0 introduces some enumerator-based file/directory listing methods which save on the big arrays.

Here my .NET 4.0 approach
public static long GetFileSizeSumFromDirectory(string searchDirectory)
{
var files = Directory.EnumerateFiles(searchDirectory);
// get the sizeof all files in the current directory
var currentSize = (from file in files let fileInfo = new FileInfo(file) select fileInfo.Length).Sum();
var directories = Directory.EnumerateDirectories(searchDirectory);
// get the size of all files in all subdirectories
var subDirSize = (from directory in directories select GetFileSizeSumFromDirectory(directory)).Sum();
return currentSize + subDirSize;
}
Or even nicer:
// get IEnumerable from all files in the current dir and all sub dirs
var files = Directory.EnumerateFiles(searchDirectory,"*",SearchOption.AllDirectories);
// get the size of all files
long sum = (from file in files let fileInfo = new FileInfo(file) select fileInfo .Length).Sum();
As Gabriel pointed out this will fail if you have a restricted directory under the searchDirectory!

You could hide your recursion behind an extension method (to avoid the issues Marc has highlighted with the GetFiles() method):
public static class UserExtension
{
public static IEnumerable<FileInfo> Walk(this DirectoryInfo directory)
{
foreach(FileInfo file in directory.GetFiles())
{
yield return file;
}
foreach(DirectoryInfo subDirectory in directory.GetDirectories())
{
foreach(FileInfo file in subDirectory.Walk())
{
yield return file;
}
}
}
}
(You probably want to add some exception handling to this for protected folders etc.)
Then:
using static UserExtension;
long totalSize = 0L;
var startFolder = new DirectoryInfo("<path to folder>");
// iteration
foreach(FileInfo file in startFolder.Walk())
{
totalSize += file.Length;
}
// linq
totalSize = di.Walk().Sum(s => s.Length);
Basically the same code, but maybe a little neater...

First, forgive my poor english ;o)
I had a problem that took me to this page : enumerate files of a directory and his subdirectories without blocking on an UnauthorizedAccessException, and, like the new method of .Net 4 DirectoryInfo.Enumerate..., get the first result before the end of the entire query.
With the help of various examples found here and there on the web, I finally write this method :
public static IEnumerable<FileInfo> EnumerateFiles_Recursive(this DirectoryInfo directory, string searchPattern, SearchOption searchOption, Func<DirectoryInfo, Exception, bool> handleExceptionAccess)
{
Queue<DirectoryInfo> subDirectories = new Queue<DirectoryInfo>();
IEnumerable<FileSystemInfo> entries = null;
// Try to get an enumerator on fileSystemInfos of directory
try
{
entries = directory.EnumerateFileSystemInfos(searchPattern, SearchOption.TopDirectoryOnly);
}
catch (Exception e)
{
// If there's a callback delegate and this delegate return true, we don't throw the exception
if (handleExceptionAccess == null || !handleExceptionAccess(directory, e))
throw;
// If the exception wasn't throw, we make entries reference an empty collection
entries = EmptyFileSystemInfos;
}
// Yield return file entries of the directory and enqueue the subdirectories
foreach (FileSystemInfo entrie in entries)
{
if (entrie is FileInfo)
yield return (FileInfo)entrie;
else if (entrie is DirectoryInfo)
subDirectories.Enqueue((DirectoryInfo)entrie);
}
// If recursive search, we make recursive call on the method to yield return entries of the subdirectories.
if (searchOption == SearchOption.AllDirectories)
{
DirectoryInfo subDir = null;
while (subDirectories.Count > 0)
{
subDir = subDirectories.Dequeue();
foreach (FileInfo file in subDir.EnumerateFiles_Recursive(searchPattern, searchOption, handleExceptionAccess))
{
yield return file;
}
}
}
else
subDirectories.Clear();
}
I use a Queue and a recursive method to keep traditional order (content of directory and then content of first subdirectory and his own subdirectories and then content of the second...). The parameter "handleExceptionAccess" is just a function call when an exception is thrown with a directory; the function must return true to indicate that the exception must be ignored.
With this methode, you can write :
DirectoryInfo dir = new DirectoryInfo("c:\\temp");
long size = dir.EnumerateFiles_Recursive("*", SearchOption.AllDirectories, (d, ex) => true).Sum(f => f.Length);
And here we are : all exception when trying to enumerate a directory will be ignore !
Hope this help
Lionel
PS : for a reason I can't explain, my method is more quick than the framework 4 one...
PPS : you can get my test solutions with source for those methods : here TestDirEnumerate. I write EnumerateFiles_Recursive, EnumerateFiles_NonRecursive (use a queue to avoid recursion) and EnumerateFiles_NonRecursive_TraditionalOrder (use a stack of queue to avoid recursion and keep traditional order). Keep those 3 methods has no interest, I write them only for test the best one. I think to keep only the last one.
I also wrote the equivalent for EnumerateFileSystemInfos and EnumerateDirectories.

Have a look at this post:
http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/forums/en-US/vbgeneral/thread/eed54ebe-facd-4305-b64b-9dbdc65df04e
Basically there is no clean .NET way, but there is a quite straightforward COM approach so if you're happy with using COM interop and being tied to Windows, this could work for you.

the solution is already here https://stackoverflow.com/a/12665904/1498669
as in the duplicate How do I Get Folder Size in C#? shown -> you can do this also in c#
first, add the COM reference "Microsoft Scripting Runtime" to your project and use:
var fso = new Scripting.FileSystemObject();
var folder = fso.GetFolder(#"C:\Windows");
double sizeInBytes = folder.Size;
// cleanup COM
System.Runtime.InteropServices.Marshal.ReleaseComObject(folder);
System.Runtime.InteropServices.Marshal.ReleaseComObject(fso);
remember to cleanup the COM references

I've been looking some time ago for a function like the one you ask for and from what I've found on the Internet and in MSDN forums, there is no such function.
The recursive way is the only I found to obtain the size of a Folder considering all the files and subfolders that contains.

You should make it easy on yourself. Make a method and passthrough the location of the directory.
private static long GetDirectorySize(string location) {
return new DirectoryInfo(location).GetFiles("*.*", SearchOption.AllDirectories).Sum(file => file.Length);
}
-G