I'm searching for files in my C# program using the following function:
static string[] getFiles(string path, string searchPattern, SearchOption searchOption)
{
string[] searchPatterns = searchPattern.Split('|');
List<string> files = new List<string>();
try
{
foreach (string sp in searchPatterns)
files.AddRange(Directory.GetFiles(path, sp, searchOption));
files.Sort();
} catch (Exception ex){ System.Windows.Forms.MessageBox.Show(ex.Message); }
return files.ToArray();
}
When I search for files I pass in the following code to my function:
var myDocuments = Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.MyDocuments);
var files = getFiles(myDocuments, "*", SearchOption.AllDirectories);
Now when I execute the code I get the following error:
For some reason it's searching Documents/My Music instead of C:\Users\Test\Music. The error is occurring on Win7. I presume the cause of the problem is described in the following link (even tho I never upgraded my Windows): Microsoft Document Changes .My aim is to search all files inside the "My Documents" folder. This also includes searching all subdirectories such as My Music, My Pictures etc. Could anyone suggest some different code I can use or a solution to fix this problem?
Related
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);
}
A quick question. I'm executing this code:
listBox1.Items.AddRange( Directory.GetDirectories("C:\\Users\\", "*" ,SearchOption.AllDirectories));
It list all directories and subdirectories in C:\Users\ (yes I know, it maybe blow up my pc)
Anyways, I am getting this error (System.UnauthorizedAccessException)
This error comes from the special folders "C:\Users\All Users\" and "C:\Users\USER\AppData\"
How can I ignore this folders to program keeping listing all dir and subd without Exceptions?
Unfortunately it's not possible to filter out all directories without the required permissions. You need to implement your own recursive function to deal with the problem by catching the UnauthorizedAccessException. Since there could be many exceptions the way is not very fast but reliable like explained in this question:
[...] permissions (even file existence) are volatile — they can change at any time [...]
Here is my possible solution:
public static void GetDirectories(string path, Action<string> foundDirectory)
{
string[] dirs;
try
{
dirs = Directory.GetDirectories(path, "*", SearchOption.TopDirectoryOnly);
}
catch (UnauthorizedAccessException)
{
//Ignore a directory if an unauthorized access occured
return;
}
foreach (string dir in dirs)
{
foundDirectory(dir);
//Recursive call to get all subdirectories
GetDirectories(dir, foundDirectory);
}
}
Simply call the function like
List<string> allDirectories = new List<string>();
GetDirectories(#"C:\Users\", d => allDirectories.Add(d));
i have problem with my c# code, i want to list all files from mozilla user data folder, i was trying to do it with:
String dir = Directory.GetDirectories(Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.ApplicationData) + "\\Mozilla\\Firefox\\Profiles\\")[0];
string[] fileEntries = Directory.GetFiles(Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("AppData") + "\\Mozilla\\Firefox\\Profiles\\" + dir);
But when i execute this code i get error that tells me that format of this path is not supported. In error info i can see that my path is:
"C:\Users\Marcin\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\4wrivbme.default"
Its because of \? I'm sure that i need this.
If I have understood correctly your code, then the second line should be just
string[] fileEntries = Directory.GetFiles(dir);
On my PC your second line gives back this path that is clearly wrong
C:\Users\steve\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\C:\Users\steve\AppData.....
^^^^^
So a full fix of your code should be as this
string mozillaProfilePath = Path.Combine(
Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.ApplicationData),
"Mozilla\\Firefox\\Profiles");
string[] dirs = Directory.GetDirectories(mozillaProfilePath);
if(dirs.Length > 0)
{
string[] fileEntries = Directory.GetFiles(dirs[0]);
......
}
and, if your process the result directly here, then it is better to use Directory.EnumeratFiles instead of GetFiles (See remarks in the link posted)
.....
if(dirs.Length > 0)
{
foreach(string file in Directory.EnumerateFiles(dirs[0]))
{
.... process each file found ...
}
}
Use Path.Combine() instead of string concatenation.
I am currently writing a program in C# that will copy all user profile files to an external device (in this case, my home server).
When my code iterates through my files and folders, it throws an UnauthorizedAccessException.
I have Googled this and searched StackOverflow, but I am unable to find a clear solution that doesn't involve terminating my process. The idea is that it should copy the files and folders that have read permissions.
I had this when I first started, but I easily fixed it by limiting what directories I would backup (though I would prefer a full backup).
Here is my code:
FileInfo f = new FileInfo(_configuration.Destination);
if (!f.Directory.Exists)
{
f.Directory.Create();
}
string[] backupDirectories = new string[]
{
"Desktop",
"Documents",
"Downloads",
"Favorites",
"Links",
"Pictures",
"Saved Games",
"Searches",
"Videos",
".git",
".android",
".IdealC15",
".nuget",
".oracle_jre_usage",
".vs",
"Contacts"
};
foreach (string dirPath in backupDirectories)
{
DirectoryInfo dirInfo = new DirectoryInfo(_path + "\\" + dirPath);
if (dirInfo.Exists)
{
foreach (string dirP in Directory.GetDirectories(dirInfo.FullName, "*", SearchOption.AllDirectories))
{
DirectoryInfo dirI = new DirectoryInfo(dirP);
if (dirI.Exists)
{
string dir = dirP.Replace(_path, _configuration.Destination);
try
{
Directory.CreateDirectory(dir);
textBox2.Invoke((MethodInvoker) delegate
{
textBox2.AppendText("Create Directory: " + dir + Environment.NewLine);
});
} catch (Exception e)
{
textBox2.Invoke((MethodInvoker) delegate
{
textBox2.AppendText("Could NOT Create Directory: " + dir + Environment.NewLine);
});
continue;
}
foreach (FileInfo theFile in dirInfo.GetFiles("*", SearchOption.AllDirectories))
{
string newPath = theFile.FullName;
string file = newPath.Replace(_path, _configuration.Destination);
try
{
File.Copy(newPath, file, true);
textBox2.Invoke((MethodInvoker) delegate
{
textBox2.AppendText("Create File: " + file + Environment.NewLine);
});
} catch (Exception ex)
{
textBox2.Invoke((MethodInvoker) delegate
{
textBox2.AppendText("Could NOT Create File: " + file + Environment.NewLine);
});
}
}
}
}
}
}
I apologise if the code is messy, but I will describe sort of what it is doing. The first bit checks if the backup folder exists on the external drive.
The second part says what folders I need to backup (if you're able to fix this and make it backup all directories with permissions, please help me in doing so).
The first loop starts the iteration for each of the backupDirectories. The second loop starts the iteration for each of the directories in the backup directory. The third loop starts the iteration for each of the folders in the backup directory.
The exception is thrown at Directory.GetDirectories(dirInfo.FullName, "*", SearchOption.AllDirectories), and it is trying to access C:\Users\MyName\Documents\My Music. Attempting to access it in explorer does give me a permissions error, though it isn't listed in explorer when I try going to "Documents" (I am in Windows 10 Pro).
As I recommended, since the Operating System authority is higher than the application, it is likely that you cannot do more than what the Operating System would allow you to do (that is to access or not to access certain folder).
Thus, folders' accessibility is best solved in the Operating System level.
But you could still do two things in the program level to minimize the damage when you search for the items.
To use Directory.AccessControl to know the access level of a directory before you do any query on it. This is not so easy, and there are elaborated answers about this here and also here.
To minimize the damage made by unauthorized access issues by using SearchOption.TopDirectoryOnly instead of SearchOption.AllDirectories, combined with recursive search for all the accessible directories. This is how you can code it
public static List<string> GetAllAccessibleDirectories(string path, string searchPattern) {
List<string> dirPathList = new List<string>();
try {
List<string> childDirPathList = Directory.GetDirectories(path, searchPattern, SearchOption.TopDirectoryOnly).ToList(); //use TopDirectoryOnly
if (childDirPathList == null || childDirPathList.Count <= 0) //this directory has no child
return null;
foreach (string childDirPath in childDirPathList) { //foreach child directory, do recursive search
dirPathList.Add(childDirPath); //add the path
List<string> grandChildDirPath = GetAllAccessibleDirectories(childDirPath, searchPattern);
if (grandChildDirPath != null && grandChildDirPath.Count > 0) //this child directory has children and nothing has gone wrong
dirPathList.AddRange(grandChildDirPath.ToArray()); //add the grandchildren to the list
}
return dirPathList; //return the whole list found at this level
} catch {
return null; //something has gone wrong, return null
}
}
The function above minimize the damage caused by the unauthorized access only to the sub-directories which have the issue. All other accessible directories can be returned.
I have some C# code that tries to get the Favorites for the currently logged in user. The code is part of a Taskbar Toolbar that gets loaded into the Windows Explorer process. I have a user who is using Windows Vista with UAC enabled on a domain that either has Roaming Profiles or Folder Redirection setup and enabled. When calling Directory.GetDirectories on the Favorites path, it throws "System.IO.DirectoryNotFoundException: Could not find a part of the path 'C:\Users\\Favorites\". Other users on other domains that do not have Roaming Profiles or Folder Redirection setup do not have this issue.
The user also reported that copying the path from the failed logs into the run prompt fails to load the path, but if they navigate to the path directly using explorer and then copy and paste that path into the run prompt, it works. He sent me both paths and they are exactly identical which doesn't make any sense at all.
My theory is that this is caused by the Folder Redirection where that path is actually pointing to a share on the server but the redirection is failing when trying to access the subdirectories (of the directoryInfo returned from Directory.GetDirectories). The initial directory works but all subdirectories of the initial directory fail to redirect correctly.
Has anyone come across a situation like this and/or know a workaround to gain proper access to redirected folders?
private void GetFavorites()
{
try
{
System.IO.DirectoryInfo dirInfo = new System.IO.DirectoryInfo(Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.Favorites));
AddFavorites(dirInfo);
}
catch
{
}
}
private void AddFavorites(DirectoryInfo dirInfo)
{
foreach (System.IO.FileInfo fileInfo in dirInfo.GetFiles("*.url"))
{
//string alias = fileInfo.Name.Replace(".url", "");
if (!ItemsBookmarks.ContainsKey(fileInfo.Name))
ItemsBookmarks.Add(fileInfo.Name, fileInfo.Name);
}
foreach (System.IO.FileInfo fileInfo in dirInfo.GetFiles("*.lnk"))
{
if (!ItemsBookmarks.ContainsKey(fileInfo.Name))
ItemsBookmarks.Add(fileInfo.Name, fileInfo.Name);
}
foreach (System.IO.DirectoryInfo objDir in dirInfo.GetDirectories())
{
AddFavorites(objDir);
}
}
Thanks,
John
I believe the problem you are experiencing is related to Reparse Points.
See: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb513869.aspx
See: What is the best way to check for reparse point in .net (c#)?
The problem can be avoided by using the following syntax:
private void AddFavorites(string dirPath)
{
try
{
foreach (string fileName in Directory.GetFiles(dirPath, "*.*", SearchOption.TopDirectoryOnly))
{
//string alias = fileInfo.Name.Replace(".url", "");
if (!ItemsBookmarks.ContainsKey(fileInfo.Name))
{
ItemsBookmarks.Add(fileName);
}
}
foreach (string subDirName in Directory.GetDirectories(dirPath, "*.*", SearchOption.TopDirectoryOnly))
{
AddFavorites(objDir);
}
}
catch
{
//error getting files or subdirs... permissions issue?
//throw
}
}