Develop Reference

Search in all folders of a subfolder for the presence of a specified file

I have a Main directory which has a bunch of sub directories , Each of these sub directories are expected to have an app.config file and I want to validate it . This app.config file can be any where of a given sub directory.
As of my implementation below I can check if this config file is immediately inside the given subdirectory (for example if the sub directory is "folder" I will check if the app.confg is available in the path folder\app.config ) but it fails to check if the app.config is in any where of the given sub directory.
IN the sense the app.config file can be inside of a sub direcotry of a given inital sub directory. bascically anywhere inside the given sub directory
Is there any way I can implement this behavior ?
private void ValidateFiles(string path)
{
string[] filesindirectory = Directory.GetDirectories(path);
foreach (var subDir in filesindirectory)
{
string pathToConfigFile = Path.Combine(subDir, "app.config");
if (File.Exists(pathToConfigFile))
{
}
else
{
}
}
}

You can use the Directory.GetFiles method to find your file inside a folder and in the SearchOption parameter pass the SearchOption.AllDirectories to search in all subdirectories.
Here is the code sample for reference:
private void ValidateFiles(string path)
{
var filesindirectory = Directory.GetFiles(path, "app.config", SearchOption.AllDirectories);
foreach (var file in filesindirectory)
{
Console.WriteLine(file);
}
}
In the filesindirectory variable you will now have all the file names(which is app.config in our case) along with the path.
For more reference : Microsoft Doc

Using Recursion if your path contains subdirectories inside subdirectories.
private void ValidateFiles(string path)
{
DirSearch(path);
}
private void DirSearch(string sDir)
{
List<String> files = new List<String>();
try
{
foreach (string f in Directory.GetFiles(sDir))
{
string pathToConfigFile = Path.Combine(sDir, "app.config");
if (File.Exists(pathToConfigFile))
{
}
else
{
}
}
foreach (string d in Directory.GetDirectories(sDir))
{
files.AddRange(DirSearch(d));
}
}
catch (System.Exception excpt)
{
MessageBox.Show(excpt.Message);
}
}

var LstfileDirectory = Directory.GetFiles(path, "app.config",
SearchOption.AllDirectories)
.ToList();
LstfileDirectory.ForEach(Item => Console.WriteLine(Item));

Read the contents of a listView, and display missing items in another listView based on the contents of a directory

I have a .NET webform that is displaying files found in a directory in a listView. This is the code for the display:
private void files()
{
try
{
DirectoryInfo dinfo = new DirectoryInfo(label2.Text);
FileInfo[] Files = dinfo.GetFiles("*.doc");
foreach (FileInfo file in Files)
{
listView1.Items.Add(file.Name);
}
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
MessageBox.Show(ex.Message);
}
}
label2.Text contains the directory that houses the files. What I need is for a second listView to display a list of documents housed in another directory to display if the file does not appear in the first list view.
The second directory contains templates where as the first directory contains completed documents. The names are different in each directory, but they are similar. For example a completed document displayed in the first listView may be called DEFECT1_AA09890.doc. It's template may be called 05DEFECT.doc.
It is easy enough to display the contents of the template directory using this code:
private void templateDocuments()
{
string path = #"\\directoryname\foldername";
try
{
DirectoryInfo dinfo = new DirectoryInfo(path);
FileInfo[] Files = dinfo.GetFiles("*.doc");
foreach (FileInfo file in Files)
{
listView2.Items.Add(file.Name);
}
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
MessageBox.Show(ex.Message);
}
}
But this does not compare contents and display based on the results.
Long story short, I want to display the contents of a directory in a listView, compare it to the contents of another directory, and display in a second listView what does not appear in the first.
Any help would be much appreciated.
Cheers.

Before adding file names to listView2, you need to check whether you already added them to listView1. One way of doing that is to store the files in listView1 in a HashSet<string>, then checking that before adding to listView2. Something like this should work:
private void filesAndTemplates()
{
string path = #"\\directoryname\foldername";
HashSet<string> files = new HashSet<string>();
try
{
DirectoryInfo dinfo = new DirectoryInfo(label2.Text);
FileInfo[] Files = dinfo.GetFiles("*.doc");
foreach (FileInfo file in Files)
{
files.Add(file.Name);
listView1.Items.Add(file.Name);
}
dinfo = new DirectoryInfo(path);
Files = dinfo.GetFiles("*.doc");
foreach (FileInfo file in Files)
{
if (files.Contains(file.Name))
{
continue; // We already saw this file
}
listView2.Items.Add(file.Name);
}
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
MessageBox.Show(ex.Message);
}
}
EDIT
If you want inexact matching, you need to reduce the file name to its essence -- remove any decorations, which in your case looks to be one (or both) of
Leading digits
Underscore followed by whatever
The essence of 01hello_world.doc would thus be hello.
Regex should fit the bill quite nicely -- although the exact definition of the regular expression would depend on your exact requirements.
Define the Regex and a transformation method somewhere suitable:
private static readonly Regex regex = new Regex(
#"[0-9]*(?<core>[^_]+)(_{1}.*)?", RegexOptions.Compiled);
private static string Transform(string fileName)
{
int extension = fileName.LastIndexOf('.');
if (extension >= 0)
{
fileName = fileName.Substring(0, extension);
}
Match match = regex.Match(fileName);
if (match.Success)
{
return match.Groups["core"].Value;
}
return fileName;
}
Then modify the original method to transform the filename before adding files to the HashSet and before checking for their presence:
DirectoryInfo dinfo = new DirectoryInfo(label2.Text);
FileInfo[] Files = dinfo.GetFiles("*.doc");
foreach (FileInfo file in Files)
{
files.Add(Transform(file.Name)); // Here!
listView1.Items.Add(file.Name);
}
dinfo = new DirectoryInfo(path);
Files = dinfo.GetFiles("*.doc");
foreach (FileInfo file in Files)
{
if (files.Contains(Transform(file.Name))) // Here!
{
continue;
}
listView2.Items.Add(file.Name);
}
Note the two calls to Transform.

how can delete folders in c sharp

I have some folders and these folders have some text files and i need delete these files but i catch an error with my code!
var dateFolder = Directory.GetDirectories(#"data\stdate").Select(Path.GetDirectoryName).ToArray();
foreach (var dateFile in dateFolder)
{
var stDates =
Directory.GetFiles(#"data\stdate\" + dateFile + "date").Select(Path.GetFileName).ToArray();
foreach (var date in stDates)
{
File.Delete(#"data\stdate\" + dateFile + "date\\" + date);
}
Directory.Delete(#"data\stdate\" + dateFile + "date");
}

try this:
Directory.Delete("Path", true); //true: It will delete directory by given path, also folders and files in it.

System.IO.DirectoryInfo di = new DirectoryInfo(#"data\stdate");
//This for delete all file in "data\stdate"
foreach (FileInfo file in di.GetFiles())
{
file.Delete();
}
//***************************For delete file in folder
//This for delete all Subfolder and his files in "data\stdate"
foreach (DirectoryInfo dir in di.GetDirectories())
{
dir.Delete(true);
}
//*************************
//This for delete the parent folder "stdate"
di.Delete();

i delete my original folder and i create it again!
if (!isDateEmpty)
{
Directory.Delete(#"data\stdate", true);
Directory.CreateDirectory(#"data\stdate");
}

I suggest that you use system environment variables, see here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environment_variable
The reason being, like you found out: sometimes the executable is not running in the directory you expected when you compiled the program.
EX:
String query = "%SystemDrive%";
str = Environment.ExpandEnvironmentVariables(query);
Delete(str, true);
That way it guarantees a predictable path as opposed to a relative one.

Updating the files with new file

I have 1,000 Uniquely named folders in one large folder.
Inside of each uniquely named folder these is another folder called /images.
Inside each image folder there is a file named "Read-Web-Site-Design-{UNIQUEFOLDERNAME}-ca-logo.png"
I want to replace the 1,768 .png files (while keeping the original name) from a .png file which I am supplying.
The folder structure and filenames need to remain same. Basically I'm updating the old file with a new file, using the same (unique) name, 1,000 times.
I have written this code and I am able to get all the files and directories in loop but I want to know how will I update files here,please check my code:
private List<String> DirSearch(string sDir)
{
List<String> files = new List<String>();
try
{
foreach (string f in Directory.GetFiles(sDir))
{
files.Add(f);
}
foreach (string d in Directory.GetDirectories(sDir))
{
files.AddRange(DirSearch(d));
}
}
catch (System.Exception excpt)
{
//MessageBox.Show(excpt.Message);
}
return files;
}

Simply you have to do a File.Copy() to replace old files with new .png file you are supplying.
Assuming you will have all the files to be replaced in the list,
List<String> files = new List<String>();
foreach (var file in files)
{
if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(file))
{
File.Copy("New File Path", "file to be replaced", true);
}
}
See, you are passing true as the 3rd parameter of the Copy() method, Which is to overrite if there is a file already in the destination path.
or you can use File.Replace(). Here you can keep the original file as a backup.
File.Replace("New File", "File to be replaced", "Back up of Original File");

You may wish to consider the following, It will handle the recursion for you, only find png files that have "Read-Web-Site" in their file path
foreach(var file in Directory.EnumerateFiles(dir, "*.png", SearchOption.AllDirectories)
.Where(x => x.Contains("Read-Web-Site")))
{
File.Copy(file, Path.Combine(new FileInfo(file).DirectoryName,"newName.png"), true);
}
If its another file you wish to overwrite to this file instead then its the same but
File.Copy("newFile", file, true);
Edit
Even better
foreach(var file in Directory.EnumerateFiles(dir,
"Read-Web-Site*.png",
SearchOption.AllDirectories))

copy files from one location to another

I am trying to create a directory and subdirectories and copy files from on one location to another location. The following code works but it doesn't create a parent directory(10_new) if there are sub directories. I am trying to copy all the contents(including subdirectories) from "c:\\sourceLoc\\10" to "c:\\destLoc\\10_new" folder. If "10_new" doesn't exist then I should create this folder. Please assist.
string sourceLoc = "c:\\sourceLoc\\10";
string destLoc = "c:\\destLoc\\10_new";
foreach (string dirPath in Directory.GetDirectories(sourceLoc, "*", SearchOption.AllDirectories))
{
Directory.CreateDirectory(dirPath.Replace(sourceLoc, destLoc));
if (Directory.Exists(sourceLoc))
{
//Copy all the files
foreach (string newPath in Directory.GetFiles(sourceLoc, "*.*", SearchOption.AllDirectories))
File.Copy(newPath, newPath.Replace(sourceLoc, destLoc));
}
}

From looking at your code, you never check for the existence of the parent folders. You jump to getting all the child folders first.
if (!Directory.Exists(#"C:\my\dir")) Directory.CreateDirectory(#"C:\my\dir");

Here is how to copy all files in a directory to another directory
This is taken from http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc148994.aspx
string sourcePath = "c:\\sourceLoc\\10";
string targetPath = "c:\\destLoc\\10_new";
string fileName = string.Empty;
string destFile = string.Empty;
// To copy all the files in one directory to another directory.
// Get the files in the source folder. (To recursively iterate through
// all subfolders under the current directory, see
// "How to: Iterate Through a Directory Tree.")
// Note: Check for target path was performed previously
// in this code example.
if (System.IO.Directory.Exists(sourcePath))
{
string[] files = System.IO.Directory.GetFiles(sourcePath);
// Copy the files and overwrite destination files if they already exist.
foreach (string s in files)
{
// Use static Path methods to extract only the file name from the path.
fileName = System.IO.Path.GetFileName(s);
destFile = System.IO.Path.Combine(targetPath, fileName);
System.IO.File.Copy(s, destFile, true);
}
}
else
{
Console.WriteLine("Source path does not exist!");
}
Recursive Directory/Sub-directory
public class RecursiveFileSearch
{
static System.Collections.Specialized.StringCollection log = new System.Collections.Specialized.StringCollection();
static void Main()
{
// Start with drives if you have to search the entire computer.
string[] drives = System.Environment.GetLogicalDrives();
foreach (string dr in drives)
{
System.IO.DriveInfo di = new System.IO.DriveInfo(dr);
// Here we skip the drive if it is not ready to be read. This
// is not necessarily the appropriate action in all scenarios.
if (!di.IsReady)
{
Console.WriteLine("The drive {0} could not be read", di.Name);
continue;
}
System.IO.DirectoryInfo rootDir = di.RootDirectory;
WalkDirectoryTree(rootDir);
}
// Write out all the files that could not be processed.
Console.WriteLine("Files with restricted access:");
foreach (string s in log)
{
Console.WriteLine(s);
}
// Keep the console window open in debug mode.
Console.WriteLine("Press any key");
Console.ReadKey();
}
static void WalkDirectoryTree(System.IO.DirectoryInfo root)
{
System.IO.FileInfo[] files = null;
System.IO.DirectoryInfo[] subDirs = null;
// First, process all the files directly under this folder
try
{
files = root.GetFiles("*.*");
}
// This is thrown if even one of the files requires permissions greater
// than the application provides.
catch (UnauthorizedAccessException e)
{
// This code just writes out the message and continues to recurse.
// You may decide to do something different here. For example, you
// can try to elevate your privileges and access the file again.
log.Add(e.Message);
}
catch (System.IO.DirectoryNotFoundException e)
{
Console.WriteLine(e.Message);
}
if (files != null)
{
foreach (System.IO.FileInfo fi in files)
{
// In this example, we only access the existing FileInfo object. If we
// want to open, delete or modify the file, then
// a try-catch block is required here to handle the case
// where the file has been deleted since the call to TraverseTree().
Console.WriteLine(fi.FullName);
}
// Now find all the subdirectories under this directory.
subDirs = root.GetDirectories();
foreach (System.IO.DirectoryInfo dirInfo in subDirs)
{
// Resursive call for each subdirectory.
WalkDirectoryTree(dirInfo);
}
}
}
}

Before doing File.Copy, check to make sure the folder exists. If it doesn't create it.
This function will check if a path exists, if it doesnt, it will create it. If it fails to create it, for what ever reason, it will return false. Otherwise, true.
Private Function checkDir(ByVal path As String) As Boolean
Dim dir As New DirectoryInfo(path)
Dim exist As Boolean = True
If Not dir.Exists Then
Try
dir.Create()
Catch ex As Exception
exist = False
End Try
End If
Return exist
End Function
Remember, all .Net languages compile down to the CLR (common language runtime) so it does not matter if this is in VB.Net or C#. A good way to convert between the two is: http://converter.telerik.com/

It is impossible to copy or move files with C# in windows 7.
It will instead create a file of zero bytes.