Develop Reference

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;
}

Statically linking Mono using mkbundle in Windows

I'm having trouble statically linking Mono using mkbundle in Windows. In my attempts to figure out what's going on I hit a wall. When you pass the static flag to mkbundle in windows it looks for the file monosgen-2.0-static.lib in the mono directory. This directory is defined by the line the below:
string monoPath = GetEnv("MONOPREFIX", #"C:\Program Files (x86)\Mono");
The contents of this directory after installing mono 5.1.1 is:
First I noticed the file naming convention is different from that that mkbundle is looking for (monosgen-2.0 should be mono-2.0-sgen). I can change this just fine, however I suspect - given the file name - that the mono-2.0-sgen.lib file shown in the screenshot isn't statically compiled, as when I try to run my bundled application it first can't find the sgen dll, and then when it can it can't find others.
At this point I'm wondering if mkbundle officially works on Windows, and if it does am I doing something fundamentally wrong? I have seen older post asking for help setting mkbundle in Windows and have posted questions regarding this myself. Most point to using mingw instead of cl.exe. Should I be using this instead?
The source for this snippet is shown below. You can find the entire source code here https://github.com/mono/mono/blob/master/mcs/tools/mkbundle/mkbundle.cs.
if (style == "windows")
{
Func<string, string> quote = (pp) => { return "\"" + pp + "\""; };
string compiler = GetEnv("CC", "cl.exe");
string winsdkPath = GetEnv("WINSDK", #"C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\8.1");
string vsPath = GetEnv("VSINCLUDE", #"C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0\VC");
string monoPath = GetEnv("MONOPREFIX", #"C:\Program Files (x86)\Mono");
string[] includes = new string[] {winsdkPath + #"\Include\um", winsdkPath + #"\Include\shared", vsPath + #"\include", monoPath + #"\include\mono-2.0", "." };
// string[] libs = new string[] { winsdkPath + #"\Lib\winv6.3\um\x86" , vsPath + #"\lib" };
var linkLibraries = new string[] { "kernel32.lib",
"version.lib",
"Ws2_32.lib",
"Mswsock.lib",
"Psapi.lib",
"shell32.lib",
"OleAut32.lib",
"ole32.lib",
"winmm.lib",
"user32.lib",
"libvcruntime.lib",
"advapi32.lib",
"OLDNAMES.lib",
"libucrt.lib" };
string glue_obj = "mkbundle_glue.obj";
string monoLib;
if (static_link)
monoLib = LocateFile (monoPath + #"\lib\monosgen-2.0-static.lib");
else {
Console.WriteLine ("WARNING: Dynamically linking the Mono runtime on Windows is not a tested option.");
monoLib = LocateFile (monoPath + #"\lib\monosgen-2.0.lib");
LocateFile (monoPath + #"\lib\monosgen-2.0.dll"); // in this case, the .lib is just the import library, and the .dll is also needed
}
var compilerArgs = new List<string>();
compilerArgs.Add("/MT");
foreach (string include in includes)
compilerArgs.Add(String.Format ("/I {0}", quote (include)));
if (!nomain || custom_main != null) {
compilerArgs.Add(quote(temp_c));
compilerArgs.Add(quote(temp_o));
if (custom_main != null)
compilerArgs.Add(quote(custom_main));
compilerArgs.Add(quote(monoLib));
compilerArgs.Add("/link");
compilerArgs.Add("/NODEFAULTLIB");
compilerArgs.Add("/SUBSYSTEM:windows");
compilerArgs.Add("/ENTRY:mainCRTStartup");
compilerArgs.AddRange(linkLibraries);
compilerArgs.Add("/out:"+ output);
string cl_cmd = String.Format("{0} {1}", compiler, String.Join(" ", compilerArgs.ToArray()));
Execute (cl_cmd);
}

File.Move Not Working, No Error

I'm running into some issues trying to move flat HTML files around on a server.
In short, the process says that it should take whatever file is currently in the newpath (if there is one) and move it to the backup folder. Then take the file in the old path and move it to the new path. Then it checks to see if it was successful (i.e. does the newpath exist) and if it wasn't, it replaces the backup. I've pasted the method below for your viewing pleasure.
public bool MoveContent(string oldPath, string newPath, string backupDirectoryPath, out string backupPath)
{
backupPath = String.Empty;
var oldFilePath = HttpContext.Current.Server.MapPath(oldPath);
var newFilePath = HttpContext.Current.Server.MapPath(newPath);
var newDirectory = Path.GetDirectoryName(newFilePath);
// If the file we're moving doesn't exist, fail.
if (!File.Exists(oldFilePath))
throw new InvalidPathException(oldFilePath);
// If no destination is found, fail.
if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(newDirectory))
throw new InvalidPathException(newFilePath);
if (!Directory.Exists(newDirectory))
Directory.CreateDirectory(newDirectory);
var backupPhysicalPath = String.Empty;
// If there is a file in our destination, back that one up.
if (File.Exists(newFilePath) && !String.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(backupDirectoryPath))
{
var backupFilePath = HttpContext.Current.Server.MapPath(backupDirectoryPath);
var backupDirectory = Path.GetDirectoryName(backupFilePath);
// If the backup destination doesn't exist, fail.
if(string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(backupDirectory))
throw new InvalidPathException(backupDirectory);
if(!Directory.Exists(backupDirectory))
Directory.CreateDirectory(backupDirectory);
var fileName = Path.GetFileNameWithoutExtension(newFilePath);
var currentDateTime = DateTime.Now.ToString(FileHelpers.TempFileDateFormat);
var fileExtension = Path.GetExtension(newFilePath);
// Example Result: hardware-2015-01-30-08-35-26-475.html
backupPath = backupDirectoryPath.Replace(fileName, fileName + "-" + currentDateTime);
backupPhysicalPath = String.Format("{0}\\{1}-{2}{3}", backupDirectory, fileName, currentDateTime, fileExtension);
// If there is already a file in our backup destination, fail.
if (File.Exists(backupPhysicalPath))
throw new InvalidPathException(backupPhysicalPath);
// Backup the file that currently exists in our new destination.
File.Move(newFilePath, backupPhysicalPath);
}
// Move our file to the new destination.
File.Move(oldFilePath, newFilePath);
// Return false if the new file doesn't exist.
if (!File.Exists(newFilePath))
{
// If we made a backup, return the backup to the original loction, since there's nothing in the destination.
if (!String.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(backupPhysicalPath) && File.Exists(backupPhysicalPath))
{
File.Move(backupPhysicalPath, newFilePath);
}
throw new Exception(String.Format("Failed to move content. OldPath: '{0}'; NewPath: '{1}'; BackupPath: '{2}'", oldFilePath, newFilePath, backupPhysicalPath));
}
return true;
}
Here's an example of the parameters being passed in:
oldPath: "/client/content/en/unpublished/Anpan.html"
newPath: "/client/content/en/Anpan.html"
backupDirectoryPath: "/client/content/en/backups/Anpan.html"
The problem that I'm running into is that sometimes the backup file will be made (it will move from newpath to backuppath), but it won't move from oldpath to newpath.
I've been unable to actually reproduce the issue as it happens so infrequently and without any exceptions being thrown, but the symptoms exist (I can see the files on the filesystem when the client reports the issue) and it's been reported multiple times.
I put some logging around it and wrapped the entire method in a try/catch. It never fails unexpectedly (except when I specifically throw the InvalidPathException). There is nothing in my logs when it happens.
Can anyone help me to diagnose this issue, or tell me if I'm doing something very wrong in my method that would cause the problem?
Thanks so much!

localization with .net compact framework

I'm developing an application for mobile devices (Windows CE 5.0, .NET compact framwork 2.0 pre-installed) using .NET compact framework 3.5 and MS Visual Studio 2008.
I'm using the built-in option for creating localized forms. This works perfectly as long as I use the debugging function of Visual Studio with the mobile device connected to my desktop computer. In this case, Visual Studio deploys my application along with .NET compact framework 3.5. After disconnecting the mobile device and having installed my application it is still working as expected.
My problem is: If I install the .NET compact framework using the CAB file provided by Microsoft and then install my application (also by using the CAB file created by Visual Studio) without having used the debugger the application works as well but without localization. So I think there must be some parts of the .NET framework which are only installed using the deployment function of Visual Studio - and which are making .net recognizing the locale. - Does anybody know which parts (libraries...?) are these? Since the application will be provided to users which will not use Visual Studio I've to find a solution for this.

I used the tutorial - guide to do resource localization using Compact Framework: http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/28234/Survival-guide-to-do-resource-localization-using-C

The answer is simple. It should work. But it does not.
There is clearly a bug in Microsoft's tool CABWiz used by Visual Studio to generate CAB files. It has a problem when using files with the same name in different subfolders, like when using localizations.
After hours of trying to fix it, I ended up whith a solution inspired by the CodeProject guide as given by Cornel in the previous answer : You have to "hack" the Visual Studio process of generating CAB, by using resource files with unique name, and then modifying the INF file to specify the original name for deployment on the device.
To automatize a little more, I made a little EXE that is launched as project post-build :
FileInfo CurrentExeInfo = new FileInfo(System.Reflection.Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().Location);
// Current Folder + bin\Debug
DirectoryInfo BinDebug = new DirectoryInfo( Path.Combine( CurrentExeInfo.Directory.FullName, #"bin\Debug") );
// Subfolders in \bin\Debug
Console.WriteLine(BinDebug.FullName);
string[] Dirs = Directory.GetDirectories(BinDebug.FullName, "*", SearchOption.TopDirectoryOnly);
// In each localization folder ...
foreach (string Dir in Dirs)
{
DirectoryInfo DirInfo = new DirectoryInfo(Dir);
// ... Resource files
string[] RFiles = Directory.GetFiles(Dir, "*.resources.dll");
foreach (string RFile in RFiles)
{
FileInfo RFileInfo = new FileInfo(RFile);
bool DoCopy = false;
// No underscore in resource name
if (!RFileInfo.Name.Contains("_") || RFileInfo.Name.IndexOf("_") == 0)
{
DoCopy = true;
}
// underscore in resource name
// --> Have to check if already a copy
else
{
// prefix removal
int PrefixIndex = RFileInfo.Name.IndexOf("_");
string TestFilename = RFileInfo.Name.Substring(PrefixIndex + 1);
if (!File.Exists(Path.Combine(Dir, TestFilename)))
{
// File without underscore does not exist, so must copy
DoCopy = true;
}
}
if (DoCopy)
{
// Copy file
string NewFileName = Path.Combine(Dir, DirInfo.Name.ToUpper() + "_" + RFileInfo.Name);
Console.WriteLine("Copying " + RFile + " -> " + NewFileName);
File.Copy(RFile, NewFileName, true);
}
}
}
And then this CAB patcher after normal CAB generation :
const string cabwizpath = #"C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 9.0\SmartDevices\SDK\SDKTools\cabwiz.exe";
static void Main(string[] args)
{
if (args.Length == 0)
{
Console.WriteLine("Aborted: You must enter the inf file information");
Console.ReadLine();
return;
}
if (!File.Exists(args[0]))
{
Console.WriteLine("Aborted: I can not found the INF file!");
Console.ReadLine();
return;
}
// string to search
Regex R = new Regex("\"[A-Z]{2,3}_(.+)\\.resources\\.dll\",\"([A-Z]{2,3})_(.+)\\.resources\\.dll\"");
// File reading
string inffile = File.ReadAllText(args[0]);
// Format replace from
// "FR_ProjectName.resources.dll","FR_ProjectName.resources.dll"
// To
// "ProjectName.resources.dll","FR_ProjectName.resources.dll"
inffile = R.Replace(inffile, "\"$1.resources.dll\",\"$2_$3.resources.dll\"");
// Rewriting file
File.WriteAllText(args[0], inffile);
Console.WriteLine("INF file patched ...");
// Génération du CAB ...
Console.WriteLine("Generating correct CAB ... ");
System.Diagnostics.ProcessStartInfo proc = new System.Diagnostics.ProcessStartInfo("\"" + cabwizpath + "\"", "\"" + args[0] + "\"");
proc.ErrorDialog = true;
proc.UseShellExecute = false;
proc.RedirectStandardOutput = true;
Process CabWiz = Process.Start(proc);
Console.WriteLine("\""+cabwizpath + "\" \""+ args[0]+"\"");
CabWiz.WaitForExit();
Console.WriteLine("CAB file generated (" + CabWiz.ExitCode + ") !");
}
I hope it helps.
More links about this :
culture specific string resource dll not working in .net compact framework when application is installed using cab file
https://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/fr-FR/0fbcc5b0-a6ff-4236-961d-22c5f17ed2e7/smart-device-cab-project-includes-wrong-localized-resources

directorynotfound exception

A DirectoryNotFound exception keeps happening for no apparent reason. The exception is thrown in:
public static string[] getKeywords(string filename)
{
string[] keywords = XElement.Load(filename).Elements("Keyword").Attributes("name").Select(n => n.Value).ToArray();
return keywords;
}
BUT it is called in this method:
public static void SyntaxHighlight(SyntaxHighlighter.SyntaxRichTextBox textbox, Language language)
{
switch (language)
{
case Language.Cmake:
textbox.Settings.Comment = "#";
string[] CmakeKeywords = getKeywords("APIs\\cmake.xml");
textbox.Settings.Keywords.AddRange(CmakeKeywords);
break;
case Language.CSharp:
textbox.Settings.Comment = "//";
string[] CSharpKeywords = getKeywords("APIs\\cs.xml");
textbox.Settings.Keywords.AddRange(CSharpKeywords);
break;
case Language.HTML:
textbox.Settings.Comment = "<!";
string[] HTMLKeywords = getKeywords("APIs\\html.xml");
textbox.Settings.Keywords.AddRange(HTMLKeywords);
break;
case Language.Python:
textbox.Settings.Comment = "#";
string[] PythonKeywords = getKeywords("APIs\\python.xml");
textbox.Settings.Keywords.AddRange(PythonKeywords);
break;
}
}
UPDATE:
I have a folder in my project called APIs. I checked the file names several times. Here is the exception: Could not find a part of the path 'C:\Users\Mohit\Documents\Visual Studio 2010\Projects\Notepad\Notepad\bin\Debug\APIs\cs.xml'. Thats the EXACT path of the file!

There's little hope of your program ever finding that folder. When you deploy your app, there is no project folder. The best way to organize it is to add the .xml files to your project with Project + Add Existing. Select them in Solution Explorer and in the Properties window set Build action = None and Copy to Output Directory = Copy if Newer. Build. That puts the files in the same directory as your .exe.
Find them back at runtime with System.IO.Path.GetDirectoryName(System.Reflection.Assembly.GetEntryAssembly().Location)

You might have better luck a fully qualified URL (eg #"D:\mypage\APIs\html.xml")

Looks like you are assuming the current directory is the install directory? You should find the directory like...
string path = Path.GetDirectoryName(Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().Location) +
Environment.DirectorySeparatorChar +
"file you are looking for".

Are you sure your working directory is the right one? Try to print the absolute path of the . directory. Also, list it's contents and see if that directory really is there.

I'd recommend changing your getKeywords method to be something like this to aid debugging
public static string[] getKeywords(string filename)
{
var file = new FileInfo(filename);
if (!file.Exists)
{
throw new FileNotFoundException("The requested file was not found: " + file.FullName);
}
string[] keywords = XElement.Load(filename).Elements("Keyword").Attributes("name").Select(n => n.Value).ToArray();
return keywords;
}
This should give you the full path at which it was attempting to load the file, which should make the problematic path clear to you.

I tried #nobugz method and it worked. Once you set the properties of each *.xml file to:
The best way to organize it is to add the .xml files to your project with Project + Add Existing. Select them in Solution Explorer and in the Properties window set Build action = None and Copy to Output Directory = Copy if Newer. Build. That puts the files in the same directory as your .exe.
Then put this to get your path for each case in your switch case replacing "filename" with each filename you have.
string[] YourVar = getKeywords(string.Format("{0}\\APIs\\filename.xml", Path.GetDirectoryName(System.Reflection.Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().Location)));