File

Public:

Methods:

Name	Description
AppendAllText	Appends the specified string to the file, creating the file if it does not already exist.
AppendText	Creates a StreamWriter that appends UTF-8 encoded text to an existing file.
Copy	Copies an existing file to a new file. Overwriting a file of the same name is allowed.
Create	Creates or overwrites the specified file.
CreateText	Creates or opens a file for writing UTF-8 encoded text.
Delete	Deletes the specified file.
Exists	Determines if a file exists.
GetAttributes	Returns the file attributes (ReadOnly, Hidden, ...)
GetCreationTime	Returns the time the file was created in local time.
GetCreationTimeUtc	Returns the time the file was created in UTC time.
GetLastAccessTime	Returns the time the file was accessed in local time.
GetLastAccessTimeUtc	Returns The last time a file was accessed in UTC time.
GetLastWriteTime	Returns the last time the file was written to in local time.
GetLastWriteTimeUtc	Returns the last time the file was written to in UTC time.
Move	Moves a file from one location to another.
OpenFile	Opens a file with a FileStream
OpenRead	Opens a file for reading as a FileStream.
OpenText	Opens a file for reading through a StreamReader.
OpenWrite	Opens a file for writing as a FileStream.
ReadAllBytes	Reads an entire file into a byte array.
ReadAllLines	Opens a file, reads all lines in a file into an array and closes the files.
ReadAllText	Reads the entire contents of a file and returns it as a String.
SetAttributes	Sets the file attributes (ReadOnly, Hidden, ...)
SetCreationTime	Sets the time of creation for a file in local time.
SetCreationTimeUtc	Sets the time of creation for a file in UTC time.
SetLastAccessTime	Sets the last time the file was accessed in local time.
SetLastAccessTimeUtc	Sets the last time the file was accessed in UTC time.
SetLastWriteTime	Sets the last time the file was written to in local time.
SetLastWriteTimeUtc	Sets the last time the file was written to in UTC time.
WriteAllbytes	Opens a file, writes all bytes to the file, then closes the file.
WriteAllLines	Opens a file, writes all strings to the file with appended new line values, then closes the file.
WriteAllText	Opens a files, writes out all contents to the file, then closes the file.

Remarks

Use the File class for typical operations such as copying, moving, renaming, creating, opening, deleting, and appending to files. You can also use the File class to get and set file attributes or date and time information related to the creation, access, and writing of a file.

Many of the File methods return other I/O types when you create or open files. You can use these other types to further manipulate a file. For more information, see specific File members such as OpenText, CreateText, or Create.

Because all File methods are static, it might be more efficient to use a File method rather than a corresponding FileInfo instance method if you want to perform only one action. All File methods require the path to the file that you are manipulating.

By default, full read/write access to new files is granted to all users.

The following table describes the enumerations that are used to customize the behavior of various File methods.

In members that accept a path, the path can refer to a file or just a directory. The specified path can also refer to a relative path or a Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path for a server and share name. For example, all the following are acceptable paths:

• "c:\MyDir\MyFile.txt"
• "c:\MyDir"
• "MyDir\MySubDir"
• "\\MyServer\MyShare"

Examples

The following example demonstrates how to use the File class to check whether a file exists, and depending on the result, either create a new file and write to it, or open the existing file and read from it.

Public Sub Main()
    Const Path As String = "c:\temp\MyTest.txt"

    If Not File.Exists(Path) Then
        ' Create a file to write to.
        Dim sw As StreamWriter
        Set sw = File.CreateText(Path)
        sw.WriteLine "Hello"
        sw.WriteLine "And"
        sw.WriteLine "Welcome"
        sw.Flush
    End If

    ' Open the file to read from.
    Dim sr As StreamReader
    Set sr = File.OpenText(Path)
    Do While sr.Peek >= 0
        Debug.Print sr.ReadLine
    Loop
End Sub

See Also

Project CorLib Overview

Class File Overview