C# || How To Get A List Of Files At A Given Path Directory Using C#

May 13, 2021 admin No comments

The following is a module with functions which demonstrates how to get a list of files at a given directory path using C#.

The function demonstrated on this page returns a list of System.IO.FileInfo, which contains information about the files in the given directory.

1. Get Files In Directory

The example below demonstrates the use of ‘Utils.Methods.GetFilesInDirectory‘ to get a list of files at a given path directory.

The optional function parameter lets you specify the search option. This lets you specify whether to limit the search to just the current directory, or expand the search to the current directory and all subdirectories when searching for files.





		
		
			1. Get Files In Directory
			
C#
			
			// Get Files In Directory

// Declare directory path
var directory = $@"C:\Users\Name\Desktop";

// Get files at the specified directory
var files = Utils.Methods.GetFilesInDirectory(directory);

// Display info about the files
foreach (var file in files) {
    Console.WriteLine($"File: {file.FullName} - Last Modified: {file.LastWriteTime}");
}

// example output:
/*
    File: C:\Users\Name\Desktop\text.txt - Last Modified: 10/7/2020 12:47:56 PM
    File: C:\Users\Name\Desktop\image.png - Last Modified: 9/4/2020 8:36:25 PM
    File: C:\Users\Name\Desktop\document.docx - Last Modified: 3/7/2018 9:26:19 PM
*/
			
				
					
				
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						// Get Files In Directory
 
// Declare directory path
var directory = $@"C:\Users\Name\Desktop";
 
// Get files at the specified directory
var files = Utils.Methods.GetFilesInDirectory(directory);
 
// Display info about the files
foreach (var file in files) {
    Console.WriteLine($"File: {file.FullName} - Last Modified: {file.LastWriteTime}");
}
 
// example output:
/*
    File: C:\Users\Name\Desktop\text.txt - Last Modified: 10/7/2020 12:47:56 PM
    File: C:\Users\Name\Desktop\image.png - Last Modified: 9/4/2020 8:36:25 PM
    File: C:\Users\Name\Desktop\document.docx - Last Modified: 3/7/2018 9:26:19 PM
*/

2. Utils Namespace

The following is the Utils Namespace. Include this in your project to start using!





		
		
			Utils Namespace
			
C#
			
			// ============================================================================
//    Author: Kenneth Perkins
//    Date:   May 13, 2021
//    Taken From: http://programmingnotes.org/
//    File:  Utils.cs
//    Description: Handles general utility functions
// ============================================================================
using System;
using System.Linq;
using System.Collections.Generic;

namespace Utils {
    public static class Methods {
        /// <summary>
        /// Returns a list of <see cref="System.IO.FileInfo"/> of the files
        /// in the given directory
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="directory">The relative or absolute path to the directory to search</param>
        /// <param name="searchOption">The file search option</param>
        /// <returns>A list of <see cref="System.IO.FileInfo"/> in the given directory</returns>
        public static List<System.IO.FileInfo> GetFilesInDirectory(string directory
                , System.IO.SearchOption searchOption = System.IO.SearchOption.TopDirectoryOnly) {
            return System.IO.Directory.GetFiles(directory, "*", searchOption)
                .Select(fileName => new System.IO.FileInfo(fileName)).ToList();
        }
    }
}// http://programmingnotes.org/
			
				
					
				
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						// ============================================================================
//    Author: Kenneth Perkins
//    Date:   May 13, 2021
//    Taken From: http://programmingnotes.org/
//    File:  Utils.cs
//    Description: Handles general utility functions
// ============================================================================
using System;
using System.Linq;
using System.Collections.Generic;
 
namespace Utils {
    public static class Methods {
        /// <summary>
        /// Returns a list of <see cref="System.IO.FileInfo"/> of the files
        /// in the given directory
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="directory">The relative or absolute path to the directory to search</param>
        /// <param name="searchOption">The file search option</param>
        /// <returns>A list of <see cref="System.IO.FileInfo"/> in the given directory</returns>
        public static List<System.IO.FileInfo> GetFilesInDirectory(string directory
                , System.IO.SearchOption searchOption = System.IO.SearchOption.TopDirectoryOnly) {
            return System.IO.Directory.GetFiles(directory, "*", searchOption)
                .Select(fileName => new System.IO.FileInfo(fileName)).ToList();
        }
    }
}// http://programmingnotes.org/

3. More Examples

Below are more examples demonstrating the use of the ‘Utils‘ Namespace. Don’t forget to include the module when running the examples!





		
		
			More Examples
			
C#
			
			// ============================================================================
//    Author: Kenneth Perkins
//    Date:   May 13, 2021
//    Taken From: http://programmingnotes.org/
//    File:  Program.cs
//    Description: The following demonstrates the use of the Utils Namespace
// ============================================================================
using System;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.Collections.Generic;

public class Program {
    static void Main(string[] args) {
        try {
            // Declare directory path
            var directory = $@"C:\path\to\directory";
            
            // Get files at the specified directory
            var files = Utils.Methods.GetFilesInDirectory(directory);

            // Display info about the files
            foreach (var file in files) {
                Display($"File: {file.FullName} - Last Modified: {file.LastWriteTime}");
            }
        } catch (Exception ex) {
            Display(ex.ToString());
        } finally {
            Console.ReadLine();
        }
    }

    static void Display(string message) {
        Console.WriteLine(message);
        Debug.Print(message);
    }
}// http://programmingnotes.org/
			
				
					
				
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						// ============================================================================
//    Author: Kenneth Perkins
//    Date:   May 13, 2021
//    Taken From: http://programmingnotes.org/
//    File:  Program.cs
//    Description: The following demonstrates the use of the Utils Namespace
// ============================================================================
using System;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.Collections.Generic;
 
public class Program {
    static void Main(string[] args) {
        try {
            // Declare directory path
            var directory = $@"C:\path\to\directory";
            
            // Get files at the specified directory
            var files = Utils.Methods.GetFilesInDirectory(directory);
 
            // Display info about the files
            foreach (var file in files) {
                Display($"File: {file.FullName} - Last Modified: {file.LastWriteTime}");
            }
        } catch (Exception ex) {
            Display(ex.ToString());
        } finally {
            Console.ReadLine();
        }
    }
 
    static void Display(string message) {
        Console.WriteLine(message);
        Debug.Print(message);
    }
}// http://programmingnotes.org/

QUICK NOTES:
The highlighted lines are sections of interest to look out for.

The code is heavily commented, so no further insight is necessary. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below.

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Posted in: C#, Console Tags: c-sharp, get files

C# || How To Get A List Of Files At A Given Path Directory Using C#

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