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File.GetCreationTime Method

  • Reference

Definition

Namespace:
System.IO
Assemblies:
netstandard.dll, System.Runtime.dll
Assemblies:
mscorlib.dll, System.IO.FileSystem.dll
Assemblies:
netstandard.dll, System.IO.FileSystem.dll
Assemblies:
netstandard.dll, System.IO.FileSystem.dll, System.Runtime.dll
Assembly:
System.IO.FileSystem.dll
Assembly:
mscorlib.dll
Assembly:
netstandard.dll

Overloads

GetCreationTime(SafeFileHandle)

Returns the creation time of the specified file or directory.
GetCreationTime(String)

Returns the creation date and time of the specified file or directory.

GetCreationTime(SafeFileHandle)

Source:
File.cs
Source:
File.cs
Source:
File.cs

Returns the creation time of the specified file or directory.

C# 
public static DateTime GetCreationTime(Microsoft.Win32.SafeHandles.SafeFileHandle fileHandle);

Parameters

fileHandle
SafeFileHandle

A SafeFileHandle to the file or directory for which to obtain creation date and time information.

Returns

DateTime

A DateTime structure set to the creation date and time for the specified file or directory. This value is expressed in local time.

Exceptions

ArgumentNullException

fileHandle is null.

UnauthorizedAccessException

The caller does not have the required permission.

Applies to

.NET 10 and other versions
Product Versions
.NET 7, 8, 9, 10

GetCreationTime(String)

Source:
File.cs
Source:
File.cs
Source:
File.cs

Returns the creation date and time of the specified file or directory.

C# 
public static DateTime GetCreationTime(string path);

Parameters

path
String

The file or directory for which to obtain creation date and time information.

Returns

DateTime

A DateTime structure set to the creation date and time for the specified file or directory. This value is expressed in local time.

Exceptions

UnauthorizedAccessException

The caller does not have the required permission.

ArgumentException

.NET Framework and .NET Core versions older than 2.1: path is a zero-length string, contains only white space, or contains one or more invalid characters. You can query for invalid characters by using the GetInvalidPathChars() method.

ArgumentNullException

path is null.

PathTooLongException

The specified path, file name, or both exceed the system-defined maximum length.

NotSupportedException

path is in an invalid format.

Examples

The following example demonstrates GetCreationTime.

VB 
Imports System.IO

Module Module1

    Sub Main()
        Dim fileCreatedDate As DateTime = File.GetCreationTime("C:\Example\MyTest.txt")
        Console.WriteLine("file created: " + fileCreatedDate)
    End Sub

End Module

Remarks

Note

This method may return an inaccurate value, because it uses native functions whose values may not be continuously updated by the operating system.

The path parameter is permitted to specify relative or absolute path information. Relative path information is interpreted as relative to the current working directory. To obtain the current working directory, see GetCurrentDirectory.

If the file described in the path parameter does not exist, this method returns 12:00 midnight, January 1, 1601 A.D. (C.E.) Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), adjusted to local time.

NTFS-formatted drives may cache information about a file, such as file creation time, for a short period of time. As a result, it may be necessary to explicitly set the creation time of a file if you are overwriting or replacing an existing file.

For a list of common I/O tasks, see Common I/O Tasks.

See also

Applies to

.NET 10 and other versions
Product Versions
.NET Core 1.0, Core 1.1, Core 2.0, Core 2.1, Core 2.2, Core 3.0, Core 3.1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
.NET Framework 1.1, 2.0, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 4.5.1, 4.5.2, 4.6, 4.6.1, 4.6.2, 4.7, 4.7.1, 4.7.2, 4.8, 4.8.1
.NET Standard 1.3, 1.4, 1.6, 2.0, 2.1
UWP 10.0