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Path.AltDirectorySeparatorChar Field

Definition

Provides a platform-specific alternate character used to separate directory levels in a path string that reflects a hierarchical file system organization.

C#
public static readonly char AltDirectorySeparatorChar;

Field Value

Examples

The following example displays Path field values on Windows and on Unix-based systems. Note that Windows supports either the forward slash (which is returned by the AltDirectorySeparatorChar field) or the backslash (which is returned by the DirectorySeparatorChar field) as path separator characters, while Unix-based systems support only the forward slash.

C#
using System;
using System.IO;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        Console.WriteLine($"Path.DirectorySeparatorChar: '{Path.DirectorySeparatorChar}'");
        Console.WriteLine($"Path.AltDirectorySeparatorChar: '{Path.AltDirectorySeparatorChar}'");
        Console.WriteLine($"Path.PathSeparator: '{Path.PathSeparator}'");
        Console.WriteLine($"Path.VolumeSeparatorChar: '{Path.VolumeSeparatorChar}'");
        var invalidChars = Path.GetInvalidPathChars();
        Console.WriteLine($"Path.GetInvalidPathChars:");
        for (int ctr = 0; ctr < invalidChars.Length; ctr++) 
        {
            Console.Write($"  U+{Convert.ToUInt16(invalidChars[ctr]):X4} ");
            if ((ctr + 1) % 10 == 0) Console.WriteLine();
        }
        Console.WriteLine();
    }
}
// The example displays the following output when run on a Windows system:
//    Path.DirectorySeparatorChar: '\'
//    Path.AltDirectorySeparatorChar: '/'
//    Path.PathSeparator: ';'
//    Path.VolumeSeparatorChar: ':'
//    Path.GetInvalidPathChars:
//      U+007C)   U+0000)   U+0001)   U+0002)   U+0003)   U+0004)   U+0005)   U+0006)   U+0007)   U+0008)
//      U+0009)   U+000A)   U+000B)   U+000C)   U+000D)   U+000E)   U+000F)   U+0010)   U+0011)   U+0012)
//      U+0013)   U+0014)   U+0015)   U+0016)   U+0017)   U+0018)   U+0019)   U+001A)   U+001B)   U+001C)
//      U+001D)   U+001E)   U+001F)
//
// The example displays the following output when run on a Linux system:
//    Path.DirectorySeparatorChar: '/'
//    Path.AltDirectorySeparatorChar: '/'
//    Path.PathSeparator: ':'
//    Path.VolumeSeparatorChar: '/'
//    Path.GetInvalidPathChars:
//      U+0000

Remarks

This field can have the same value as DirectorySeparatorChar. AltDirectorySeparatorChar and DirectorySeparatorChar are both valid for separating directory levels in a path string.

The value of this field is a slash ('/') on both Windows and Unix-based operating systems.

Applies to

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
.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, 1.5, 1.6, 2.0, 2.1
UWP 10.0

See also