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Directory Browse <directoryBrowse>

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Overview

The <directoryBrowse> element controls the information that is displayed in a directory listing when you enable directory browsing for your Web site or application.

The <directoryBrowse> element can contain two attributes. The enabled attribute determines whether directory browsing is enabled for the site, application, or directory. The showFlags attribute defines the information about each file in the directory that Internet Information Services (IIS) will display. IIS can display the last modified date and time, the long date for the last modified date, the file size, and the file name extension. You can choose which of these, if any, IIS will display.

Compatibility

Version Notes
IIS 10.0 The <directoryBrowse> element was not modified in IIS 10.0.
IIS 8.5 The <directoryBrowse> element was not modified in IIS 8.5.
IIS 8.0 The <directoryBrowse> element was not modified in IIS 8.0.
IIS 7.5 The <directoryBrowse> element was not modified in IIS 7.5.
IIS 7.0 The <directoryBrowse> element was introduced in IIS 7.0.
IIS 6.0 The <directoryBrowse> element replaces the IIS 6.0 DirBrowseFlags metabase property.

Setup

The <directoryBrowse> element is included in the default installation of IIS 7 and later.

If directory browsing has been uninstalled, you can reinstall it using the following steps.

Windows Server 2012 or Windows Server 2012 R2

  1. On the taskbar, click Server Manager.
  2. In Server Manager, click the Manage menu, and then click Add Roles and Features.
  3. In the Add Roles and Features wizard, click Next. Select the installation type and click Next. Select the destination server and click Next.
  4. On the Server Roles page, expand Web Server (IIS), expand Web Server, expand Common HTTP Features, and then select Directory Browsing. Click Next.
    Screenshot of the Directory Browsing option being highlighted and selected. .
  5. On the Select features page, click Next.
  6. On the Confirm installation selections page, click Install.
  7. On the Results page, click Close.

Windows 8 or Windows 8.1

  1. On the Start screen, move the pointer all the way to the lower left corner, right-click the Start button, and then click Control Panel.
  2. In Control Panel, click Programs and Features, and then click Turn Windows features on or off.
  3. Expand Internet Information Services, expand World Wide Web Services, expand Common HTTP Features, and then select Directory Browsing.
    Screenshot of the Common H T T P Features folder and its contained folders, including the highlighted Directory Browsing Folder.
  4. Click OK.
  5. Click Close.

Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2

  1. On the taskbar, click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Server Manager.
  2. In the Server Manager hierarchy pane, expand Roles, and then click Web Server (IIS).
  3. In the Web Server (IIS) pane, scroll to the Role Services section, and then click Add Role Services.
  4. On the Select Role Services page of the Add Role Services Wizard, select Directory Browsing, and then click Next.
    The Roles Services section with the Directory Browisng (Installed) option being highlighted.
  5. On the Confirm Installation Selections page, click Install.
  6. On the Results page, click Close.

Windows Vista or Windows 7

  1. On the taskbar, click Start, and then click Control Panel.
  2. In Control Panel, click Programs and Features, and then click Turn Windows Features on or off.
  3. Expand Internet Information Services, expand World Wide Web Services, then expand Common Http Features.
  4. Select Directory Browsing, and then click OK.
    Screenshot of the Common H t t p Features folder with the Directory Browsing folder being selected and highlighted.

How To

How to enable directory browsing

  1. Open Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager:

    • If you are using Windows Server 2012 or Windows Server 2012 R2:

      • On the taskbar, click Server Manager, click Tools, and then click Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.

    • If you are using Windows 8 or Windows 8.1:

      • Hold down the Windows key, press the letter X, and then click Control Panel.
      • Click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.

    • If you are using Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2:

      • On the taskbar, click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.

    • If you are using Windows Vista or Windows 7:

      • On the taskbar, click Start, and then click Control Panel.
      • Double-click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.

  2. In the Connections pane, expand the server name, and then go to the site, application, or directory where you want to enable directory browsing.

  3. In the Home pane, double-click Directory Browsing.
    The Directory Browsing shortcut is highlighted.

  4. In the Actions pane, click Enable.
    The Directory Browsing screen with the Time, Size, and Extension options enabled.

  5. In the Directory Browsing pane, select the options that correspond to the information you want to display for each item in the directory, and then click Apply.

Configuration

The <directoryBrowse> element is configurable at the site level, application level, or directory level in the appropriate Web.config file.

Attributes

Attribute Description
enabled Optional Boolean attribute.

Specifies whether directory browsing is enabled (true) or disabled (false) on the Web server.

The default value is false.
showFlags Optional flags attribute.

The showFlags attribute can have one or more of the following possible values. If you specify more than one value, separate the values with a comma (,). The default values are Date, Time, Size, Extension.
Value Description
Date Includes the last modified date for a file or directory in a directory listing.
Extension Includes a file name extension for a file in a directory listing.
LongDate Includes the last modified date in extended format for a file in a directory listing.
None Specifies that only the file or directory names are returned in a directory listing.
Size Includes the file size for a file in a directory listing.
Time Includes the last modified time for a file or directory in a directory listing.

Child Elements

None.

Configuration Sample

The following example enables directory browsing and uses the showFlags property to configure IIS to display the date and time modified for each item in the directory, along with each item's file size and file name extension.

<configuration>
   <system.webServer>
      <directoryBrowse enabled="true" showFlags="Date,Time,Extension,Size" />
   </system.webServer>
</configuration>

Sample Code

The following examples enable directory browsing for a site named Contoso and use the showFlags property to configure IIS to display the date and time modified for each item in the directory, along with each item's file size and file name extension.

AppCmd.exe

appcmd.exe set config "Contoso" -section:system.webServer/directoryBrowse /enabled:"True" /showFlags:"Date, Time, Size, Extension"

C#

using System;
using System.Text;
using Microsoft.Web.Administration;

internal static class Sample {
   private static void Main() {
      using(ServerManager serverManager = new ServerManager()) { 
         Configuration config = serverManager.GetWebConfiguration("Contoso");

         ConfigurationSection directoryBrowseSection = config.GetSection("system.webServer/directoryBrowse");
         directoryBrowseSection["enabled"] = true;
         directoryBrowseSection["showFlags"] = @"Date, Time, Size, Extension";

         serverManager.CommitChanges();
      }
   }
}

VB.NET

Imports System
Imports System.Text
Imports Microsoft.Web.Administration

Module Sample
   Sub Main()
      Dim serverManager As ServerManager = New ServerManager
      Dim config As Configuration = serverManager.GetWebConfiguration("Contoso")
      Dim directoryBrowseSection As ConfigurationSection = config.GetSection("system.webServer/directoryBrowse")
      directoryBrowseSection("enabled") = True
      directoryBrowseSection("showFlags") = "Date, Time, Size, Extension"
      serverManager.CommitChanges()
   End Sub
End Module

JavaScript

var adminManager = new ActiveXObject('Microsoft.ApplicationHost.WritableAdminManager');
adminManager.CommitPath = "MACHINE/WEBROOT/APPHOST/Contoso";

var directoryBrowseSection = adminManager.GetAdminSection("system.webServer/directoryBrowse",
   "MACHINE/WEBROOT/APPHOST/Contoso");
directoryBrowseSection.Properties.Item("enabled").Value = true;
directoryBrowseSection.Properties.Item("showFlags").Value = "Date, Time, Size, Extension";

adminManager.CommitChanges();

VBScript

Set adminManager = createObject("Microsoft.ApplicationHost.WritableAdminManager")
adminManager.CommitPath = "MACHINE/WEBROOT/APPHOST/Contoso"

Set directoryBrowseSection = adminManager.GetAdminSection("system.webServer/directoryBrowse", "MACHINE/WEBROOT/APPHOST/Contoso")
directoryBrowseSection.Properties.Item("enabled").Value = True
directoryBrowseSection.Properties.Item("showFlags").Value = "Date, Time, Size, Extension"

adminManager.CommitChanges()