Enumerate and query files and folders

Article
10/20/2022

Access files and folders in either a folder, library, device, or network location. You can also query the files and folders in a location by constructing file and folder queries.

For guidance on how to store your Universal Windows Platform app's data, see the ApplicationData class.

Note

For a complete sample, see the Folder enumeration sample.

Prerequisites

Understand async programming for Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps

You can learn how to write asynchronous apps in C# or Visual Basic, see Call asynchronous APIs in C# or Visual Basic. To learn how to write asynchronous apps in C++/WinRT, see Concurrency and asynchronous operations with C++/WinRT. To learn how to write asynchronous apps in C++/CX, see Asynchronous programming in C++/CX.
Access permissions to the location

For example, the code in these examples require the picturesLibrary capability, but your location may require a different capability or no capability at all. To learn more, see File access permissions.

Enumerate files and folders in a location

Note

Remember to declare the picturesLibrary capability.

In this example we first use the StorageFolder.GetFilesAsync method to get all the files in the root folder of the KnownFolders.PicturesLibrary (not in subfolders) and list the name of each file. Next, we use the StorageFolder.GetFoldersAsync method to get all the subfolders in the PicturesLibrary and list the name of each subfolder.

StorageFolder picturesFolder = KnownFolders.PicturesLibrary;
StringBuilder outputText = new StringBuilder();

IReadOnlyList<StorageFile> fileList = await picturesFolder.GetFilesAsync();

outputText.AppendLine("Files:");
foreach (StorageFile file in fileList)
{
    outputText.Append(file.Name + "\n");
}

IReadOnlyList<StorageFolder> folderList = await picturesFolder.GetFoldersAsync();
           
outputText.AppendLine("Folders:");
foreach (StorageFolder folder in folderList)
{
    outputText.Append(folder.DisplayName + "\n");
}

// MainPage.h
// In MainPage.xaml: <TextBlock x:Name="OutputTextBlock"/>
#include <winrt/Windows.Storage.h>
#include <sstream>
...
Windows::Foundation::IAsyncAction ExampleCoroutineAsync()
{
    // Be sure to specify the Pictures Folder capability in your Package.appxmanifest.
    Windows::Storage::StorageFolder picturesFolder{
        Windows::Storage::KnownFolders::PicturesLibrary()
    };

    std::wstringstream outputString;
    outputString << L"Files:" << std::endl;

    for (auto const& file : co_await picturesFolder.GetFilesAsync())
    {
        outputString << file.Name().c_str() << std::endl;
    }

    outputString << L"Folders:" << std::endl;
    for (auto const& folder : co_await picturesFolder.GetFoldersAsync())
    {
        outputString << folder.Name().c_str() << std::endl;
    }

    OutputTextBlock().Text(outputString.str().c_str());
}

#include <ppltasks.h>
#include <string>
#include <memory>

using namespace Windows::Storage;
using namespace Platform::Collections;
using namespace concurrency;
using namespace std;

// Be sure to specify the Pictures Folder capability in the appxmanifext file.
StorageFolder^ picturesFolder = KnownFolders::PicturesLibrary;

// Use a shared_ptr so that the string stays in memory
// until the last task is complete.
auto outputString = make_shared<wstring>();
*outputString += L"Files:\n";

// Get a read-only vector of the file objects
// and pass it to the continuation.
create_task(picturesFolder->GetFilesAsync())        
   // outputString is captured by value, which creates a copy
   // of the shared_ptr and increments its reference count.
   .then ([outputString] (IVectorView\<StorageFile^>^ files)
   {        
       for ( unsigned int i = 0 ; i < files->Size; i++)
       {
           *outputString += files->GetAt(i)->Name->Data();
           *outputString += L"\n";
      }
   })
   // We need to explicitly state the return type
   // here: -IAsyncOperation<...>
   .then([picturesFolder]() -IAsyncOperation\<IVectorView\<StorageFolder^>^>^
   {
       return picturesFolder->GetFoldersAsync();
   })
   // Capture "this" to access m_OutputTextBlock from within the lambda.
   .then([this, outputString](IVectorView/<StorageFolder^>^ folders)
   {        
       *outputString += L"Folders:\n";

       for ( unsigned int i = 0; i < folders->Size; i++)
       {
          *outputString += folders->GetAt(i)->Name->Data();
          *outputString += L"\n";
       }

       // Assume m_OutputTextBlock is a TextBlock defined in the XAML.
       m_OutputTextBlock->Text = ref new String((*outputString).c_str());
    });

Dim picturesFolder As StorageFolder = KnownFolders.PicturesLibrary
Dim outputText As New StringBuilder

Dim fileList As IReadOnlyList(Of StorageFile) =
    Await picturesFolder.GetFilesAsync()

outputText.AppendLine("Files:")
For Each file As StorageFile In fileList

    outputText.Append(file.Name & vbLf)

Next file

Dim folderList As IReadOnlyList(Of StorageFolder) =
    Await picturesFolder.GetFoldersAsync()

outputText.AppendLine("Folders:")
For Each folder As StorageFolder In folderList

    outputText.Append(folder.DisplayName & vbLf)

Next folder

Note

In C# or Visual Basic, remember to put the async keyword in the method declaration of any method in which you use the await operator.

Alternatively, you can use the StorageFolder.GetItemsAsync method to get all items (both files and subfolders) in a particular location. The following example uses the GetItemsAsync method to get all files and subfolders in the root folder of the KnownFolders.PicturesLibrary (not in subfolders). Then the example lists the name of each file and subfolder. If the item is a subfolder, the example appends "folder" to the name.

StorageFolder picturesFolder = KnownFolders.PicturesLibrary;
StringBuilder outputText = new StringBuilder();

IReadOnlyList<IStorageItem> itemsList = await picturesFolder.GetItemsAsync();

foreach (var item in itemsList)
{
    if (item is StorageFolder)
    {
        outputText.Append(item.Name + " folder\n");

    }
    else
    {
        outputText.Append(item.Name + "\n");
    }
}

// MainPage.h
// In MainPage.xaml: <TextBlock x:Name="OutputTextBlock"/>
#include <winrt/Windows.Storage.h>
#include <sstream>
...
Windows::Foundation::IAsyncAction ExampleCoroutineAsync()
{
    // Be sure to specify the Pictures Folder capability in your Package.appxmanifest.
    Windows::Storage::StorageFolder picturesFolder{
        Windows::Storage::KnownFolders::PicturesLibrary()
    };

    std::wstringstream outputString;

    for (Windows::Storage::IStorageItem const& item : co_await picturesFolder.GetItemsAsync())
    {
        outputString << item.Name().c_str();

        if (item.IsOfType(Windows::Storage::StorageItemTypes::Folder))
        {
            outputString << L" folder" << std::endl;
        }
        else
        {
            outputString << std::endl;
        }

        OutputTextBlock().Text(outputString.str().c_str());
    }
}

// See previous example for comments, namespace and #include info.
StorageFolder^ picturesFolder = KnownFolders::PicturesLibrary;
auto outputString = make_shared<wstring>();

create_task(picturesFolder->GetItemsAsync())        
    .then ([this, outputString] (IVectorView<IStorageItem^>^ items)
{        
    for ( unsigned int i = 0 ; i < items->Size; i++)
    {
        *outputString += items->GetAt(i)->Name->Data();
        if(items->GetAt(i)->IsOfType(StorageItemTypes::Folder))
        {
            *outputString += L"  folder\n";
        }
        else
        {
            *outputString += L"\n";
        }
        m_OutputTextBlock->Text = ref new String((*outputString).c_str());
    }
});

Dim picturesFolder As StorageFolder = KnownFolders.PicturesLibrary
Dim outputText As New StringBuilder

Dim itemsList As IReadOnlyList(Of IStorageItem) =
    Await picturesFolder.GetItemsAsync()

For Each item In itemsList

    If TypeOf item Is StorageFolder Then

        outputText.Append(item.Name & " folder" & vbLf)

    Else

        outputText.Append(item.Name & vbLf)

    End If

Next item

Query files in a location and enumerate matching files

In this example we query for all the files in the KnownFolders.PicturesLibrary grouped by the month, and this time the example recurses into subfolders. First, we call StorageFolder.CreateFolderQuery and pass the CommonFolderQuery.GroupByMonth value to the method. That gives us a StorageFolderQueryResult object.

Next we call StorageFolderQueryResult.GetFoldersAsync which returns StorageFolder objects representing virtual folders. In this case we're grouping by month, so the virtual folders each represent a group of files with the same month.

StorageFolder picturesFolder = KnownFolders.PicturesLibrary;

StorageFolderQueryResult queryResult =
    picturesFolder.CreateFolderQuery(CommonFolderQuery.GroupByMonth);
        
IReadOnlyList<StorageFolder> folderList =
    await queryResult.GetFoldersAsync();

StringBuilder outputText = new StringBuilder();

foreach (StorageFolder folder in folderList)
{
    IReadOnlyList<StorageFile> fileList = await folder.GetFilesAsync();

    // Print the month and number of files in this group.
    outputText.AppendLine(folder.Name + " (" + fileList.Count + ")");

    foreach (StorageFile file in fileList)
    {
        // Print the name of the file.
        outputText.AppendLine("   " + file.Name);
    }
}

// MainPage.h
// In MainPage.xaml: <TextBlock x:Name="OutputTextBlock"/>
#include <winrt/Windows.Storage.h>
#include <winrt/Windows.Storage.Search.h>
#include <sstream>
...
Windows::Foundation::IAsyncAction ExampleCoroutineAsync()
{
    // Be sure to specify the Pictures Folder capability in your Package.appxmanifest.
    Windows::Storage::StorageFolder picturesFolder{
        Windows::Storage::KnownFolders::PicturesLibrary()
    };

    Windows::Storage::Search::StorageFolderQueryResult queryResult{
        picturesFolder.CreateFolderQuery(Windows::Storage::Search::CommonFolderQuery::GroupByMonth)
    };

    std::wstringstream outputString;

    for (Windows::Storage::StorageFolder const& folder : co_await queryResult.GetFoldersAsync())
    {
        auto files{ co_await folder.GetFilesAsync() };
        outputString << folder.Name().c_str() << L" (" << files.Size() << L")" << std::endl;

        for (Windows::Storage::StorageFile const& file : files)
        {
            outputString << L"    " << file.Name().c_str() << std::endl;
        }
    }

    OutputTextBlock().Text(outputString.str().c_str());
}

#include <ppltasks.h>
#include <string>
#include <memory>
using namespace Windows::Storage;
using namespace Windows::Storage::Search;
using namespace concurrency;
using namespace Platform::Collections;
using namespace Windows::Foundation::Collections;
using namespace std;

StorageFolder^ picturesFolder = KnownFolders::PicturesLibrary;

StorageFolderQueryResult^ queryResult =
    picturesFolder->CreateFolderQuery(CommonFolderQuery::GroupByMonth);

// Use shared_ptr so that outputString remains in memory
// until the task completes, which is after the function goes out of scope.
auto outputString = std::make_shared<wstring>();

create_task( queryResult->GetFoldersAsync()).then([this, outputString] (IVectorView<StorageFolder^>^ view)
{        
    for ( unsigned int i = 0; i < view->Size; i++)
    {
        create_task(view->GetAt(i)->GetFilesAsync()).then([this, i, view, outputString](IVectorView<StorageFile^>^ files)
        {
            *outputString += view->GetAt(i)->Name->Data();
            *outputString += L" (";
            *outputString += to_wstring(files->Size);
            *outputString += L")\r\n";
            for (unsigned int j = 0; j < files->Size; j++)
            {
                *outputString += L"     ";
                *outputString += files->GetAt(j)->Name->Data();
                *outputString += L"\r\n";
            }
        }).then([this, outputString]()
        {
            m_OutputTextBlock->Text = ref new String((*outputString).c_str());
        });
    }    
});

Dim picturesFolder As StorageFolder = KnownFolders.PicturesLibrary
Dim outputText As New StringBuilder

Dim queryResult As StorageFolderQueryResult =
    picturesFolder.CreateFolderQuery(CommonFolderQuery.GroupByMonth)

Dim folderList As IReadOnlyList(Of StorageFolder) =
    Await queryResult.GetFoldersAsync()

For Each folder As StorageFolder In folderList

    Dim fileList As IReadOnlyList(Of StorageFile) =
        Await folder.GetFilesAsync()

    ' Print the month and number of files in this group.
    outputText.AppendLine(folder.Name & " (" & fileList.Count & ")")

    For Each file As StorageFile In fileList

        ' Print the name of the file.
        outputText.AppendLine("   " & file.Name)

    Next file

Next folder

The output of the example looks similar to the following.

July ‎2015 (2)
   MyImage3.png
   MyImage4.png
‎December ‎2014 (2)
   MyImage1.png
   MyImage2.png

Enumerate and query files and folders

Prerequisites

Enumerate files and folders in a location

Query files in a location and enumerate matching files

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