DirectoryInfo.MoveTo(String) Method

Definition

Namespace:

System.IO

Assembly:

System.Runtime.dll

Source:

DirectoryInfo.cs

Moves a DirectoryInfo instance and its contents to a new path.

public:
 void MoveTo(System::String ^ destDirName);

public void MoveTo (string destDirName);

member this.MoveTo : string -> unit

Public Sub MoveTo (destDirName As String)

Parameters

destDirName

String

The name and path to which to move this directory. The destination cannot be another disk volume or a directory with the identical name. It can be an existing directory to which you want to add this directory as a subdirectory.

Exceptions

ArgumentNullException

destDirName is null.

ArgumentException

destDirName is an empty string (''").

IOException

An attempt was made to move a directory to a different volume.

-or-

destDirName already exists.

-or-

You are not authorized to access this path.

-or-

The directory being moved and the destination directory have the same name.

SecurityException

The caller does not have the required permission.

DirectoryNotFoundException

The destination directory cannot be found.

Examples

The following example demonstrates moving a directory.

using namespace System;
using namespace System::IO;
int main()
{
   
   // Make a reference to a directory.
   DirectoryInfo^ di = gcnew DirectoryInfo( "TempDir" );
   
   // Create the directory only if it does not already exist.
   if (  !di->Exists )
      di->Create();

   
   // Create a subdirectory in the directory just created.
   DirectoryInfo^ dis = di->CreateSubdirectory( "SubDir" );
   
   // Move the main directory. Note that the contents move with the directory.
   if (  !Directory::Exists( "NewTempDir" ) )
      di->MoveTo( "NewTempDir" );

   try
   {
      
      // Attempt to delete the subdirectory. Note that because it has been
      // moved, an exception is thrown.
      dis->Delete( true );
   }
   catch ( Exception^ ) 
   {
      
      // Handle this exception in some way, such as with the following code:
      // Console::WriteLine(S"That directory does not exist.");
   }

   
   // Point the DirectoryInfo reference to the new directory.
   //di = new DirectoryInfo(S"NewTempDir");
   // Delete the directory.
   //di->Delete(true);
}

using System;
using System.IO;

public class MoveToTest
{
    public static void Main()
    {

        // Make a reference to a directory.
        DirectoryInfo di = new DirectoryInfo("TempDir");

        // Create the directory only if it does not already exist.
        if (di.Exists == false)
            di.Create();

        // Create a subdirectory in the directory just created.
        DirectoryInfo dis = di.CreateSubdirectory("SubDir");

        // Move the main directory. Note that the contents move with the directory.
        if (Directory.Exists("NewTempDir") == false)
            di.MoveTo("NewTempDir");

        try
        {
            // Attempt to delete the subdirectory. Note that because it has been
            // moved, an exception is thrown.
            dis.Delete(true);
        }
        catch (Exception)
        {
            // Handle this exception in some way, such as with the following code:
            // Console.WriteLine("That directory does not exist.");
        }

        // Point the DirectoryInfo reference to the new directory.
        //di = new DirectoryInfo("NewTempDir");

        // Delete the directory.
        //di.Delete(true);
    }
}

open System.IO

// Make a reference to a directory.
let di = DirectoryInfo "TempDir"

// Create the directory only if it does not already exist.
if not di.Exists then
    di.Create()

// Create a subdirectory in the directory just created.
let dis = di.CreateSubdirectory "SubDir"

// Move the main directory. Note that the contents move with the directory.
if not (Directory.Exists "NewTempDir") then
    di.MoveTo "NewTempDir"

try
    // Attempt to delete the subdirectory. Note that because it has been
    // moved, an exception is thrown.
    dis.Delete true
with _ ->
    // Handle this exception in some way, such as with the following code:
    // Console.WriteLine("That directory does not exist.")
    ()

// Point the DirectoryInfo reference to the new directory.
//di = new DirectoryInfo("NewTempDir")

// Delete the directory.
//di.Delete(true)

Imports System.IO

Public Class MoveToTest

    Public Shared Sub Main()
        ' Make a reference to a directory.
        Dim di As New DirectoryInfo("TempDir")
        ' Create the directory only if it does not already exist.
        If di.Exists = False Then
            di.Create()
        End If

        ' Create a subdirectory in the directory just created.
        Dim dis As DirectoryInfo = di.CreateSubdirectory("SubDir")
        If Directory.Exists("NewTempDir") = False Then
            ' Move the main directory. Note that the contents move with the directory.
            di.MoveTo("NewTempDir")
        End If
        Try
            ' Attempt to delete the subdirectory. Note that because it has been
            ' moved, an exception is thrown.
            dis.Delete(True)
        Catch
            ' Handle this exception in some way, such as with the following code:
            ' Console.WriteLine("That directory does not exist.");
            ' Point the DirectoryInfo reference to the new directory.
            ' di = New DirectoryInfo("NewTempDir")
            ' Delete the directory.
            ' di.Delete(True)        
        End Try

    End Sub
End Class

Remarks

This method throws an IOException if, for example, you try to move c:\mydir to c:\public, and c:\public already exists. You must specify "c:\\public\\mydir" as the destDirName parameter, or specify a new directory name such as "c:\\newdir".

This method permits moving a directory to a read-only directory. The read/write attribute of neither directory is affected.

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

See also

• File and Stream I/O
• How to: Read Text from a File
• How to: Write Text to a File