CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c#filesystemwatcher
kaushik
kaushik

Reputation: 124

Can I delete a file when I am watching it with a FileSystemWatcher?

We know that in .NET (C# to be specific), we can use a FileSystemWatcher to detect any type of modification.

public void MessageFileWatcher(string Path, string FileName)
        {
            FileSystemWatcher Watcher = new FileSystemWatcher();
            Watcher.Path = Path;
            Watcher.Filter = FileName;
            Watcher.NotifyFilter = NotifyFilters.LastWrite;
            Watcher.Changed += new FileSystemEventHandler(OnChanged);
            Watcher.EnableRaisingEvents = true;
        }

but I want to keep a watch on a file and after some time also want to delete that file.

To be precise. can FileSystemWatcher class always look for modifications... and if I want to delete that particular file, will it raise an exception?

Upvotes: 1

Views: 396

Answers (2)

Jeremy McGee
Jeremy McGee

Reputation: 25200

It won't raise an exception.

A FileSystemWatcher doesn't watch files: it watches the file system. In this case you'll find that there will be at least the Deleted event raised when the file is removed.

Upvotes: 2

SWeko
SWeko

Reputation: 30882

A FileSystemWatcher wathes a path with an optional filter, not a single file. Of course, if you set the filter to be the name of the file, the watcher will only watch one file, but that is more of a side-effect that its intended usage.

That said, it's clear that yes, you can delete the file you are watching. However, the deletion should not raise the Changed event. To monitor the deletion you will need to use the Deleted event.

Upvotes: 0

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