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.NET Framework Class Library
DirectoryInfo..::.MoveTo Method

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

Namespace:  System.IO
Assembly:  mscorlib (in mscorlib.dll)
Visual Basic
Public Sub MoveTo ( _
    destDirName As String _
)
C#
public void MoveTo(
    string destDirName
)
Visual C++
public:
void MoveTo(
    String^ destDirName
)
F#
member MoveTo : 
        destDirName:string -> unit 

Parameters

destDirName
Type: System..::.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.
ExceptionCondition
ArgumentNullException

destDirName is nullNothingnullptra null reference (Nothing in Visual Basic).

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.

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.

The following example demonstrates moving a directory.

Visual Basic
Imports System
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 'Main
End Class 'MoveToTest
C#
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);
    }
}
Visual C++
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);
}

.NET Framework

Supported in: 4, 3.5, 3.0, 2.0, 1.1, 1.0

.NET Framework Client Profile

Supported in: 4, 3.5 SP1

Windows 7, Windows Vista SP1 or later, Windows XP SP3, Windows XP SP2 x64 Edition, Windows Server 2008 (Server Core not supported), Windows Server 2008 R2 (Server Core supported with SP1 or later), Windows Server 2003 SP2

The .NET Framework does not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see .NET Framework System Requirements.
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