File.GetLastWriteTime Method

Definition

Namespace:

System.IO

Assembly:

System.Runtime.dll

Overloads

GetLastWriteTime(SafeFileHandle)	Returns the last write date and time of the specified file or directory.
GetLastWriteTime(String)	Returns the date and time the specified file or directory was last written to.

GetLastWriteTime(SafeFileHandle)

Source:

File.cs

Returns the last write date and time of the specified file or directory.

public:
 static DateTime GetLastWriteTime(Microsoft::Win32::SafeHandles::SafeFileHandle ^ fileHandle);

public static DateTime GetLastWriteTime (Microsoft.Win32.SafeHandles.SafeFileHandle fileHandle);

static member GetLastWriteTime : Microsoft.Win32.SafeHandles.SafeFileHandle -> DateTime

Public Shared Function GetLastWriteTime (fileHandle As SafeFileHandle) As DateTime

Parameters

fileHandle

SafeFileHandle

A SafeFileHandle to the file or directory for which to obtain last write date and time information.

Returns

DateTime

A DateTime structure set to the last write date and time for the specified file or directory. This value is expressed in local time.

Exceptions

ArgumentNullException

fileHandle is null.

UnauthorizedAccessException

The caller does not have the required permission.

GetLastWriteTime(String)

Source:

File.cs

Returns the date and time the specified file or directory was last written to.

public:
 static DateTime GetLastWriteTime(System::String ^ path);

public static DateTime GetLastWriteTime (string path);

static member GetLastWriteTime : string -> DateTime

Public Shared Function GetLastWriteTime (path As String) As DateTime

Parameters

path

String

The file or directory for which to obtain write date and time information.

Returns

DateTime

A DateTime structure set to the date and time that the specified file or directory was last written to. This value is expressed in local time.

Exceptions

UnauthorizedAccessException

The caller does not have the required permission.

ArgumentException

.NET Framework and .NET Core versions older than 2.1: path is a zero-length string, contains only white space, or contains one or more invalid characters. You can query for invalid characters by using the GetInvalidPathChars() method.

ArgumentNullException

path is null.

PathTooLongException

The specified path, file name, or both exceed the system-defined maximum length.

NotSupportedException

path is in an invalid format.

Examples

The following example demonstrates GetLastWriteTime.

using namespace System;
using namespace System::IO;
int main()
{
   try
   {
      String^ path = "c:\\Temp\\MyTest.txt";
      if (  !File::Exists( path ) )
      {
         File::Create( path );
      }
      else
      {
         
         // Take an action that will affect the write time.
         File::SetLastWriteTime( path, DateTime(1985,4,3) );
      }
      
      // Get the creation time of a well-known directory.
      DateTime dt = File::GetLastWriteTime( path );
      Console::WriteLine( "The last write time for this file was {0}.", dt );
      
      // Update the last write time.
      File::SetLastWriteTime( path, DateTime::Now );
      dt = File::GetLastWriteTime( path );
      Console::WriteLine( "The last write time for this file was {0}.", dt );
   }
   catch ( Exception^ e ) 
   {
      Console::WriteLine( "The process failed: {0}", e );
   }

}

using System;
using System.IO;

class Test
{
    public static void Main()
    {
        try
        {
            string path = @"c:\Temp\MyTest.txt";
            if (!File.Exists(path))
            {
                File.Create(path);
            }
            else
            {
                // Take an action that will affect the write time.
                File.SetLastWriteTime(path, new DateTime(1985,4,3));
            }

            // Get the creation time of a well-known directory.
            DateTime dt = File.GetLastWriteTime(path);
            Console.WriteLine("The last write time for this file was {0}.", dt);
            
            // Update the last write time.
            File.SetLastWriteTime(path, DateTime.Now);
            dt = File.GetLastWriteTime(path);
            Console.WriteLine("The last write time for this file was {0}.", dt);
        }

        catch (Exception e)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("The process failed: {0}", e.ToString());
        }
    }
}

open System
open System.IO

let path = @"c:\Temp\MyTest.txt"

if File.Exists path |> not then
    File.Create path |> ignore
else
    // Take an action that will affect the write time.
    File.SetLastWriteTime(path, DateTime(1985, 4, 3))

// Get the creation time of a well-known directory.
let dt = File.GetLastWriteTime path
printfn $"The last write time for this file was {dt}."

// Update the last write time.
File.SetLastWriteTime(path, DateTime.Now)
let dt2 = File.GetLastWriteTime path
printfn $"The last write time for this file was {dt2}."

Imports System.IO
Imports System.Text

Public Class Test
    Public Shared Sub Main()
        Try
            Dim path As String = "c:\Temp\MyTest.txt"
            If File.Exists(path) = False Then
                File.Create(path)
            Else
                ' Take some action that will affect the write time.
                File.SetLastWriteTime(path, New DateTime(1985, 4, 3))
            End If

            'Get the creation time of a well-known directory.
            Dim dt As DateTime = File.GetLastWriteTime(path)
            Console.WriteLine("The last write time for this file was {0}.", dt)

            'Update the last write time.
            File.SetLastWriteTime(path, DateTime.Now)
            dt = File.GetLastWriteTime(path)
            Console.WriteLine("The last write time for this file was {0}.", dt)

        Catch e As Exception
            Console.WriteLine("The process failed: {0}", e.ToString())
        End Try
    End Sub
End Class

Remarks

Note

This method may return an inaccurate value, because it uses native functions whose values may not be continuously updated by the operating system. Each operating system manages the last write time according to its own rules. To improve performance, an operating system might not set the last write time value to the exact time of the last write operation, but might set it to a close approximation instead.

If the file described in the path parameter does not exist, this method returns 12:00 midnight, January 1, 1601 A.D. (C.E.) Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), adjusted to local time.

The path parameter is permitted to specify relative or absolute path information. Relative path information is interpreted as relative to the current working directory. To obtain the current working directory, see GetCurrentDirectory.

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

See also

• FileSystemWatcher
• File and Stream I/O
• Reading Text From A File
• How to: Write Text to a File