hi Guys,

i am using vs2005

i want to make a page that will list the files (and maybe some of there attributes) in a given folder. and if u click on one it will open that file.

i know this has something to do with the directory class, but am unsure of how to go about this in VS2005.

Use the System.IO namespace, then:

DirectoryInfo MyDirectoryInfo = new DirectoryInfo(Path);

Where Path is a string containing the path of the folder you want to list the files from.
MyDirectoryInfo.GetFiles() will now return a list of files in that directory. See:
DirectoryInfo.GetFiles Method (System.IO)
It returns an array of FileInfo objects so can be databound to any of the data controls, such as a repeater or DataGrid. ie:

dgFiles.DataSource = MyDirectoryInfo.GetFiles();
dgFiles.DataBind();

Here's a list of FileInfo members that you can use as columns in your DataGrid to display the file info:
FileInfo Members (System.IO)

Here's an example DataGrid:

    <asp:DataGrid ID="dgFiles" runat="server" AutoGenerateColumns="false" Width="100%">
     <Columns>
      <asp:TemplateColumn HeaderText="File Name">
       <ItemTemplate>
        <a href="<%# ((FileInfo)Container.DataItem).Name %>"><%# ((FileInfo)Container.DataItem).Name %></a>
       </ItemTemplate>
      </asp:TemplateColumn>
      <asp:BoundColumn DataField="CreationTime" HeaderText="Created" ItemStyle-Width="150px" />
      <asp:BoundColumn DataField="LastWriteTime" HeaderText="Last Modified" ItemStyle-Width="150px" />
      <asp:BoundColumn DataField="Length" HeaderText="File Size" ItemStyle-Width="100px" />
      <asp:ButtonColumn Text="Delete" HeaderText="Delete" CommandName="Delete" ItemStyle-Width="100px" />
     </Columns>
    </asp:DataGrid>

Of course, you could use any of the data controls, such as a repeater.

thanks Minaki,

but this is still all a bit new to me.

i got as far as importing the namespace, then got lost.

DirectoryInfo MyDirectoryInfo = new DirectoryInfo(c:\);?????

do u know of any good tutorils on this subject???

or do u have all the code?

thanks again,

Try going through the quickstart tutorials at Home : The Official Microsoft ASP.NET 2.0 Site : English
Once you get an understanding of the architecture of ASP.NET, the code above should become clear. The code I've got above is practicly complete. You just need to copy it into an existing page.

DirectoryInfo MyDirectoryInfo = new DirectoryInfo(c:\);
C:\ needs to be in quotes, since it's a string:
DirectoryInfo MyDirectoryInfo = new DirectoryInfo("c:\\");
(Also, in C#, \ is an escape character so you need to escape it with itself, thus the double \\)

i wanna do in VB....

It's practicly the same except:

DirectoryInfo MyDirectoryInfo = new DirectoryInfo(Path);
becomes:
Dim MyDirectoryInfo as new DirectoryInfo(Path)

dgFiles.DataSource = MyDirectoryInfo.GetFiles();

dgFiles.DataBind();
becomes:

dgFiles.DataSource = MyDirectoryInfo.GetFiles()

dgFiles.DataBind()

you can forget about the \\ in the string since VB doesn't use backslash as an escape character. Just use a single one as normal. i.e.
... new DirectoryInfo("c:\")

It's a good idea to know the basic syntax rules of C# as well as VB, even if you never code in C#. Almost everything in C# can be translated effortlessly to VB, and you'll find just over half of all examples or .NET on the web are likely to be C#.

Here's a good cheat sheet:
C# and VB.NET Comparison Cheat Sheet: ASP Alliance

dgfiles says "Declaration expected"
i tried
dim dgfiles as new datagrid
but this didnt help


<%@PageLanguage="VB"AutoEventWireup="false"CodeFile="browser.aspx.vb"Inherits="browser" %>
<%@ImportNamespace="System.IO" %>
<scriptlanguage="VB"runat="server">
Dim MyDirectoryInfo AsNew DirectoryInfo("C:\_websites\intranet\minutes")

dgFiles.DataSource = MyDirectoryInfo.GetFiles()
dgFiles.DataBind()


</script>

with

<asp:DataGridID="dgFiles"runat="server"AutoGenerateColumns="false"Width="100%">
<Columns>
<asp:TemplateColumnHeaderText="File Name">
<ItemTemplate>
<ahref="<%# ((FileInfo)Container.DataItem).Name %>">
<%# ((FileInfo)Container.DataItem).Name %> </a>
</ItemTemplate>
</asp:TemplateColumn>
<asp:BoundColumnDataField="CreationTime"HeaderText="Created"ItemStyle-Width="150px"/>
<asp:BoundColumnDataField="LastWriteTime"HeaderText="Last Modified"ItemStyle-Width="150px"/>
<asp:BoundColumnDataField="Length"HeaderText="File Size"ItemStyle-Width="100px"/>
<asp:ButtonColumnText="Delete"HeaderText="Delete"CommandName="Delete"ItemStyle-Width="100px"/>
</Columns>
</asp:DataGrid>

It needs to be in the Page_Load event:

Sub Page_Load
  Dim MyDirectoryInfo AsNew DirectoryInfo("C:\_websites\intranet\minutes")
 
  dgFiles.DataSource = MyDirectoryInfo.GetFiles()
  dgFiles.DataBind()
End Sub

ok, that worked.

but now:

Compilation Error

Description: An error occurred during the compilation of a resource required to service this request. Please review the following specific error details and modify your source code appropriately.

Compiler Error Message: BC30108: 'FileInfo' is a type and cannot be used as an expression.

Source Error:

Line 18: <asp:TemplateColumn HeaderText="File Name">
Line 19: <ItemTemplate>
Line 20: <a href="<%# ((FileInfo)Container.DataItem).Name %>"><%# ((FileInfo)Container.DataItem).Name %> </a>
Line 21: </ItemTemplate>


and then i suppose i want to change it to look something like(without the port number (after testing)):

<ahref="http://localhost:3397/intranet/minutes/<%# ((FileInfo)Container.DataItem).Name %>"><%# ((FileInfo)Container.DataItem).Name %> </a>

Hmm sorry forgot to conver that bit of code from C#...
I can't remember how to do typecasting in VB, I think it's:
<%# (Container.DataItem As FileInfo).Name %>

sorry Minaki

now is saying:


Compilation Error

Description: An error occurred during the compilation of a resource required to service this request. Please review the following specific error details and modify your source code appropriately.

Compiler Error Message: BC30456: 'Name' is not a member of 'String'.

Source Error:

Line 18: <asp:TemplateColumn HeaderText="File Name">
Line 19: <ItemTemplate>
Line 20: <a href="http://localhost:3397/intranet/minutes/<%# (Container.DataItem As FileInfo).Name %>"><%# (Container.DataItem As FileInfo).Name %></a>

Line 21: </ItemTemplate>Line 22: </asp:TemplateColumn>


im not sure im writing it properly

<asp:TemplateColumnHeaderText="File Name">
<ItemTemplate>
<a href="http://localhost:3397/intranet/minutes/<%# (Container.DataItem As FileInfo).Name %>">whatever</a>
</ItemTemplate>
</asp:TemplateColumn>

Go for some basic tutorials on .NET. Try W3Schools Online Web Tutorials

i managed to find this article which sorted me out:

ASP.NET.4GuysFromRolla.com: Displaying the Files in a Directory using a DataGrid