File.Move Does Not Work - File Already Exists

Question

I've got a folder:

c:\test

I'm trying this code:

File.Move(@"c:\test\SomeFile.txt", @"c:\test\Test"); 

I get exception:

File already exists

The output directory definitely exists and the input file is there.

Answer 1

What you need is:

if (!File.Exists(@"c:\test\Test\SomeFile.txt")) {     File.Move(@"c:\test\SomeFile.txt", @"c:\test\Test\SomeFile.txt"); } 

or

if (File.Exists(@"c:\test\Test\SomeFile.txt")) {     File.Delete(@"c:\test\Test\SomeFile.txt"); } File.Move(@"c:\test\SomeFile.txt", @"c:\test\Test\SomeFile.txt"); 

This will either:

• If the file doesn't exist at the destination location, successfully move the file, or;
• If the file does exist at the destination location, delete it, then move the file.

Edit: I should clarify my answer, even though it's the most upvoted! The second parameter of File.Move should be the destination file - not a folder. You are specifying the second parameter as the destination folder, not the destination filename - which is what File.Move requires. So, your second parameter should be c:\test\Test\SomeFile.txt.

Answer 2

You need to move it to another file (rather than a folder), this can also be used to rename.

Move:

File.Move(@"c:\test\SomeFile.txt", @"c:\test\Test\SomeFile.txt"); 

Rename:

File.Move(@"c:\test\SomeFile.txt", @"c:\test\SomeFile2.txt"); 

The reason it says "File already exists" in your example, is because C:\test\Test tries to create a file Test without an extension, but cannot do so as a folder already exists with the same name.