Use FileSystemWatcher on a single file in C#

Question

When i try to set the watcher path to a single file like so:

watcher.Path = filePath1;

I get the error:

The directory name C:\Cromos 3.0\repository\diagnostics\dwm01_2011_06_13__09_03.LXD is invalid.

Can you only set the path to a folder directory?

Answer 1

Your error is setting the Path property with a full filename

watcher.Path = Path.GetDirectoryName(filePath1); 
watcher.Filter = Path.GetFileName(filePath1);

should work.

Not related to your proper question, but, of course, to enable the FileSystemWatcher's functionality, it is imperative to set the EnableRaisingEvents property to true.

Answer 2

Yes, but you can watch for specific files by setting the filter property to the filename.

e.g.

watcher.Filter = "dwm01_2011_06_13__09_03.LXD";