[RESOLVED] Get the last file of a specific directory

[thet18]

is there anyone who knows how i can get the last file in a specific drive path? e.g.
D:\sample and the contents of this folders are :

D:\sample\SIJFL2008081400
D:\sample\SIJFL2008081401
D:\sample\SIJFL2008081402

how can i get D:\sample\SIJFL2008081402 using vb.net

Thanks!

[chris128]

So when you say last file, you mean the last one if they are sorted in alphabetical order yeah?

You can use the My.Computer.FileSystem.GetFiles method to retrieve a list of all files in a directoy. Play around with that and if your still stuck (after you have actually tried to resolve the problem yourself) post back here and we will help you further.

[jmcilhinney]

Create a DirectoryInfo object, call its GetFiles method to get an array of FileInfo objects, sort that array by file name and then get the last element (or sort in descending order and get the first element).

I've posted examples of sorting FileInfo arrays before so a forum search will turn them up.

[chris128]

Doesnt the My.Computer.FileSystem.GetFiles method do the same thing as creating a directoryinfo object and then calling its GetFiles method? Is there an advantage of doing it the way you mentioned?

[thet18]

hi again i've tried using Directory.GetFiles but it will return all the files in that specified path. all i want is the last file

D:\sample\SIJFL2008081402

[chris128]

Then you have not read what jmc said and understood it... You use the GetFiles method to return a list of the files THEN sort that list and get the last entry.

[smyle22]

try this one..

Private Sub Button1_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click
Dim sDir As String = "C:\files"
Dim DirPath As System.io.Directory

Dim FoundFiles() As String = DirPath.GetFiles(sDir, "*.txt")
FoundFiles.Sort(FoundFiles)
TextBox1.Text = FoundFiles(FoundFiles.Length - 1)
End Sub

[chris128]

try this one..

Private Sub Button1_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click
Dim sDir As String = "C:\files"
Dim DirPath As System.io.Directory

Dim FoundFiles() As String = DirPath.GetFiles(sDir, "*.txt")
FoundFiles.Sort(FoundFiles)
TextBox1.Text = FoundFiles(FoundFiles.Length - 1)
End Sub

Your using the IO.Directory class in the wrong way really. It should be like this:

Dim sDir As String = "D:\sample\"
Dim FoundFiles() As String = IO.Directory.GetFiles(sDir)
Array.Sort(FoundFiles)
MessageBox.Show(FoundFiles(FoundFiles.Length - 1))

Notice I also changed FoundFiles.Sort to Array.Sort

Intellisense should warn you about all of this though by highlighting the line green

[jmcilhinney]

I suggested using DirectoryInfo rather than Directory because you could sort the FileInfo objects by their Name property, which contains the file name only rather than the full path. Given that the folder path will be the same for every file though, that's not important so using Directory is the better option because it's simpler.

[thet18]

Thanks very much guys for your help..the last 3 posts was very useful.