Delete files or folders to recycle bin in C#
Sadly C# doesn’t have the required libraries in place to aid the users or the developers to send files or folders directly to the recycle bin. System.IO.File.Delete() and System.IO.Directory.Delete() simply delete the path without allowing for the action to be undone.
Luckily there are two ways this can be resolved. Either by using the Windows API SHFileOperation function or by referencing Microsoft.VisualBasic and using the Microsoft.VisualBasic.FileIO.FileSystem.DeleteFile() and Microsoft.VisualBasic.FileIO.FileSystem.DeleteDirectory() methods.
Personally I prefer the Microsoft.VisualBasic approach as the code looks much cleaner and is more readable to me but I will demonstrate how both methods can be implemented either way.
The Microsoft.VisualBasic approach:
Reference Microsoft.VisualBasic in your project and simply call
1 2 3 | Microsoft.VisualBasic.FileIO.FileSystem.DeleteFile(@"C:\Users\CooLMinE\Desktop\test.txt", Microsoft.VisualBasic.FileIO.UIOption.OnlyErrorDialogs, Microsoft.VisualBasic.FileIO.RecycleOption.SendToRecycleBin); |
or
1 2 3 | Microsoft.VisualBasic.FileIO.FileSystem.DeleteDirectory(@"C:\Users\CooLMinE\Desktop\test", Microsoft.VisualBasic.FileIO.UIOption.OnlyErrorDialogs, Microsoft.VisualBasic.FileIO.RecycleOption.SendToRecycleBin); |
depending if you want to delete a file or a folder.
The SHFileOperation approach:
Add and initialize the following variables, struct and DllImport in the class you will be doing the deletion from.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 | private const int FO_DELETE = 0x0003; private const int FOF_ALLOWUNDO = 0x0040; // Preserve undo information, if possible. private const int FOF_NOCONFIRMATION = 0x0010; // Show no confirmation dialog box to the user // Struct which contains information that the SHFileOperation function uses to perform file operations. [StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential, CharSet = CharSet.Auto)] public struct SHFILEOPSTRUCT { public IntPtr hwnd; [MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.U4)] public int wFunc; public string pFrom; public string pTo; public short fFlags; [MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.Bool)] public bool fAnyOperationsAborted; public IntPtr hNameMappings; public string lpszProgressTitle; } [DllImport("shell32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto)] static extern int SHFileOperation(ref SHFILEOPSTRUCT FileOp); |
Add the DeleteFileOrFolder() method which will delete the file or folder you will provide as argument
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 | public static void DeleteFileOrFolder(string path) { SHFILEOPSTRUCT fileop = new SHFILEOPSTRUCT(); fileop.wFunc = FO_DELETE; fileop.pFrom = path + '\0' + '\0'; fileop.fFlags = FOF_ALLOWUNDO | FOF_NOCONFIRMATION; SHFileOperation(ref fileop); } |
Then simply call the method with the path you want to delete:
1 | DeleteFileOrFolder(@"C:\test file.txt"); |
how to delete multiple files with The SHFileOperation approach?
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