Determining a FileAttribute for a file in case of "Access Denied":

Question

In my network, there are some files whose access is simply blocked.

A user cannot open nor read the file.

When I try to open the file, the only message that I get is "Access Denied".

 bool isReadOnly = ((File.GetAttributes(Path) & FileAttributes.ReadOnly) ==   FileAttributes.ReadOnly);

I tried other options available under FileAttributes class. Nothing is matched for "Access Denied".

In short, how do I know whether a file is access-denied to me or not in c#. I am using WPF and visual studio .net 2010

Whenever I try to access it through code, I simply get an exception. When I try to open it manually I get something like "Access Denied."

try
{
 IEs = from file in Directory.EnumerateFiles(sDirectoryToBeSearched, sValidExtensions, SearchOption.AllDirectories)
                      from str in File.ReadLines(file)
                      where (str.IndexOf(sSearchItem, StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase) >= 0)
                      select file;
}

  catch
 {
      MessageBox ("Exception arised");
 }

Even If used try catch, exception is not handled because of LINQ query. Any solutions ?>

the exception is not been thrown to catch statement. The execution breaks at point "from str in File.ReadLines(file)" and is never thrown down to catch statement! — now he who must not be named., Aug 29 '12 at 13:38
It is stopping there since you're debugging. Press F5 again or run without debug. Anyway, if a single file will cause a problem, all processing is stopped. You need to do try and catch for each file separately. — Amiram Korach, Aug 29 '12 at 13:46

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Aug 29 '12 at 13:39

1

Instead of using LINQ try using recursion, that way if a file or folder access is denied the rest of procedure will continue. Example bellow.

private void SearchDirectory(string folder)
{
    foreach (string file in Directory.GetFiles(folder))
    {
        try 
        {
            // do work;
        }
        catch 
        {
            // access to the file has been denied
        }
    }
    foreach (string subDir in Directory.GetDirectories(folder))
    {
        try 
        {   
             SearchDirectory(subDir);
        }
        catch 
        {
            // access to the folder has been denied
        }

    }
}

answered Aug 29 '12 at 13:39

coolmine

4,427
2
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This is one that I need to do next! But, the search operations are pretty fastest with LINQ. Any ideas how to handle such things with the same query itself? ! – now he who must not be named. Aug 29 '12 at 13:42
You will need to implement something like this http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2559064/is-there-a-way-of-recover-from-an-exception-in-directory-enumeratefiles – coolmine Aug 29 '12 at 14:05

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Aug 29 '12 at 13:25

0

You don't have to check the FileAttributes, you need to check the security lists.

You can look at the example here to see how to work with the FileSecurity class.

answered Aug 29 '12 at 13:25

Ignacio Soler Garcia

21,122
31
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If i use FileAttributes, I have only three options Read,Write,read-write. Can u guide me in proceeding after this ? – now he who must not be named. Aug 29 '12 at 13:33

Determining a FileAttribute for a file in case of "Access Denied":

2 Answers2