C#: How can I get the icon for a certain file?

Question

If I have the path to a file, is there a way I can get the icon that windows would have displayed for that file in Windows Explorer?

Answer 1

First of all, there are multiple sizes of images, some of which are easier to get than others. If you want the "normal" size one (I believe 32x32) and can use WPF (referencing PresentationCore), this is a great way to do it:

public System.Windows.Media.ImageSource Icon
{
    get
    {
        if (icon == null && System.IO.File.Exists(Command))
        {
            using (System.Drawing.Icon sysicon = System.Drawing.Icon.ExtractAssociatedIcon(Command))
            {
                // This new call in WPF finally allows us to read/display 32bit Windows file icons!
                icon = System.Windows.Interop.Imaging.CreateBitmapSourceFromHIcon(
                  sysicon.Handle,
                  System.Windows.Int32Rect.Empty,
                  System.Windows.Media.Imaging.BitmapSizeOptions.FromEmptyOptions());
            }
        }

        return icon;
    }
}

Answer 2

System.Drawing.Icon icon = System.Drawing.Icon.ExtractAssociatedIcon(filePath);