C# 3.0 Cookbook, 3rd Edition

12.5. Renaming a Directory

Problem

You need to rename a directory.

Solution

Unfortunately, there is no specific rename method that can be used to rename a directory. However, you can use the instance MoveTo method of the DirectoryInfo class or the static Move method of the Directory class instead. The static Move method can be used to rename a directory in the following manner:

	public static void RenameDirectory(string originalName, string newName)
	{
	    try
	    {
	        // "rename" it
	        Directory.Move(originalName, newName);
	    }
	    catch(IOException ioe)
	    {
	        // most likely given the directory exists or isn't empty
	        Console.WriteLine(ioe.ToString());
	    }
	}

This code creates a directory using the originalName parameter and renames it to the value supplied in the newName parameter.

The instance MoveTo method of the DirectoryInfo class can also be used to rename a directory via an extension method named Rename for DirectoryInfo shown here:

	public static void Rename(this DirectoryInfo dirInfo, string newName)
	{
	    try
	    {
	        // "rename" it
	        dirInfo.MoveTo(newName);
	    }
	    catch (IOException ioe)
	    {
	        // most likely given the directory exists or isn't empty
	        Trace.WriteLine(ioe.ToString());
	    }
	}

This code creates a directory using the originalName parameter and renames it to the value supplied in the newName parameter.

Discussion

The Move and MoveTo methods allow a directory to be moved to a different location. However, when the path remains unchanged up to the directory that will have its name changed, the Move methods act as Rename methods. ...