Check if a string is a valid Windows directory (folder) path
Call Path.GetFullPath; it will throw exceptions if the path is invalid.
To disallow relative paths (such as Word), call Path.IsPathRooted.
I actually disagree with SLaks. That solution did not work for me. Exception did not happen as expected. But this code worked for me:
if(System.IO.Directory.Exists(path)){ ...}
Path.GetFullPath gives below exceptions only
ArgumentException path is a zero-length string, contains only white space, or contains one or more of the invalid characters defined in GetInvalidPathChars. -or- The system could not retrieve the absolute path.
SecurityException The caller does not have the required permissions.
ArgumentNullException path is null.
NotSupportedException path contains a colon (":") that is not part of a volume identifier (for example, "c:\").
PathTooLongException The specified path, file name, or both exceed the system-defined maximum length. For example, on Windows-based platforms, paths must be less than 248 characters, and file names must be less than 260 characters.
Alternate way is to use the following :
/// <summary>/// Validate the Path. If path is relative append the path to the project directory by default./// </summary>/// <param name="path">Path to validate</param>/// <param name="RelativePath">Relative path</param>/// <param name="Extension">If want to check for File Path</param>/// <returns></returns>private static bool ValidateDllPath(ref string path, string RelativePath = "", string Extension = ""){ // Check if it contains any Invalid Characters. if (path.IndexOfAny(Path.GetInvalidPathChars()) == -1) { try { // If path is relative take %IGXLROOT% as the base directory if (!Path.IsPathRooted(path)) { if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(RelativePath)) { // Exceptions handled by Path.GetFullPath // ArgumentException path is a zero-length string, contains only white space, or contains one or more of the invalid characters defined in GetInvalidPathChars. -or- The system could not retrieve the absolute path. // // SecurityException The caller does not have the required permissions. // // ArgumentNullException path is null. // // NotSupportedException path contains a colon (":") that is not part of a volume identifier (for example, "c:\"). // PathTooLongException The specified path, file name, or both exceed the system-defined maximum length. For example, on Windows-based platforms, paths must be less than 248 characters, and file names must be less than 260 characters. // RelativePath is not passed so we would take the project path path = Path.GetFullPath(RelativePath); } else { // Make sure the path is relative to the RelativePath and not our project directory path = Path.Combine(RelativePath, path); } } // Exceptions from FileInfo Constructor: // System.ArgumentNullException: // fileName is null. // // System.Security.SecurityException: // The caller does not have the required permission. // // System.ArgumentException: // The file name is empty, contains only white spaces, or contains invalid characters. // // System.IO.PathTooLongException: // The specified path, file name, or both exceed the system-defined maximum // length. For example, on Windows-based platforms, paths must be less than // 248 characters, and file names must be less than 260 characters. // // System.NotSupportedException: // fileName contains a colon (:) in the middle of the string. FileInfo fileInfo = new FileInfo(path); // Exceptions using FileInfo.Length: // System.IO.IOException: // System.IO.FileSystemInfo.Refresh() cannot update the state of the file or // directory. // // System.IO.FileNotFoundException: // The file does not exist.-or- The Length property is called for a directory. bool throwEx = fileInfo.Length == -1; // Exceptions using FileInfo.IsReadOnly: // System.UnauthorizedAccessException: // Access to fileName is denied. // The file described by the current System.IO.FileInfo object is read-only.-or- // This operation is not supported on the current platform.-or- The caller does // not have the required permission. throwEx = fileInfo.IsReadOnly; if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(Extension)) { // Validate the Extension of the file. if (Path.GetExtension(path).Equals(Extension, StringComparison.InvariantCultureIgnoreCase)) { // Trim the Library Path path = path.Trim(); return true; } else { return false; } } else { return true; } } catch (ArgumentNullException) { // System.ArgumentNullException: // fileName is null. } catch (System.Security.SecurityException) { // System.Security.SecurityException: // The caller does not have the required permission. } catch (ArgumentException) { // System.ArgumentException: // The file name is empty, contains only white spaces, or contains invalid characters. } catch (UnauthorizedAccessException) { // System.UnauthorizedAccessException: // Access to fileName is denied. } catch (PathTooLongException) { // System.IO.PathTooLongException: // The specified path, file name, or both exceed the system-defined maximum // length. For example, on Windows-based platforms, paths must be less than // 248 characters, and file names must be less than 260 characters. } catch (NotSupportedException) { // System.NotSupportedException: // fileName contains a colon (:) in the middle of the string. } catch (FileNotFoundException) { // System.FileNotFoundException // The exception that is thrown when an attempt to access a file that does not // exist on disk fails. } catch (IOException) { // System.IO.IOException: // An I/O error occurred while opening the file. } catch (Exception) { // Unknown Exception. Might be due to wrong case or nulll checks. } } else { // Path contains invalid characters } return false;}