Package | flash.filesystem |
Class | public class File |
Inheritance | File FileReference EventDispatcher Object |
Language Version: | ActionScript 3.0 |
Runtime Versions: | AIR 1.0 |
The File class has a number of properties and methods for getting information about the file system and for performing operations, such as copying files and directories.
You can use File objects along with the FileStream class to read and write files.
The File class extends the FileReference class. The FileReference class, which is available in Flash® Player as well as Adobe® AIR®, represents a pointer to a file, but the File class adds properties and methods that are not exposed in Flash Player (in a SWF running in a browser), due to security considerations.
The File class includes static properties that let you reference commonly used directory locations. These static properties include:
-
File.applicationStorageDirectory
—a storage directory unique to each installed AIR application -
File.applicationDirectory
—the read-only directory where the application is installed (along with any installed assets) -
File.desktopDirectory
—the user's desktop directory -
File.documentsDirectory
—the user's documents directory -
File.userDirectory
—the user directory
These properties have meaningful values on different operating systems. For example, Mac OS, Linux, and Windows each have
different native paths to the user's desktop directory. However, the File.desktopDirectory
property points to the
correct desktop directory path on each of these platforms. To write applications that work well across platforms,
use these properties as the basis for referencing other files used by the application. Then use the resolvePath()
method to refine the path. For example, this code points to the preferences.xml file in the application storage directory:
var prefsFile:File = File.applicationStorageDirectory; prefsFile = prefsFile.resolvePath("preferences.xml");
If you use a literal native path in referencing a file, it will only work on one platform. For example, the following File object would only work on Windows:
new File("C:\Documents and Settings\joe\My Documents\test.txt")
The application storage directory is particularly useful. It gives an application-specific storage
directory for the AIR application. It is defined by the File.applicationStorageDirectory
property.
Do not add or remove content from the application directory (where the AIR application is installed). Doing so can break an AIR application and invalidate the application signature. AIR does not let you write to the application directory by default, because the directory is not writable to all user accounts on all operating systems. Use the application storage directory to write internal application files. Use the documents directory to write files that a user expects to use outside your application, such as edited pictures or text files.
See also
Property | Defined By | ||
---|---|---|---|
applicationDirectory : File [static] [read-only]
The folder containing the application's installed files. | File | ||
applicationStorageDirectory : File [static] [read-only]
The application's private storage directory. | File | ||
constructor : Object
A reference to the class object or constructor function for a given object instance. | Object | ||
creationDate : Date [read-only]
The creation date of the file on the local disk. | FileReference | ||
creator : String [read-only]
The Macintosh creator type of the file, which is only used in Mac OS versions
prior to Mac OS X. | FileReference | ||
data : ByteArray [read-only]
The ByteArray object representing the data from the loaded file after a successful call to the load() method. | FileReference | ||
desktopDirectory : File [static] [read-only]
The user's desktop directory. | File | ||
documentsDirectory : File [static] [read-only]
The user's documents directory. | File | ||
downloaded : Boolean
Indicates whether the referenced file or directory was downloaded (from the internet) or not. | File | ||
exists : Boolean [read-only]
Indicates whether the referenced file or directory exists. | File | ||
extension : String [read-only]
The filename extension. | FileReference | ||
icon : Icon [read-only]
An Icon object containing the icons defined for the file. | File | ||
isDirectory : Boolean [read-only]
Indicates whether the reference is to a directory. | File | ||
isHidden : Boolean [read-only]
Indicates whether the referenced file or directory is "hidden."
The value is true if the referenced file or directory is hidden, false otherwise. | File | ||
isPackage : Boolean [read-only]
Indicates whether the referenced directory is a package. | File | ||
isSymbolicLink : Boolean [read-only]
Indicates whether the reference is a symbolic link. | File | ||
lineEnding : String [static] [read-only]
The line-ending character sequence used by the host operating system. | File | ||
modificationDate : Date [read-only]
The date that the file on the local disk was last modified. | FileReference | ||
name : String [read-only]
The name of the file on the local disk. | FileReference | ||
nativePath : String
The full path in the host operating system representation. | File | ||
parent : File [read-only]
The directory that contains the file or directory referenced by this File object. | File | ||
prototype : Object [static]
A reference to the prototype object of a class or function object. | Object | ||
separator : String [static] [read-only]
The host operating system's path component separator character. | File | ||
size : Number [read-only]
The size of the file on the local disk in bytes. | FileReference | ||
spaceAvailable : Number [read-only]
The space available for use at this File location, in bytes. | File | ||
systemCharset : String [static] [read-only]
The default encoding used by the host operating system. | File | ||
type : String [read-only]
The file type. | FileReference | ||
url : String
The URL for this file path. | File | ||
userDirectory : File [static] [read-only]
The user's directory. | File |
Method | Defined By | ||
---|---|---|---|
The constructor function for the File class. | File | ||
addEventListener(type:String, listener:Function, useCapture:Boolean = false, priority:int = 0, useWeakReference:Boolean = false):void
Registers an event listener object with an EventDispatcher object so that the listener
receives notification of an event. | EventDispatcher | ||
Displays a file-browsing dialog box that lets the
user select a file to upload. | FileReference | ||
Displays a directory chooser dialog box, in which the user can select a directory. | File | ||
Displays the Open File dialog box, in which the user can select a file to open. | File | ||
Displays the Open File dialog box, in which the user can select one or more files to open. | File | ||
Displays the Save File dialog box, in which the user can select a file destination. | File | ||
[override]
Cancels any pending asynchronous operation. | File | ||
Canonicalizes the File path. | File | ||
Returns a copy of this File object. | File | ||
Copies the file or directory at the location specified by this File object to
the location specified by the newLocation parameter. | File | ||
Begins copying the file or directory at the location specified by this File object to
the location specified by the destination parameter. | File | ||
Creates the specified directory and any necessary parent directories. | File | ||
[static]
Returns a reference to a new temporary directory. | File | ||
[static]
Returns a reference to a new temporary file. | File | ||
Deletes the directory. | File | ||
Deletes the directory asynchronously. | File | ||
Deletes the file. | File | ||
Deletes the file asynchronously. | File | ||
Dispatches an event into the event flow. | EventDispatcher | ||
Opens a dialog box that lets the user download a file from a remote server. | FileReference | ||
Returns an array of File objects corresponding to files and directories in the directory represented by this
File object. | File | ||
Asynchronously retrieves an array of File objects corresponding to the contents of the directory represented
by this File object. | File | ||
Finds the relative path between two File paths. | File | ||
[static]
Returns an array of File objects, listing the file system root directories. | File | ||
Checks whether the EventDispatcher object has any listeners registered for a specific type
of event. | EventDispatcher | ||
Indicates whether an object has a specified property defined. | Object | ||
Indicates whether an instance of the Object class is in the prototype chain of the object specified
as the parameter. | Object | ||
Starts the load of a local file selected by a user. | FileReference | ||
Moves the file or directory at the location specified by this File object to
the location specified by the destination parameter. | File | ||
Begins moving the file or directory at the location specified by this File object to
the location specified by the newLocation parameter. | File | ||
Moves a file or directory to the trash. | File | ||
Asynchronously moves a file or directory to the trash. | File | ||
Opens the file in the application registered by the operating system to open this file type. | File | ||
Indicates whether the specified property exists and is enumerable. | Object | ||
Removes a listener from the EventDispatcher object. | EventDispatcher | ||
Creates a new File object with a path relative to this File object's path, based on the
path parameter (a string). | File | ||
Opens a dialog box that lets the user save a file to the local filesystem. | FileReference | ||
Sets the availability of a dynamic property for loop operations. | Object | ||
Returns the string representation of this object, formatted according to locale-specific conventions. | Object | ||
Returns the string representation of the specified object. | Object | ||
upload(request:URLRequest, uploadDataFieldName:String = "Filedata", testUpload:Boolean = false):void
Starts the upload of the file to a remote server. | FileReference | ||
Initiate uploading a file to a URL without any encoding. | FileReference | ||
Returns the primitive value of the specified object. | Object | ||
Checks whether an event listener is registered with this EventDispatcher object or any of
its ancestors for the specified event type. | EventDispatcher |
Event | Summary | Defined By | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
[broadcast event] Dispatched when the Flash Player or AIR application gains operating system focus and becomes active. | EventDispatcher | |||
Dispatched when a pending asynchronous operation is canceled. | File | |||
Dispatched when an asynchronous operation is complete. | File | |||
[broadcast event] Dispatched when the Flash Player or AIR application operating loses system focus and is becoming inactive. | EventDispatcher | |||
Dispatched when a directory list is available as a result of a call to the getDirectoryListingAsync() method. | File | |||
Dispatched if a call to the upload() or uploadUnencoded() method attempts to access data over HTTP and Adobe AIR is able to detect and return the status code for the request. | FileReference | |||
Dispatched when an upload fails and an HTTP status code is available to describe the failure. | FileReference | |||
Dispatched when an error occurs during an asynchronous file operation. | File | |||
Dispatched when an upload or download operation starts. | FileReference | |||
Dispatched periodically during the file upload or download operation. | FileReference | |||
Dispatched when an operation violates a security constraint. | File | |||
Dispatched when the user selects a file or directory from a file- or directory-browsing dialog box. | File | |||
Dispatched when the user selects files from the dialog box opened by a call to the browseForOpenMultiple() method. | File | |||
Dispatched after data is received from the server after a successful upload. | FileReference |
applicationDirectory | property |
applicationDirectory:File
[read-only] Language Version: | ActionScript 3.0 |
Runtime Versions: | AIR 1.0 |
The folder containing the application's installed files.
The url
property for this object uses the app
URL scheme
(not the file
URL scheme). This means that the url
string is specified starting
with "app:"
(not "file:"
). Also, if you create a File object relative to the
File.applicationDirectory
directory (by using the resolvePath()
method),
the url
property of the File object also uses the app
URL scheme.
Note: You cannot write to files or directories that have paths that use the app
URL scheme. Also, you cannot delete or create files or folders that have paths that use the app
URL scheme. Modifying content in the application directory is a bad practice, for security reasons.
If you want to store application-specific data, consider using the application storage directory
(File.applicationStorageDirectory
). If you want any of the content in the application storage directory
to have access to the application-priveleged functionality (AIR APIs), you can expose that functionality
by using a sandbox bridge.
The applicationDirectory
property provides a way to reference the
application directory that works across platforms. If you set a File object to reference
the application directory using the nativePath
or url
property,
it will only work on the platform for which that path is valid.
Implementation
public static function get applicationDirectory():File
See also
applicationStorageDirectory | property |
applicationStorageDirectory:File
[read-only] Language Version: | ActionScript 3.0 |
Runtime Versions: | AIR 1.0 |
The application's private storage directory.
Each AIR application has a unique, persistent application storage directory, which
is created when you first access File.applicationStorageDirectory
. This directory
is a convenient location to store application-specific data.
When you uninstall an AIR application, the uninstaller does not delete files that are stored in the application storage directory.
The url
property for this object uses the app-storage
URL scheme
(not the file
URL scheme). This means that the url
string is specified starting
with "app-storage:"
(not "file:"
). Also, if you create a File object relative to the
File.applicationStoreDirectory
directory (by using the resolvePath()
method),
the url
of the File object also uses the app-storage
URL scheme
(as in the example).
The applicationStorageDirectory
property provides a way to reference the
application storage directory that works across platforms. If you set a File object to reference
the application storage directory using the nativePath
or url
property,
it will only work on the platform for which that path is valid.
Implementation
public static function get applicationStorageDirectory():File
Example ( How to use this example )
import flash.filesystem.File; var tempFiles:File = File.applicationStorageDirectory; tempFiles = tempFiles.resolvePath("images/"); trace(tempFiles.url); // app-storage:/images
desktopDirectory | property |
desktopDirectory:File
[read-only] Language Version: | ActionScript 3.0 |
Runtime Versions: | AIR 1.0 |
The user's desktop directory.
The desktopDirectory
property provides a way to reference the desktop
directory that works across platforms. If you set a File object to reference
the desktop directory using the nativePath
or url
property,
it will only work on the platform for which that path is valid.
Implementation
public static function get desktopDirectory():File
Example ( How to use this example )
import flash.filesystem.File; var desktop:File = File.desktopDirectory; var files:Array = desktop.getDirectoryListing(); for (var i:uint = 0; i < files.length; i++) { trace(files[i].nativePath); }
documentsDirectory | property |
documentsDirectory:File
[read-only] Language Version: | ActionScript 3.0 |
Runtime Versions: | AIR 1.0 |
The user's documents directory.
On Windows, this is the My Documents directory (for example, C:\Documents and Settings\userName\My Documents).
On Mac OS, the default location is /Users/userName/Documents. On Linux, the default location is /home/userName/Documents
(on an English system), and the property observes the xdg-user-dirs
setting.
The documentsDirectory
property provides a way to reference the documents
directory that works across platforms. If you set a File object to reference
the documents directory using the nativePath
or url
property,
it will only work on the platform for which that path is valid.
Implementation
public static function get documentsDirectory():File
Example ( How to use this example )
File.documentsDirectory
property and the
File.createDirectory()
method to ensure that a directory named "AIR Test" exists
in the user's documents directory.
import flash.filesystem.File; var directory:File = File.documentsDirectory; directory = directory.resolvePath("AIR Test"); File.createDirectory(directory); trace(directory.exists); // true
downloaded | property |
downloaded:Boolean
Language Version: | ActionScript 3.0 |
Runtime Versions: | AIR 2 |
Indicates whether the referenced file or directory was downloaded (from the internet) or not.
This property is only meaningful on operating systems in which files can be flagged as downloaded:
- Windows XP service pack 2 and later, and on Windows Vista
- Mac OS 10.5 and later
On systems that do not flag downloaded files, such as Linux,
the property is not meaningful (and it is set to false
).
Implementation
public function get downloaded():Boolean
public function set downloaded(value:Boolean):void
See also
exists | property |
exists:Boolean
[read-only] Language Version: | ActionScript 3.0 |
Runtime Versions: | AIR 1.0 |
Indicates whether the referenced file or directory exists.
The value is true
if the File object points to an existing file or directory,
false
otherwise.
Implementation
public function get exists():Boolean
Example ( How to use this example )
File.exists
property to check for the existence of the file.
import flash.filesystem.*; var temp:File = File.createTempFile(); trace(temp.exists); // true temp.deleteFile(); trace(temp.exists); // false
icon | property |
icon:Icon
[read-only] Language Version: | ActionScript 3.0 |
Runtime Versions: | AIR 1.0 |
An Icon object containing the icons defined for the file. An Icon object is an array of BitmapData objects corresponding to the various icon states. On Linux, the Icon object contains no icons.
Implementation
public function get icon():Icon
Example ( How to use this example )
icon
array that has
the greatest height, and it sets a Bitmap object to that image.
import flash.filesystem.File; import flash.display.*; var directory:File = File.documentsDirectory; var bitmaps:Array = directory.icon.bitmaps; var bmpData:BitmapData = new BitmapData(1, 1); for (var i:uint = 0; i < bitmaps.length; i++) { if (bitmaps[i].height > bmpData.height) { bmpData = directory.icon.bitmaps[i]; } } var iconBmp:Bitmap = new Bitmap(bmpData);
isDirectory | property |
isDirectory:Boolean
[read-only] Language Version: | ActionScript 3.0 |
Runtime Versions: | AIR 1.0 |
Indicates whether the reference is to a directory.
The value is true
if the File object points to a directory; false
otherwise.
Implementation
public function get isDirectory():Boolean
Example ( How to use this example )
isDirectory
property to list only those File objects that point to
directories (not to files).
import flash.filesystem.*; var userDirFiles:Array = File.userDirectory.getDirectoryListing(); for (var i:uint = 0; i < userDirFiles.length; i++) { if (userDirFiles[i].isDirectory) { trace(userDirFiles[i].nativePath); } }
isHidden | property |
isHidden:Boolean
[read-only] Language Version: | ActionScript 3.0 |
Runtime Versions: | AIR 1.0 |
Indicates whether the referenced file or directory is "hidden."
The value is true
if the referenced file or directory is hidden, false
otherwise.
Implementation
public function get isHidden():Boolean
Example ( How to use this example )
isHidden
property to list hidden files and directories.
import flash.filesystem.*; var userDirFiles:Array = File.userDirectory.getDirectoryListing(); for (var i:uint = 0; i < userDirFiles.length; i++) { if (userDirFiles[i].isHidden) { trace(userDirFiles[i].nativePath); } }
isPackage | property |
isPackage:Boolean
[read-only] Language Version: | ActionScript 3.0 |
Runtime Versions: | AIR 1.0 |
Indicates whether the referenced directory is a package.
The value is true
if the referenced directory is a package, false
otherwise.
Note that the File class does not allow creating packages directly.
- On Mac OS, directories can be designated as packages and will show up in the Finder as a
single file rather than as a directory. This property is set to
true
if the referenced directory is a package, andfalse
if the file is not a directory, does not exist, or is not a package. - On other operating systems, this property is always set to
false
.
Implementation
public function get isPackage():Boolean
isSymbolicLink | property |
isSymbolicLink:Boolean
[read-only] Language Version: | ActionScript 3.0 |
Runtime Versions: | AIR 1.0 |
Indicates whether the reference is a symbolic link.
The value is true
if the File object is a symbolic link, false
otherwise.
Note that the File class does not allow creating symbolic links directly.
Symbolic links allow a file to point to another file or directory on disk. Although similar, symbolic links are not the same as aliases on Mac OS and shortcuts on Windows. An alias or a shortcut is always reported as a file (rather than a directory), and reading or writing to an alias or shortcut never affects the original file or directory that it points to. On the other hand, a symbolic link generally behaves like the file or directory it points to. It can be reported as a file or a directory, and reading or writing to a symbolic link affects the file or directory that it points to, not the symbolic link itself. Deleting a symbolic link, however, deletes the link and not the target of the link.
Mac® OS®, Linux, and Windows® Vista®
support symbolic links. Additionally, on Windows the isSymbolicLink
property for a File object referencing a junction point (used in the NTFS file system) is set to
true
.
Implementation
public function get isSymbolicLink():Boolean
lineEnding | property |
lineEnding:String
[read-only] Language Version: | ActionScript 3.0 |
Runtime Versions: | AIR 1.0 |
The line-ending character sequence used by the host operating system.
On Mac OS and Linux, this is the line-feed character (character code 0x0A hexadecimal). On Windows, this is the carriage return character (character code 0x0D hexadecimal) followed by the line-feed character (character code 0x0A hexadecimal).
Implementation
public static function get lineEnding():String
Example ( How to use this example )
str
) to a text file and uses the
File.lineEnding
static property to replace all instances of the new-line character
(represented in the code by the regular expression /\n/g
) with the preferred
line-ending character for the host operating system.
import flash.filesystem.*; var str:String = "Hello\n" + "World\n"; str = str.replace(/\n/g, File.lineEnding); var file:File = File.documentsDirectory.resolvePath("AIR Test/test.txt"); var fileStream:FileStream = new FileStream(); fileStream.open(file, FileMode.WRITE); fileStream.writeUTF(str); fileStream.close();
nativePath | property |
nativePath:String
Language Version: | ActionScript 3.0 |
Runtime Versions: | AIR 1.0 |
The full path in the host operating system representation. On Mac OS and Linux,
the forward slash (/) character is used as the path separator.
However, in Windows, you can set the nativePath
property
by using the forward slash character or the backslash (\) character as the
path separator, and AIR automatically replaces forward slashes with
the appropriate backslash character.
Before writing code to set the nativePath
property directly,
consider whether doing so may result in platform-specific code. For example, a native
path such as "C:\\Documents and Settings\\bob\\Desktop"
is only valid on Windows.
It is far better to use the following static properties, which represent commonly used directories,
and which are valid on all platforms:
File.applicationDirectory
File.applicationStorageDirectory
File.desktopDirectory
File.documentsDirectory
File.userDirectory
You can use the resolvePath()
method to get a path relative to these directories.
Some Flex APIs, such as the source
property of the SWFLoader class, use a
URL (the url
property of a File object), not a native path (the nativePath
property).
Implementation
public function get nativePath():String
public function set nativePath(value:String):void
Throws
ArgumentError — The syntax of the path is invalid.
| |
SecurityError — The caller is not in the application security sandbox.
|
Example ( How to use this example )
nativePath
property and the url
property of a File object. The comments show results on an
example Windows computer.
import flash.filesystem.File; var docs:File = File.documentsDirectory; trace(docs.nativePath); // C:\Documents and Settings\turing\My Documents trace(docs.url); // file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/turing/My%20Documents
parent | property |
parent:File
[read-only] Language Version: | ActionScript 3.0 |
Runtime Versions: | AIR 1.0 |
The directory that contains the file or directory referenced by this File object.
If the file or directory does not exist, the parent
property still returns the
File object that points to the containing directory, even if that directory does not exist.
This property is identical to the return value for resolvePath("..")
except that the parent of a root
directory is null
.
Implementation
public function get parent():File
Example ( How to use this example )
parent
property to show the directory
that contains a temporary file.
import flash.filesystem.File; var tempFile:File = File.createTempDirectory(); trace(tempFile.parent.nativePath); tempFile.deleteFile();
separator | property |
separator:String
[read-only] Language Version: | ActionScript 3.0 |
Runtime Versions: | AIR 1.0 |
The host operating system's path component separator character.
On Mac OS and Linux, this is the forward slash (/) character. On Windows, it is the backslash (\) character.
Note: When using the backslash character in a String literal, remember to
type the character twice (as in "directory\\file.ext"
). Each pair of backslashes
in a String literal represent a single backslash in the String.
Implementation
public static function get separator():String
Example ( How to use this example )
getRelativePath()
method to get the relative path
between a directory and a file. The code then uses the File.separator
static property
to replace forward slash (/) characters in the path with the separator character used by the operating
system, which is the backslash character (\) on Windows and the forward slash character on other
operating systems.
import flash.filesystem.File; var directory:File = File.documentsDirectory.resolvePath("Apollo Test"); var file:File = File.documentsDirectory.resolvePath("Apollo Test/employees/bob/test.txt"); var relativePath:String = directory.getRelativePath(file); // employees/bob/test.txt relativePath = relativePath.replace(/\//g, File.separator); trace(relativePath);
replace()
method uses a regular expression,
/\//g
, to match all forward slash characters.
spaceAvailable | property |
spaceAvailable:Number
[read-only] Language Version: | ActionScript 3.0 |
Runtime Versions: | AIR 1.1 |
The space available for use at this File location, in bytes.
If the File object references a directory,
spaceAvailable
indicates the space in the directory that files can use. If
the File object references a file, spaceAvailable
indicates the space into which the file
could grow. If the file location does not exist, spaceAvailable
is set to 0. If the File
object references a symbolic link, spaceAvailable
indicates the space available at the
location the symbolic link points to.
Typically the space available for a directory or file is the same as the space available on the volume containing the directory or file. However, space available can take into account quotas and per-directory limits.
Adding a file or directory to a volume generally requires more space than the actual size of the file or the size of the contents of the directory. For example, the operating system may require more space to store index information. Or the disk sectors required may use additional space. Also, available space changes dynamically. So, you cannot expect to allocate all of the reported space for file storage.
Implementation
public function get spaceAvailable():Number
systemCharset | property |
systemCharset:String
[read-only] Language Version: | ActionScript 3.0 |
Runtime Versions: | AIR 1.0 |
The default encoding used by the host operating system.
Possible values include "windows-1252"
"shift-jis"
, "cn-gb"
, "iso-8859-1"
, and others.
For a complete list, see Supported Character Sets.
You can use this value when using the readMultiByte()
and writeMultiByte()
methods of the FileStream class.
Implementation
public static function get systemCharset():String
See also
Example ( How to use this example )
File.systemCharset
static property
as the charSet
parameter of a call to the readMultiByte()
method
of a FileStream object.
import flash.filesystem.File; var file:File = File.documentsDirectory.resolvePath("AIR Test/test.txt"); var fileStream:FileStream = new FileStream(); fileStream.open(file, FileMode.READ); var str:String = fileStream.readMultiByte(file.size, File.systemCharset); trace(str);
url | property |
url:String
Language Version: | ActionScript 3.0 |
Runtime Versions: | AIR 1.0 |
The URL for this file path.
If this is a reference to a path in the application storage directory, the URL scheme is
"app-storage"
; if it is a reference to a path in the application directory, the
URL scheme is "app"
; otherwise the scheme is "file"
.
You can use blank space characters (rather than "%20"
) when
assigning a value to the url
property; AIR automatically
encodes the strings (for instance, converting spaces to "%20"
).
Implementation
public function get url():String
public function set url(value:String):void
Throws
ArgumentError — The URL syntax is invalid.
| |
SecurityError — The caller is not in the application security sandbox.
|
See also
decodeURI() global function
decodeURIComponent() global function
decodeURI() global function
decodeURIComponent() global function
Example ( How to use this example )
nativePath
property and the url
property of a File object. The comments show results on an
example Windows computer.
import flash.filesystem.File; var docs:File = File.documentsDirectory; trace(docs.nativePath); // C:\Documents and Settings\turing\My Documents trace(docs.url); // file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/turing/My%20Documents
userDirectory | property |
userDirectory:File
[read-only] Language Version: | ActionScript 3.0 |
Runtime Versions: | AIR 1.0 |
The user's directory.
On Windows, this is the parent of the My Documents directory (for example, C:\Documents and Settings\userName). On Mac OS, it is /Users/userName. On Linux, it is /home/userName.
The userDirectory
property provides a way to reference the user
directory that works across platforms. If you set the nativePath
or url
property of a File object directly, it will only work on the platform for which that path is valid.
Implementation
public static function get userDirectory():File
Example ( How to use this example )
import flash.filesystem.File; var files:Array = File.userDirectory.listDirectory(); for (var i:uint = 0; i < files.length; i++) { trace(files[i].nativePath); }
File | () | Constructor |
public function File(path:String = null)
Language Version: | ActionScript 3.0 |
Runtime Versions: | AIR 1.0 |
The constructor function for the File class.
If you pass a path
argument, the
File object points to the specified path, and the nativePath
property and
and url
property are set to reflect that path.
Although you can pass a path
argument to specify a file path, consider
whether doing so may result in platform-specific code. For example, a native path such as
"C:\\Documents and Settings\\bob\\Desktop"
or a URL such as
"file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/bob/Desktop"
is only valid on Windows.
It is far better to use the following static properties, which represent commonly used directories,
and which are valid on all platforms:
File.applicationDirectory
File.applicationStorageDirectory
File.desktopDirectory
File.documentsDirectory
File.userDirectory
You can then use the resolvePath()
method to get a path relative to these directories.
For example, the following code sets up a File object to point to the settings.xml file in the application
storage directory:
var file:File = File.applicationStorageDirectory.resolvePath("settings.xml");
Important: If you pass a URL string in the path
parameter, the URL is decoded to resolve the file path.
For example, the statement, new File("file:///c:/test/demo%20file%201%2e0.txt")
creates a File object
with the native path, "c:\test\demo file 1.0.txt". (A URL uses the file:, app:, or app-storage: scheme prefixes.)
However, if the valid URL prefixes are omitted, the path string is treated like a native path and no decoding takes place.
You must take this behavior into consideration when validating paths derived from potentially untrusted sources.
If you simply validate the input string, URL decoding may allow an attacker to bypass your validation checks.
Always validate the final path of the instantiated File object:
var file:File = new File( taintedString ); validate( file.nativePath ); //where validate() is your path validation function
path:String (default = null ) — The path to the file. You can specify the path by using either a URL or
native path (platform-specific) notation.
If you specify a URL, you can use any of the following
URL schemes:
The If you specify a native path, on Windows you can use either the backslash character or
the forward slash character as the path separator in this argument; on Mac OS and Linux, use the
forward slash. The following are valid values for the
However, for these two examples, you should pass no |
Throws
ArgumentError — The syntax of the path parameter is invalid.
|
See also
browseForDirectory | () | method |
public function browseForDirectory(title:String):void
Language Version: | ActionScript 3.0 |
Runtime Versions: | AIR 1.0 |
Displays a directory chooser dialog box, in which the user can select a directory.
When the user selects the directory, the select
event is dispatched.
The target
property of the select
event is the
File object pointing to the selected directory.
Parameters
title:String — The string that is diplayed in the title bar of the dialog box.
|
Events
cancel: — Dispatched when the user clicks the Cancel button in the Open File dialog box.
| |
select: — Dispatched when the user selects a directory and closes the directory chooser dialog box.
|
See also
Example ( How to use this example )
File.browseForDirectory()
method to
let the user select a directory. When the directory is selected, the code lists the contents of
the selected directory in the trace()
output.
import flash.filesystem.File; import flash.events.Event; var directory:File = File.documentsDirectory; try { directory.browseForDirectory("Select Directory"); directory.addEventListener(Event.SELECT, directorySelected); } catch (error:Error) { trace("Failed:", error.message); } function directorySelected(event:Event):void { directory = event.target as File; var files:Array = directory.getDirectoryListing(); for(var i:uint = 0; i < files.length; i++) { trace(files[i].name); } }
browseForOpen | () | method |
public function browseForOpen(title:String, typeFilter:Array = null):void
Language Version: | ActionScript 3.0 |
Runtime Versions: | AIR 1.0 |
Displays the Open File dialog box, in which the user can select a file to open.
When the user selects the file, the select
event is dispatched.
The target
property of the select
event is the
File object pointing to the selected file.
Parameters
title:String — The string that is diplayed in the title bar of the dialog box.
| |
typeFilter:Array (default = null ) — An array of FileFilter instances used to filter the files
that are displayed in the dialog box. If you omit this parameter, all files are
displayed. For more information, see the FileFilter class.
|
Events
cancel: — Dispatched when the user clicks the Cancel button in the Open File dialog box.
| |
select: — Dispatched when the user selects a file and closes the Open File dialog box.
|
See also
Example ( How to use this example )
File.browseForOpen()
method to
let the user choose a text file. When the file is selected, the code reads the file data
into a string.
import flash.filesystem.*; import flash.events.Event; import flash.net.FileFilter; var fileToOpen:File = new File(); var txtFilter:FileFilter = new FileFilter("Text", "*.as;*.css;*.html;*.txt;*.xml"); try { fileToOpen.browseForOpen("Open", [txtFilter]); fileToOpen.addEventListener(Event.SELECT, fileSelected); } catch (error:Error) { trace("Failed:", error.message); } function fileSelected(event:Event):void { var stream:FileStream = new FileStream(); stream.open(event.target, FileMode.READ); var fileData:String = stream.readUTFBytes(stream.bytesAvailable); trace(fileData); }
browseForOpenMultiple | () | method |
public function browseForOpenMultiple(title:String, typeFilter:Array = null):void
Language Version: | ActionScript 3.0 |
Runtime Versions: | AIR 1.0 |
Displays the Open File dialog box, in which the user can select one or more files to open.
When the user selects the files, the selectMultiple
event is dispatched.
The target
property of the select
event is this
File object. Unlike browseForOpen()
, with the browseForOpenMultiple()
method, this File object is not updated to reference any of the chosen files.
Instead, the resulting selectMultiple
event contains an array of the chosen files.
Parameters
title:String — The string that is diplayed in the title bar of the dialog box.
| |
typeFilter:Array (default = null ) — An array of FileFilter instances used to filter the files
that are displayed in the dialog box. If you omit this parameter, all files are
displayed. For more information, see the FileFilter class.
|
Events
cancel: — Dispatched when the user clicks the Cancel button in the Open File dialog box.
| |
selectMultiple: — Dispatched when the user selects files and closes the Open File dialog box.
|
See also
Example ( How to use this example )
File.browseForOpenMultiple()
method to
let the user choose multiple files. When the files are selected, the code outputs the paths
for the selected files.
import flash.filesystem.*; import flash.events.FileListEvent; var docsDir:File = File.documentsDirectory; try { docsDir.browseForOpenMultiple("Select Files"); docsDir.addEventListener(FileListEvent.SELECT_MULTIPLE, filesSelected); } catch (error:Error) { trace("Failed:", error.message); } function filesSelected(event:FileListEvent):void { for (var i:uint = 0; i < event.files.length; i++) { trace(event.files[i].nativePath); } }
browseForSave | () | method |
public function browseForSave(title:String):void
Language Version: | ActionScript 3.0 |
Runtime Versions: | AIR 1.0 |
Displays the Save File dialog box, in which the user can select a file destination.
When the user selects the file, the select
event is dispatched.
The target
property of the select
event is the
File object pointing to the selected Save destination.
Parameters
title:String — The string that is diplayed in the title bar of the dialog box.
|
Events
cancel: — Dispatched when the user clicks the Cancel button in the Save File dialog box.
| |
select: — Dispatched when the user selects a file and closes the Save File dialog box.
|
See also
Example ( How to use this example )
File.browseForSave()
method to
let the user select a path for saving a file. When the files are selected, the code saves
data to the selected file path.
import flash.filesystem.*; import flash.events.Event; var docsDir:File = File.documentsDirectory; try { docsDir.browseForSave("Save As"); docsDir.addEventListener(Event.SELECT, saveData); } catch (error:Error) { trace("Failed:", error.message); } function saveData(event:Event):void { var newFile:File = event.target as File; var str:String = "Hello."; if (!newFile.exists) { var stream:FileStream = new FileStream(); stream.open(newFile, FileMode.WRITE); stream.writeUTFBytes(str); stream.close(); } }
cancel | () | method |
override public function cancel():void
Runtime Versions: | AIR 1.0 |
Cancels any pending asynchronous operation.
canonicalize | () | method |
public function canonicalize():void
Language Version: | ActionScript 3.0 |
Runtime Versions: | AIR 1.0 |
Canonicalizes the File path.
If the File object represents an existing file or directory, canonicalization
adjusts the path so that it matches the case of the actual file or directory name.
If the File object is a symbolic link, canonicalization adjusts the path so that
it matches the file or directory that the link points to, regardless of whether the
file or directory that is pointed to exists. On case sensitive file systems
(such as Linux), when multiple files exists with names differing only in case,
the canonicalize()
method adjusts the path to
match the first file found (in an order determined by the file system).
In addition, canonicalization converts short filesnames to long filenames on Windows.
Example ( How to use this example )
canonicalize()
method to find the
correct capitalization of a directory name. Before running this example, create a directory named AIR Test
on the desktop of your computer.
import flash.filesystem.*; var path:File = File.desktopDirectory.resolvePath("air test"); trace(path.nativePath); path.canonicalize(); trace(path.nativePath); // ...\AIR Test
canonicalize()
method to find the
long name of a Windows directory based on its short name. This example assumes that there is an AIR Test
directory at the root of the C: drive, and that the system has assigned the short name AIR~1 to the directory.
import flash.filesystem.*; var path:File = new File(); path.nativePath = "C:\\AIR~1"; path.canonicalize(); trace(path.nativePath); // C:\AIR Test
clone | () | method |
public function clone():File
Language Version: | ActionScript 3.0 |
Runtime Versions: | AIR 1.0 |
Returns a copy of this File object. Event registrations are not copied.
Note: This method does not copy the file itself. It simply makes a
copy of the instance of the ActionScript
File object. To copy a file, use the
copyTo()
method.
File |
copyTo | () | method |
public function copyTo(newLocation:FileReference, overwrite:Boolean = false):void
Language Version: | ActionScript 3.0 |
Runtime Versions: | AIR 1.0 |
Copies the file or directory at the location specified by this File object to
the location specified by the newLocation
parameter. The copy process
creates any required parent directories (if possible).
Parameters
newLocation:FileReference — The target location of the new file. Note that this File object specifies
the resulting (copied) file or directory, not the path to the containing directory.
| |
overwrite:Boolean (default = false ) — If false , the copy fails if the file specified by the target
parameter already exists. If true , the operation overwrites existing file or directory
of the same name.
|
Throws
IOError — The source does not exist; or the destination exists and overwrite is false ;
or the source could not be copied to the target; or the source and destination refer to the same file or folder and
overwrite is set to true . On Windows, you cannot copy a file that is open or a directory
that contains a file that is open.
|
See also
Example ( How to use this example )
copyTo()
method to copy a file.
Before running this code, create a test1.txt file in the AIR Test subdirectory of the documents directory on
your computer. The resulting copied file is named test2.txt, and it is also in the AIR Test subdirectory. When
you set the overwrite
parameter to true
, the operation overwrites any existing test2.txt file.
import flash.filesystem.File; import flash.events.Event; var sourceFile:FileReference = File.documentsDirectory; sourceFile = sourceFile.resolvePath("AIR Test/test1.txt"); var destination:FileReference = File.documentsDirectory; destination = destination.resolvePath("AIR Test/test2.txt"); if (sourceFile.copyTo(destination, true)) { trace("Done."); }
copyTo()
method to copy a file.
Before running this code, create a test1.txt file in the AIR Test subdirectory of the home directory on your
computer. The resulting copied file is named test2.txt. The try
and catch
statements
show how to respond to errors.
import flash.filesystem.File; var sourceFile:File = File.documentsDirectory; sourceFile = sourceFile.resolvePath("AIR Test/test1.txt"); var destination:File = File.documentsDirectory; destination = destination.resolvePath("AIR Test/test2.txt"); try { sourceFile.copyTo(destination, true); } catch (error:Error) { trace("Error:", error.message); }
copyToAsync | () | method |
public function copyToAsync(newLocation:FileReference, overwrite:Boolean = false):void
Language Version: | ActionScript 3.0 |
Runtime Versions: | AIR 1.0 |
Begins copying the file or directory at the location specified by this File object to
the location specified by the destination
parameter.
Upon completion, either a complete
event (successful) or an ioError
event
(unsucessful) is dispatched. The copy process creates any required parent directories (if possible).
Parameters
newLocation:FileReference — The target location of the new file. Note that this File object specifies
the resulting (copied) file or directory, not the path to the containing directory.
| |
overwrite:Boolean (default = false ) — If false , the copy fails if the file specified by the target
file already exists. If true , the operation overwrites any existing file or directory
of the same name.
|
Events
complete: — Dispatched when the file or directory has been successfully copied.
| |
ioError: — The source does not exist; or the destination exists and overwrite
is false ; or the source could not be copied to the target; or the source and destination refer
to the same file or folder and overwrite is set to true . On Windows, you cannot
copy a file that is open or a directory that contains a file that is open.
|
See also
Example ( How to use this example )
copyToAsync()
method to copy a file.
Before running this code, be sure to create a test1.txt file in the AIR Test subdirectory of the documents directory on your
computer. The resulting copied file is named test2.txt, and it is also in the AIR Test subdirectory. When you set the
overwrite
parameter to true
, the operation overwrites any existing test2.txt file.
import flash.filesystem.File; import flash.events.Event; var sourceFile:File = File.documentsDirectory; sourceFile = sourceFile.resolvePath("AIR Test/test1.txt"); var destination:File = File.documentsDirectory; destination = destination.resolvePath("AIR Test/test2.txt"); sourceFile.copyToAsync(destination, true); sourceFile.addEventListener(Event.COMPLETE, fileCopiedHandler); function fileCopiedHandler(event:Event):void { trace("Done."); }
createDirectory | () | method |
public function createDirectory():void
Language Version: | ActionScript 3.0 |
Runtime Versions: | AIR 1.0 |
Creates the specified directory and any necessary parent directories. If the directory already exists, no action is taken.
Throws
IOError — The directory did not exist and could not be created.
|
Example ( How to use this example )
createDirectory()
method
ensures that the AIR Test directory exists before the file is moved.
import flash.filesystem.*; var source:File = File.desktopDirectory.resolvePath("test.txt"); var target:File = File.documentsDirectory.resolvePath("AIR Test/test.txt"); var targetParent:File = target.parent; targetParent.createDirectory(); source.moveTo(target, true);
createTempDirectory | () | method |
public static function createTempDirectory():File
Language Version: | ActionScript 3.0 |
Runtime Versions: | AIR 1.0 |
Returns a reference to a new temporary directory. This is a new directory in the system's temporary directory path.
This method lets you identify a new, unique directory, without having to query the system to see that the directory is new and unique.
You may want to delete the temporary directory before closing the application, since it is not deleted automatically.
ReturnsFile — A File object referencing the new temporary directory.
|
See also
Example ( How to use this example )
createTempFile()
method to obtain a
reference to a new temporary directory.
import flash.File; var temp:File = File.createTempDirectory(); trace(temp.nativePath);
createTempFile | () | method |
public static function createTempFile():File
Language Version: | ActionScript 3.0 |
Runtime Versions: | AIR 1.0 |
Returns a reference to a new temporary file. This is a new file in the system's temporary directory path.
This method lets you identify a new, unique file, without having to query the system to see that the file is new and unique.
You may want to delete the temporary file before closing the application, since it is not deleted automatically.
ReturnsFile — A File object referencing the new temporary file.
|
See also
Example ( How to use this example )
createTempFile()
method to obtain a
reference to a new temporary file.
import flash.File; var temp:File = File.createTempFile(); trace(temp.nativePath);
deleteDirectory | () | method |
public function deleteDirectory(deleteDirectoryContents:Boolean = false):void
Language Version: | ActionScript 3.0 |
Runtime Versions: | AIR 1.0 |
Deletes the directory. If this File is actually a symbolic link to a directory, then the link, and not the directory, is removed.
Parameters
deleteDirectoryContents:Boolean (default = false ) — Specifies whether or not to delete a directory that contains files or
subdirectories. When false , if the directory contains files or directories, a call to
this method throws an exception.
|
Throws
IOError — The directory does not exist, or the directory could not be deleted. On Windows,
you cannot delete a directory that contains a file that is open.
|
See also
Example ( How to use this example )
deleteDirectory()
method to delete the directory.
import flash.filesystem.File; var directory:File = File.documentsDirectory.resolvePath("Empty Junk Directory/"); File.createDirectory(directory); trace(directory.exists); // true directory.deleteDirectory(); trace(directory.exists); // false
deleteDirectoryAsync | () | method |
public function deleteDirectoryAsync(deleteDirectoryContents:Boolean = false):void
Language Version: | ActionScript 3.0 |
Runtime Versions: | AIR 1.0 |
Deletes the directory asynchronously. If this File is actually a symbolic link to a directory, then the link, and not the directory, is removed.
Parameters
deleteDirectoryContents:Boolean (default = false ) — Specifies whether or not to delete a directory that contains files or
subdirectories. When false , if the directory contains files or directories,
the File object dispatches an ioError event.
|
Events
complete: — Dispatched when the directory has been deleted successfully.
| |
ioError: — The directory does not exist or could not be deleted. On Windows,
you cannot delete a directory that contains a file that is open.
|
See also
deleteFile | () | method |
public function deleteFile():void
Language Version: | ActionScript 3.0 |
Runtime Versions: | AIR 1.0 |
Deletes the file. If this File is actually a symbolic link, then the link, not the target file, is removed.
Throws
IOError — The file does not exist or could not to be deleted. On Windows,
you cannot delete a file that is currently open.
|
See also
Example ( How to use this example )
deleteFile()
method to delete it.
import flash.filesystem.*; var file:File = File.createTempFile(); trace(file.exists); // true file.deleteFile(); trace(file.exists); // false
deleteFileAsync | () | method |
public function deleteFileAsync():void
Language Version: | ActionScript 3.0 |
Runtime Versions: | AIR 1.0 |
Deletes the file asynchronously. If this File is actually a symbolic link, then the link, not the target file, is removed.
Events
complete: — Dispatched when the file has been deleted successfully.
| |
ioError: — The file does not exist or could not be deleted. On Windows,
you cannot delete a file that is currently open.
|
See also
getDirectoryListing | () | method |
public function getDirectoryListing():Array
Language Version: | ActionScript 3.0 |
Runtime Versions: | AIR 1.0 |
Returns an array of File objects corresponding to files and directories in the directory represented by this File object. This method does not explore the contents of subdirectories.
ReturnsArray — An array of File objects.
|
See also
Example ( How to use this example )
getDirectoryListing()
method to
enumerate the contents of the user directory.
import flash.filesystem.File; var directory:File = File.userDirectory; var list:Array = directory.getDirectoryListing(); for (var i:uint = 0; i < list.length; i++) { trace(list[i].nativePath); }
getDirectoryListingAsync | () | method |
public function getDirectoryListingAsync():void
Language Version: | ActionScript 3.0 |
Runtime Versions: | AIR 1.0 |
Asynchronously retrieves an array of File objects corresponding to the contents of the directory represented by this File object.
Events
ioError: — You do not have adequate permissions to read this directory, or the directory does
not exist.
| |
directoryListing: — The directory contents have been enumerated successfully. The
contents event includes a files property, which is the resulting array of File objects.
|
See also
Example ( How to use this example )
getDirectoryListingAsync()
method to
enumerate the contents of the user directory.
import flash.filesystem.File; import flash.events.FileListEvent; var directory:File = File.userDirectory; directory.getDirectoryListingAsync(); directory.addEventListener(FileListEvent.DIRECTORY_LISTING, directoryListingHandler); function directoryListingHandler(event:FileListEvent):void { var list:Array = event.files; for (var i:uint = 0; i < list.length; i++) { trace(list[i].nativePath); } }
getRelativePath | () | method |
public function getRelativePath(ref:FileReference, useDotDot:Boolean = false):String
Language Version: | ActionScript 3.0 |
Runtime Versions: | AIR 1.0 |
Finds the relative path between two File paths.
The relative path is the list of components that can be appended to (resolved against) this reference in order to locate the second (parameter) reference. The relative path is returned using the "/" separator character.
Optionally, relative paths may include ".." references, but such paths will not cross conspicuous volume boundaries.
Parameters
ref:FileReference — A File object against which the path is given.
| |
useDotDot:Boolean (default = false ) — Specifies whether the resulting relative path can use ".." components.
|
String — The relative path between this file (or directory) and the ref file
(or directory), if possible; otherwise null .
|
Throws
ArgumentError — The reference is null .
| |
SecurityError — The caller is not in the application security sandbox.
|
getRootDirectories | () | method |
public static function getRootDirectories():Array
Language Version: | ActionScript 3.0 |
Runtime Versions: | AIR 1.0 |
Returns an array of File objects, listing the file system root directories.
For example, on Windows this is a list of volumes such as the C: drive and the D: drive. An empty drive, such as a CD or DVD drive in which no disc is inserted, is not included in this array. On Mac OS and Linux, this method always returns the unique root directory for the machine (the "/" directory)
ReturnsArray — An array of File objects, listing the root directories.
|
Example ( How to use this example )
import flash.filesystem.File; var rootDirs:Array = File.getRootDirectories(); for (var i:uint = 0; i < rootDirs.length; i++) { trace(rootDirs[i].nativePath); }
moveTo | () | method |
public function moveTo(newLocation:FileReference, overwrite:Boolean = false):void
Language Version: | ActionScript 3.0 |
Runtime Versions: | AIR 1.0 |
Moves the file or directory at the location specified by this File object to
the location specified by the destination
parameter.
To rename a file, set the destination
parameter to point to a path that is
in the file's directory, but with a different filename.
The move process creates any required parent directories (if possible).
Parameters
newLocation:FileReference — The target location for the move. This object specifies the path to the resulting
(moved) file or directory, not the path to the containing directory.
| |
overwrite:Boolean (default = false ) — If false , the move fails if the target file
already exists. If true , the operation overwrites any existing file or directory
of the same name.
|
Throws
IOError — The source does not exist; or the destination exists and overwrite is
set to false ; or the source file or directory could not be moved to the target location;
or the source and destination refer to the same file or folder and overwrite is set to
true . On Windows, you cannot move a file that is open or a directory that contains a file
that is open.
|
See also
Example ( How to use this example )
moveTo()
method to rename
a file. The original filename is test1.txt and the resulting filename is test2.txt. Since both the source and destination File
object point to the same directory (the Apollo Test subdirectory of the user's documents directory), the
moveTo()
method renames the file, rather than moving it to a new directory. Before running
this code, create a test1.txt file in the AIR Test subdirectory of the documents directory on your
computer. When you set the overwrite
parameter to true
, the operation overwrites
any existing test2.txt file.
import flash.filesystem.File; import flash.events.Event; var sourceFile:File = File.documentsDirectory; sourceFile = sourceFile.resolvePath("AIR Test/test1.txt"); var destination:File = File.documentsDirectory; destination = destination.resolvePath("Apollo Test/test2.txt"); try { sourceFile.moveTo(destination, true); } catch (error:Error) { trace("Error:" error.message); }
moveTo()
method to move a file.
The original file is the test1.txt file in the Apollo Test subdirectory of the user's documents directory,
and the method moves the file to the Results subdirectory. Before running this code, create a
test1.txt file in the AIR Test subdirectory of the home directory on your computer. The try
and catch
statements show how to respond to errors.
import flash.filesystem.File; var sourceFile:File = File.documentsDirectory; sourceFile = sourceFile.resolvePath("AIR Test/test1.txt"); var destination:File = File.documentsDirectory; destination = destination.resolvePath("AIR Test/Results/test1.txt"); try { sourceFile.moveTo(destination, true); } catch (error:Error) { trace("Error:" error.message); }
moveToAsync | () | method |
public function moveToAsync(newLocation:FileReference, overwrite:Boolean = false):void
Language Version: | ActionScript 3.0 |
Runtime Versions: | AIR 1.0 |
Begins moving the file or directory at the location specified by this File object to
the location specified by the newLocation
parameter.
To rename a file, set the destination
parameter to point to a path that is
in the file's directory, but with a different filename.
The move process creates any required parent directories (if possible).
Parameters
newLocation:FileReference — The target location for the move. This object specifies the path to the resulting
(moved) file or directory, not the path to the containing directory.
| |
overwrite:Boolean (default = false ) — If false , the move fails if the target file
already exists. If true , the operation overwrites any existing file or directory
of the same name.
|
Events
complete: — Dispatched when the file or directory has been successfully moved.
| |
ioError: — The source does not exist; or the destination exists and overwrite
is false ; or the source could not be moved to the target; or the source and destination refer
to the same file or folder and overwrite is set to true . On Windows, you cannot move
a file that is open or a directory that contains a file that is open.
|
See also
Example ( How to use this example )
moveToAsync()
method to rename a
file. The original filename is test1.txt and the resulting name is test2.txt. Since both the source and destination File
object point to the same directory (the Apollo Test subdirectory of the user's documents directory), the
moveToAsync()
method renames the file, rather than moving it to a new directory.
Before running this code, create a test1.txt file in the Apollo Test subdirectory of the documents directory on your
computer. When you set overwrite
parameter to true
, the operation overwrites any
existing test2.txt file.
import flash.filesystem.File; import flash.events.Event; var sourceFile:File = File.documentsDirectory; sourceFile = sourceFile.resolvePath("Apollo Test/test1.txt"); var destination:File = File.documentsDirectory; destination = destination.resolvePath("Apollo Test/test2.txt"); var sourceFile.moveToAsync(destination, true); sourceFile.addEventListener(Event.COMPLETE, fileMoveCompleteHandler); function fileMoveCompleteHandler(event:Event):void { trace("Done.") }
moveToTrash | () | method |
public function moveToTrash():void
Language Version: | ActionScript 3.0 |
Runtime Versions: | AIR 1.0 |
Moves a file or directory to the trash.
Throws
IOError — The operating system did not allow the operation; or the file
or directory does not exist. On Windows, you cannot move a file that is open or a directory
that contains a file that is currently open.
|
See also
moveToTrashAsync | () | method |
public function moveToTrashAsync():void
Language Version: | ActionScript 3.0 |
Runtime Versions: | AIR 1.0 |
Asynchronously moves a file or directory to the trash.
Events
ioError: — The operating system did not allow the operation; or the file
or directory does not exist. On Windows, you cannot move a file that is open or a directory
that contains a file that is currently open.
| |
complete: — Dispatched when the file or directory has been successfully moved to the trash.
|
See also
openWithDefaultApplication | () | method |
public function openWithDefaultApplication():void
Language Version: | ActionScript 3.0 |
Runtime Versions: | AIR 2 |
Opens the file in the application registered by the operating system to open this file type.
AIR prevents you from using the File.openWithDefaultApplication() method to open certain files.
On Windows, AIR prevents you from opening files that have certain file types (files with specific extensions, listed below).
On Mac OS and Linux, AIR prevents you from opening files that will launch in specific applications,
specified below. Attempting to open one of these files using the openWithDefaultApplication()
method
results in an exception. However, AIR applications installed with a native installer (extended desktop profile applications)
are not restricted by these limitations; they can open files of any type.
You cannot open documents from the application directory.
The tables below list file extensions that are prohibited on Windows, as well as the prevented applications on Mac OS and Linux:
Windows Document Extension | Kind | Mac OS Application Counterpart | Linux Application Counterpart |
---|---|---|---|
bat | Batch file command | Terminal | No default application |
cmd | DOS and Windows command file | Terminal | No default application |
com | Command | Terminal | No default application |
csh | UNIX csh shell script | Terminal | /bin/csh |
dash | UNIX dash shell script | Terminal | /bin/dash |
ksh | UNIX ksh shell script | Terminal | /bin/ksh |
sh | UNIX shell script | Terminal | /bin/bash |
tcsh | UNIX tcsh shell script | Terminal | /bin/tcsh |
zsh | UNIX zsh shell script | Terminal | /bin/zsh |
exe | Executable file | Executable bit, .app extension | /lib/ld.so |
lnk | Windows shortcut file | Executable bit, .app extension | Links in Linux, executable bit set, no default application |
pif | Program Information File | Executable bit, .app extension | N/A |
reg | Registration Information/Key for Windows 95/98, Registry Data File | N/A | N/A |
scf | Windows Explorer command | ScriptEditor, AutomatorRunner | N/A |
shb, shs | Shell Scrap Object file | N/A | N/A |
prg | Program file | N/A | N/A |
vb, vbe, vbs | VBScript files | N/A | N/A |
vsmacros | Visual Studio .NET binary-based macro project | N/A | N/A |
ws, wsc, wsf, wsh | Windows script files | ScriptEditor, AutomatorRunner | N/A |
fxp | Fox Pro compiled source code | N/A | N/A |
mas | Microsoft Access stored procedures | N/A | N/A |
scr | Windows screen saver | N/A | N/A |
py, pyc | Python script file | Python | Python |
pl | Perl script file | Terminal | perl |
cgi | Common Gateway Interface script file | Terminal | perl |
msi, msm, msp, mst, idt, cub, pcp | Windows installer file | installer | N/A |
job | Windows Task Scheduler task object | N/A | N/A |
jar, js, jse | Java archive file, JavaScript file, JScript encoded script file | JarLauncher | jar |
url | Internet shortcut | N/A | N/A |
hta | HTML application | N/A | N/A |
Mac OS X Only | Kind | Mac OS X Application | Linux Application Counterpart |
---|---|---|---|
N/A | Mac OS X Java applet | AppletLauncher | N/A |
N/A | Mac OS X AppleScript plugin | systemevents | N/A |
N/A | Mac OS X widget | dock, dashboardlauncher | N/A |
Linux-only Document Extension | Kind | Mac OS X Application Counterpart | Linux Application |
---|---|---|---|
rb | Ruby shell script | N/A | ruby |
desktop | Desktop files and shortcuts | N/A | No default application |
directory | Directory files and shortcuts | N/A | No default application |
Throws
Error — (Mac OS and Linux) No application was found that can open the file.
(On Windows, attempting to open a file that has no associated application fails silently,
without an exception.)
| |
IllegalOperationError — The file is in the application directory or it is of a
prohibited file type. This error does not apply for AIR applications installed with a
native application installer (extended desktop profile applications).
| |
IOError — The file does not exist or no application is registered to open the file.
| |
ReferenceError — The file does not exist.
|
See also
Example ( How to use this example )
import flash.filesystem.File; import flash.net.FileFilter; var file:File = File.documentsDirectory; var mp3Filter:FileFilter = new FileFilter("MP3 Files", "*.mp3"); file.browseForOpen("Open", [mp3Filter]); file.addEventListener(Event.SELECT, fileSelected); function fileSelected(e:Event):void { file.openWithDefaultApplication(); }
resolvePath | () | method |
public function resolvePath(path:String):File
Language Version: | ActionScript 3.0 |
Runtime Versions: | AIR 1.0 |
Creates a new File object with a path relative to this File object's path, based on the
path
parameter (a string).
You can use a relative path or absolute path as the path
parameter.
If you specify a relative path, the given path
is "appended"
to the path of the File object. However, use of ".." in the path
can return a resulting path that is not a child of the File object. The resulting reference need not
refer to an actual file system location.
If you specify an absolute file reference, the method returns the File object pointing to that
path. The absolute file reference should use valid native path syntax for the user's operating
system (such as "C:\\test"
on Windows). Do not use a URL (such as
"file:///c:/test"
) as the path
parameter.
All resulting paths are normalized as follows:
- Any "." element is ignored.
- Any ".." element consumes its parent entry.
- No ".." reference that reaches the file system root or the application-persistent storage root passes that node; it is ignored.
You should always use the forward slash (/
) character as the path separator.
On Windows, you can also use the backslash (\
) character, but you should not.
Using the backslash character can lead to applications that do not work on other platforms.
Filenames and directory names are case-sensitive on Linux.
Parameters
path:String — The path to append to this File object's path (if the path parameter
is a relative path); or the path to return (if the path parameter is an absolute
path).
|
File — A new File object pointing to the resulting path.
|
cancel | Event |
flash.events.Event
property Event.type =
flash.events.Event.CANCEL
Language Version: | ActionScript 3.0 |
Runtime Versions: | AIR 1.0 |
Dispatched when a pending asynchronous operation is canceled.
TheEvent.CANCEL
constant defines the value of the type
property of a cancel
event object.
This event has the following properties:
Property | Value |
---|---|
bubbles | false |
cancelable | false ; there is no default behavior to cancel. |
currentTarget | The object that is actively processing the Event object with an event listener. |
target | A reference to the object on which the operation is canceled. |
complete | Event |
flash.events.Event
property Event.type =
flash.events.Event.COMPLETE
Language Version: | ActionScript 3.0 |
Runtime Versions: | AIR 1.0 |
Dispatched when an asynchronous operation is complete.
TheEvent.COMPLETE
constant defines the value of the type
property of a complete
event object.
This event has the following properties:
Property | Value |
---|---|
bubbles | false |
cancelable | false ; there is no default behavior to cancel. |
currentTarget | The object that is actively processing the Event object with an event listener. |
target | The network object that has completed loading. |
directoryListing | Event |
flash.events.FileListEvent
property FileListEvent.type =
flash.events.FileListEvent.DIRECTORY_LISTING
Language Version: | ActionScript 3.0 |
Runtime Versions: | AIR 1.0 |
Dispatched when a directory list is available as a result of a call to the getDirectoryListingAsync()
method.
FileListEvent.DIRECTORY_LISTING
constant defines the value of the
type
property of the event object for a directoryListing
event.
This event has the following properties:
Property | Value |
---|---|
bubbles | false |
cancelable | false ; there is no default behavior to cancel. |
files | An array of File objects representing the files and directories found. |
target | The FileListEvent object. |
See also
ioError | Event |
flash.events.IOErrorEvent
property IOErrorEvent.type =
flash.events.IOErrorEvent.IO_ERROR
Language Version: | ActionScript 3.0 |
Runtime Versions: | AIR 1.0 |
Dispatched when an error occurs during an asynchronous file operation.
Defines the value of thetype
property of an ioError
event object.
This event has the following properties:
Property | Value |
---|---|
bubbles | false |
cancelable | false ; there is no default behavior to cancel. |
currentTarget | The object that is actively processing the Event object with an event listener. |
errorID | A reference number associated with the specific error (AIR only). |
target | The network object experiencing the input/output error. |
text | Text to be displayed as an error message. |
securityError | Event |
flash.events.SecurityErrorEvent
property SecurityErrorEvent.type =
flash.events.SecurityErrorEvent.SECURITY_ERROR
Language Version: | ActionScript 3.0 |
Runtime Versions: | AIR 1.0 |
Dispatched when an operation violates a security constraint.
TheSecurityErrorEvent.SECURITY_ERROR
constant defines the value of the type
property of a securityError
event object.
This event has the following properties:
Property | Value |
---|---|
bubbles | false |
cancelable | false ; there is no default behavior to cancel. |
currentTarget | The object that is actively processing the Event object with an event listener. |
target | The network object reporting the security error. |
text | Text to be displayed as an error message. |
select | Event |
flash.events.Event
property Event.type =
flash.events.Event.SELECT
Language Version: | ActionScript 3.0 |
Runtime Versions: | AIR 1.0 |
Dispatched when the user selects a file or directory from a file- or directory-browsing dialog box.
TheEvent.SELECT
constant defines the value of the type
property of a select
event object.
This event has the following properties:
Property | Value |
---|---|
bubbles | false |
cancelable | false ; there is no default behavior to cancel. |
currentTarget | The object that is actively processing the Event object with an event listener. |
target | The object on which an item has been selected. |
selectMultiple | Event |
flash.events.FileListEvent
property FileListEvent.type =
flash.events.FileListEvent.SELECT_MULTIPLE
Language Version: | ActionScript 3.0 |
Runtime Versions: | AIR 1.0 |
Dispatched when the user selects files from the dialog box opened by a call to the
browseForOpenMultiple()
method.
FileListEvent.SELECT_MULTIPLE
constant defines the value of the
type
property of the event object for a selectMultiple
event.
Property | Value |
---|---|
bubbles | false |
cancelable | false ; there is no default behavior to cancel. |
files | An array of File objects representing the files selected. |
target | The FileListEvent object. |
See also
Thu May 20 2010, 02:19 AM -07:00