[c#] Wait Until File Is Completely Written

When a file is created (FileSystemWatcher_Created) in one directory I copy it to another. But When I create a big (>10MB) file it fails to copy the file, because it starts copying already, when the file is not yet finished creating...
This causes Cannot copy the file, because it's used by another process to be raised. ;(
Any help?

class Program
{
    static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        string path = @"D:\levan\FolderListenerTest\ListenedFolder";
        FileSystemWatcher listener; 
        listener = new FileSystemWatcher(path);
        listener.Created += new FileSystemEventHandler(listener_Created);
        listener.EnableRaisingEvents = true;

        while (Console.ReadLine() != "exit") ;
    }

    public static void listener_Created(object sender, FileSystemEventArgs e)
    {
        Console.WriteLine
                (
                    "File Created:\n"
                   + "ChangeType: " + e.ChangeType
                   + "\nName: " + e.Name
                   + "\nFullPath: " + e.FullPath
                );
        File.Copy(e.FullPath, @"D:\levan\FolderListenerTest\CopiedFilesFolder\" + e.Name);
        Console.Read();
    }
}

So, having glanced quickly through some of these and other similar questions I went on a merry goose chase this afternoon trying to solve a problem with two separate programs using a file as a synchronization (and also file save) method. A bit of an unusual situation, but it definitely highlighted for me the problems with the 'check if the file is locked, then open it if it's not' approach.

The problem is this: the file can become locked between the time that you check it and the time you actually open the file. Its really hard to track down the sporadic Cannot copy the file, because it's used by another process error if you aren't looking for it too.

The basic resolution is to just try to open the file inside a catch block so that if its locked, you can try again. That way there is no elapsed time between the check and the opening, the OS does them at the same time.

The code here uses File.Copy, but it works just as well with any of the static methods of the File class: File.Open, File.ReadAllText, File.WriteAllText, etc.

/// <param name="timeout">how long to keep trying in milliseconds</param>
static void safeCopy(string src, string dst, int timeout)
{
    while (timeout > 0)
    {
        try
        {
            File.Copy(src, dst);

            //don't forget to either return from the function or break out fo the while loop
            break;
        }
        catch (IOException)
        {
            //you could do the sleep in here, but its probably a good idea to exit the error handler as soon as possible
        }
        Thread.Sleep(100);

        //if its a very long wait this will acumulate very small errors. 
        //For most things it's probably fine, but if you need precision over a long time span, consider
        //   using some sort of timer or DateTime.Now as a better alternative
        timeout -= 100;
    }
}

Another small note on parellelism: This is a synchronous method, which will block its thread both while waiting and while working on the thread. This is the simplest approach, but if the file remains locked for a long time your program may become unresponsive. Parellelism is too big a topic to go into in depth here, (and the number of ways you could set up asynchronous read/write is kind of preposterous) but here is one way it could be parellelized.

public class FileEx
{
    public static async void CopyWaitAsync(string src, string dst, int timeout, Action doWhenDone)
    {
        while (timeout > 0)
        {
            try
            {
                File.Copy(src, dst);
                doWhenDone();
                break;
            }
            catch (IOException) { }

            await Task.Delay(100);
            timeout -= 100;
        }
    }

    public static async Task<string> ReadAllTextWaitAsync(string filePath, int timeout)
    {
        while (timeout > 0)
        {
            try {
                return File.ReadAllText(filePath);
            }
            catch (IOException) { }

            await Task.Delay(100);
            timeout -= 100;
        }
        return "";
    }

    public static async void WriteAllTextWaitAsync(string filePath, string contents, int timeout)
    {
        while (timeout > 0)
        {
            try
            {
                File.WriteAllText(filePath, contents);
                return;
            }
            catch (IOException) { }

            await Task.Delay(100);
            timeout -= 100;
        }
    }
}

And here is how it could be used:

public static void Main()
{
    test_FileEx();
    Console.WriteLine("Me First!");
}    

public static async void test_FileEx()
{
    await Task.Delay(1);

    //you can do this, but it gives a compiler warning because it can potentially return immediately without finishing the copy
    //As a side note, if the file is not locked this will not return until the copy operation completes. Async functions run synchronously
    //until the first 'await'. See the documentation for async: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh156513.aspx
    CopyWaitAsync("file1.txt", "file1.bat", 1000);

    //this is the normal way of using this kind of async function. Execution of the following lines will always occur AFTER the copy finishes
    await CopyWaitAsync("file1.txt", "file1.readme", 1000);
    Console.WriteLine("file1.txt copied to file1.readme");

    //The following line doesn't cause a compiler error, but it doesn't make any sense either.
    ReadAllTextWaitAsync("file1.readme", 1000);

    //To get the return value of the function, you have to use this function with the await keyword
    string text = await ReadAllTextWaitAsync("file1.readme", 1000);
    Console.WriteLine("file1.readme says: " + text);
}

//Output:
//Me First!
//file1.txt copied to file1.readme
//file1.readme says: Text to be duplicated!

You're actually in luck - the program writing the file locks it, so you can't open it. If it hadn't locked it, you would have copied a partial file, without having any idea there's a problem.

When you can't access a file, you can assume it's still in use (better yet - try to open it in exclusive mode, and see if someone else is currently opening it, instead of guessing from the failure of File.Copy). If the file is locked, you'll have to copy it at some other time. If it's not locked, you can copy it (there's slight potential for a race condition here).

When is that 'other time'? I don't rememeber when FileSystemWatcher sends multiple events per file - check it out, it might be enough for you to simply ignore the event and wait for another one. If not, you can always set up a time and recheck the file in 5 seconds.

From the documentation for FileSystemWatcher:

The OnCreated event is raised as soon as a file is created. If a file is being copied or transferred into a watched directory, the OnCreated event will be raised immediately, followed by one or more OnChanged events.

So, if the copy fails, (catch the exception), add it to a list of files that still need to be moved, and attempt the copy during the OnChanged event. Eventually, it should work.

Something like (incomplete; catch specific exceptions, initialize variables, etc):

public static void listener_Created(object sender, FileSystemEventArgs e)
{
    Console.WriteLine
            (
                "File Created:\n"
               + "ChangeType: " + e.ChangeType
               + "\nName: " + e.Name
               + "\nFullPath: " + e.FullPath
            );
    try {
        File.Copy(e.FullPath, @"D:\levani\FolderListenerTest\CopiedFilesFolder\" + e.Name);
    }
    catch {
        _waitingForClose.Add(e.FullPath);
    }
    Console.Read();
}

public static void listener_Changed(object sender, FileSystemEventArgs e)
{
     if (_waitingForClose.Contains(e.FullPath))
     {
          try {
              File.Copy(...);
              _waitingForClose.Remove(e.FullPath);
          }
          catch {}
     }

}

You can use the following code to check if the file can be opened with exclusive access (that is, it is not opened by another application). If the file isn't closed, you could wait a few moments and check again until the file is closed and you can safely copy it.

You should still check if File.Copy fails, because another application may open the file between the moment you check the file and the moment you copy it.

public static bool IsFileClosed(string filename)
{
    try
    {
        using (var inputStream = File.Open(filename, FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read, FileShare.None))
        {
            return true;
        }
    }
    catch (IOException)
    {
        return false;
    }
}

It's an old thread, but I'll add some info for other people.

I experienced a similar issue with a program that writes PDF files, sometimes they take 30 seconds to render.. which is the same period that my watcher_FileCreated class waits before copying the file.

The files were not locked.

In this case I checked the size of the PDF and then waited 2 seconds before comparing the new size, if they were unequal the thread would sleep for 30 seconds and try again.

I would like to add an answer here, because this worked for me. I used time delays, while loops, everything I could think of.

I had the Windows Explorer window of the output folder open. I closed it, and everything worked like a charm.

I hope this helps someone.

Well you already give the answer yourself; you have to wait for the creation of the file to finish. One way to do this is via checking if the file is still in use. An example of this can be found here: Is there a way to check if a file is in use?

Note that you will have to modify this code for it to work in your situation. You might want to have something like (pseudocode):

public static void listener_Created()
{
   while CheckFileInUse()
      wait 1000 milliseconds

   CopyFile()
}

Obviously you should protect yourself from an infinite while just in case the owner application never releases the lock. Also, it might be worth checking out the other events from FileSystemWatcher you can subscribe to. There might be an event which you can use to circumvent this whole problem.

When the file is writing in binary(byte by byte),create FileStream and above solutions Not working,because file is ready and wrotted in every bytes,so in this Situation you need other workaround like this: Do this when file created or you want to start processing on file

long fileSize = 0;
currentFile = new FileInfo(path);

while (fileSize < currentFile.Length)//check size is stable or increased
{
  fileSize = currentFile.Length;//get current size
  System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(500);//wait a moment for processing copy
  currentFile.Refresh();//refresh length value
}

//Now file is ready for any process!