Delphi Basics : FileExists command

DelphiBasics

FileExists
Function

Returns true if the given file exists

SysUtils unit

function FileExists(const FileName string):Boolean;

Description

The FileExists function returns True if the given FileName file exists.

The file is searched for in the current directory.

False may be returned if the user is not authorised to see the file.

Related commands

FileSearch		Search for a file in one or more directories
FileSize		Gives the size in records of an open file
FileGetAttr		Gets the attributes of a file
FileSetAttr		Sets the attributes of a file

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Example code : Check for a file before and after deleting it

var
  fileName : string;
  myFile   : TextFile;
  data     : string;

begin
  // Try to open a text file for writing to
  fileName := 'Test.txt';
  AssignFile(myFile, fileName);
  ReWrite(myFile);

  // Write to the file
  Write(myFile, 'Hello World');

  // Close the file
  CloseFile(myFile);

  // Reopen the file in read mode
  Reset(myFile);

  // Display the file contents
  while not Eof(myFile) do
  begin
    ReadLn(myFile, data);
    ShowMessage(data);
  end;

  // Close the file for the last time
  CloseFile(myFile);

  // Now see if the file exists
  if FileExists(fileName)
  then ShowMessage(fileName+' exists OK')
  else ShowMessage(fileName+' does not exist');

  // Delete the file and look again
  DeleteFile(fileName);
  if FileExists(fileName)
  then ShowMessage(fileName+' still exists!')
  else ShowMessage(fileName+' no longer exists');
end;

Show full unit code

  Hello World
  Test.txt exists OK
  Test.txt no longer exists