C# Test if user has write access to a folder

cdirectorypermissions

I need to test if a user can write to a folder before actually attempting to do so.

I've implemented the following method (in C# 2.0) that attempts to retrieve the security permissions for the folder using Directory.GetAccessControl() method.

private bool hasWriteAccessToFolder(string folderPath)
{
    try
    {
        // Attempt to get a list of security permissions from the folder. 
        // This will raise an exception if the path is read only or do not have access to view the permissions. 
        System.Security.AccessControl.DirectorySecurity ds = Directory.GetAccessControl(folderPath);
        return true;
    }
    catch (UnauthorizedAccessException)
    {
        return false;
    }
}

When I was googling how to test for write access nothing like this came up and it appeared very complicated to actually test permissions in Windows. I am concerned that I am over-simplifying things and that this method is not robust, although it does seem to work.

Will my method to test if the current user has write access work correctly?

Best Answer

public bool IsDirectoryWritable(string dirPath, bool throwIfFails = false)
{
    try
    {
        using (FileStream fs = File.Create(
            Path.Combine(
                dirPath, 
                Path.GetRandomFileName()
            ), 
            1,
            FileOptions.DeleteOnClose)
        )
        { }
        return true;
    }
    catch
    {
        if (throwIfFails)
            throw;
        else
            return false;
    }
}
Related Topic