Can you call Directory.GetFiles() with multiple filters?

Question

I am trying to use the Directory.GetFiles() method to retrieve a list of files of multiple types, such as mp3\'s and jpg\'s. I have t

Answer 1

I had the same problem and couldn't find the right solution so I wrote a function called GetFiles:

/// 

/// Get all files with a specific extension
/// 
/// string list of all the extensions
/// string of the location
/// array of all the files with the specific extensions
public string[] GetFiles(List extensionsToCompare, string Location)
{
    List files = new List();
    foreach (string file in Directory.GetFiles(Location))
    {
        if (extensionsToCompare.Contains(file.Substring(file.IndexOf('.')+1).ToLower())) files.Add(file);
    }
    files.Sort();
    return files.ToArray();
}

This function will call Directory.Getfiles() only one time.

For example call the function like this:

string[] images = GetFiles(new List{"jpg", "png", "gif"}, "imageFolder");

EDIT: To get one file with multiple extensions use this one:

/// 

    /// Get the file with a specific name and extension
    /// 
    /// the name of the file to find
    /// string list of all the extensions
    /// string of the location
    /// file with the requested filename
    public string GetFile( string filename, List extensionsToCompare, string Location)
    {
        foreach (string file in Directory.GetFiles(Location))
        {
            if (extensionsToCompare.Contains(file.Substring(file.IndexOf('.') + 1).ToLower()) &&& file.Substring(Location.Length + 1, (file.IndexOf('.') - (Location.Length + 1))).ToLower() == filename) 
                return file;
        }
        return "";
    }

For example call the function like this:

string image = GetFile("imagename", new List{"jpg", "png", "gif"}, "imageFolder");