How to check if a file exists on a server using c# and the WebClient class

Question

In my application I use the WebClient class to download files from a Webserver by simply calling the DownloadFile method. Now I need to che

Answer 1

WebClient is fairly limited; if you switch to using WebRequest, then you gain the ability to send an HTTP HEAD request. When you issue the request, you should either get an error (if the file is missing), or a WebResponse with a valid ContentLength property.

Edit: Example code:

WebRequest request = WebRequest.Create(new Uri("http://www.example.com/"));
request.Method = "HEAD";

using(WebResponse response = request.GetResponse()) {
   Console.WriteLine("{0} {1}", response.ContentLength, response.ContentType);
}