Directory Operations

When an application creates a new file, the operating system adds it to the specified directory. Each directory can have any number of files, up to the physical limit of the disk. An application can create new directories and delete existing directories by using the CreateDirectory, CreateDirectoryEx, and RemoveDirectory functions. An application cannot delete a directory unless it is empty.

The directory at the end of the active path is called the current directory; it is the directory in which the active application started, unless explicitly changed. An application can determine which directory is current by using the GetCurrentDirectory function. An application can change the current directory by using the SetCurrentDirectory function.

Windows NT/2000: You can obtain a handle to a directory by calling the CreateFile function with the FILE_FLAG_BACKUP_SEMANTICS flag set, as follows:

hDir = CreateFile (
    DirName,
    GENERIC_READ,
    FILE_SHARE_READ|FILE_SHARE_DELETE,
    NULL,
    OPEN_EXISTING,
    FILE_FLAG_BACKUP_SEMANTICS,
    NULL
);

You can pass a directory handle to the following functions:

BackupRead
BackupSeek
BackupWrite
GetFileInformationByHandle
GetFileSize
GetFileTime
GetFileType
ReadDirectoryChangesW
SetFileTime