Printing All The Files Path's In C:\ With C++ - c++

Question

I tried to print all the files path's in C:.
But I saw that I am getting permission errors.
void getAllFilesInDirectory(wstring directoryPath, vector<wstring> &files) {
for (filesystem::directory_entry directory : filesystem::directory_iterator(directoryPath)) {
if (GetFileAttributesW(directory.path().wstring().c_str()) == FILE_ATTRIBUTE_SYSTEM)
continue;
//Checking if directory.path is a file or a directory
if (GetFileAttributesW(directory.path().wstring().c_str()) == FILE_ATTRIBUTE_NORMAL) {
files.push_back(directory.path().wstring());
wcout << "The path is " << directory.path().wstring() << endl;
continue;
}
try {
for (filesystem::directory_entry file : filesystem::recursive_directory_iterator(directory)) {
if (GetFileAttributesW(file.path().wstring().c_str()) == FILE_ATTRIBUTE_DIRECTORY) {
continue;
}
wcout << "The path of the file is " << file.path().wstring() << endl;
files.push_back(file.path().wstring());
}
} catch (exception &e) {
wcout << "There is exception " << e.what() << " and the directory path is: " << directory.path().wstring()
<< endl;
}
}
}
My code is working when I give the function a regular directory (not one with privileges).
But when I give him "C:\" he quitting after printing a little path's.
It will be great if someone post his method for printing all the path's in the C drive.
Thanks!

Answer 1

You said in comments that:
I want that my code will ignore files that he doesn't have access to them
std::filesystem::directory_iterator and std::filesystem::recursive_directory_iterator both have a constructor that accepts a std::filesystem::directory_options enum as input, which has a skip_permission_denied item available for that purpose, for example:
void getAllFilesInDirectory(const wstring &directoryPath, vector<wstring> &files) {
for (filesystem::directory_entry directory : filesystem::directory_iterator(directoryPath, filesystem::directory_options::skip_permission_denied)) {
...
for (filesystem::directory_entry file : filesystem::recursive_directory_iterator(directory, filesystem::directory_options::skip_permission_denied)) {
...
}
}
}
On a side note, you may want to consider adding a namespace alias to shorten those qualified names, eg:
namespace fs = std::filesystem;
for (fs::directory_entry directory : fs::directory_iterator(directoryPath, fs::directory_options::skip_permission_denied)) {
...
for (fs::directory_entry file : fs::recursive_directory_iterator(directory, fs::directory_options::skip_permission_denied)) {
...
}
}
Also, your use of GetFileAttributesW() is wrong. You are not checking for errors, and you are not taking into account that folders and files can (and usually do) have multiple attributes assigned. Use the & (AND) operator when testing for specific attributes. And testing for the FILE_ATTRIBUTE_NORMAL attribute is not the correct way to differentiate a file from a folder. Test for the presence/lack of the FILE_ATTRIBUTE_DIRECTORY attribute instead.
Try this:
namespace fs = std::filesystem;
void getAllFilesInDirectory(const wstring &directoryPath, vector<wstring> &files) {
for (fs::directory_entry directory : fs::directory_iterator(directoryPath, fs::directory_options::skip_permission_denied)) {
DWORD attrs = GetFileAttributesW(directory.path().wstring().c_str());
if (attrs == INVALID_FILE_ATTRIBUTES) {
DWORD err = GetLastError();
wcerr << "Error " << err << " getting attributes for path " << directory.path().wstring() << endl;
continue;
}
if (attrs & FILE_ATTRIBUTE_SYSTEM)
continue;
//Checking if directory.path is a file or a directory
if (attrs & ~FILE_ATTRIBUTE_DIRECTORY) {
files.push_back(directory.path().wstring());
wcout << "The path is " << directory.path().wstring() << endl;
continue;
}
try {
for (fs::directory_entry file : fs::recursive_directory_iterator(directory, fs::directory_options::skip_permission_denied)) {
attrs = GetFileAttributesW(file.path().wstring().c_str());
if (attrs == INVALID_FILE_ATTRIBUTES) {
DWORD err = GetLastError();
wcerr << "Error " << err << " getting attributes for path " << file.path().wstring() << endl;
continue;
}
if (attrs & FILE_ATTRIBUTE_DIRECTORY)
continue;
wcout << "The path of the file is " << file.path().wstring() << endl;
files.push_back(file.path().wstring());
}
} catch (const exception &e) {
wcout << "There is exception " << e.what() << " and the directory path is: " << directory.path().wstring() << endl;
}
}
}