Question

How do I get the file size and date stamp of a file on Windows in C++, given its path?

Answer 1

You can use FindFirstFile() to get them both at once, without having to open it (which is required by GetFileSize() and GetInformationByHandle()). It’s a bit laborious, however, so a little wrapper is helpful

bool get_file_information(LPCTSTR path, WIN32_FIND_DATA* data)
{
  HANDLE h = FindFirstFile(path, &data);
  if(INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE != h) {
    return false;
  } else {
    FindClose(h);
    return true;
  }
}

Then the file size is available in the nFileSizeHigh and nFileSizeLow members of WIN32_FIND_DATA, and the timestamps are available in the ftCreationTime, ftLastAccessTime and ftLastWriteTime members.