Question

I am trying to delete a file after i create it but simply cannot.
The error message is that it is still being used by the process.
I am working on a winform application.

here is my code:

XmlDocument xmlDoc = new XmlDocument();
XmlDeclaration xmlDec = xmlDoc.CreateXmlDeclaration("1.0", "utf-8", null);
xmlDoc.AppendChild(xmlDec);

XmlElement elmRoot = xmlDoc.CreateElement("testConfig");
xmlDoc.AppendChild(elmRoot);

GetConfigTags(xmlDoc, elmRoot, clientToken);

StreamWriter wText = 
    new StreamWriter(CommonCodeClass.configLocation + "EmailConfig.xml");
xmlDoc.Save(wText);
wText.Flush();
wText.Close();
wText.Dispose();
File.Delete(CommonCodeClass.configLocation + "EmailConfig.xml");

I have also tried the code below but the same error, File being used by another process

try
{
    File.Delete(CommonCodeClass.configLocation + "EmailConfig.xml");
}
catch  //or maybe in finally
{
    GC.Collect(); //kill object that keep the file. I think dispose will do the trick as well.
    Thread.Sleep(500); //Wait for object to be killed. 
    File.Delete(CommonCodeClass.configLocation + "EmailConfig.xml"); //File can be now deleted
    log.Error(CommonCodeClass.configLocation + "EmailConfig.xml" + " was deleted forcefully as it was being used by the process.");

}

Am i missing a close of file anywhere?

Please help. Thanks.

here is the code for getconfigtag: it just creates a tags to be applied in the config file.

 internal static void GetConfigTags(XmlDocument xmlDoc, XmlElement elmRoot, string clientToken)
    {
        // Username Element            
        XmlElement elmUsername = xmlDoc.CreateElement(CommonCodeClass.xml_Username);
        XmlAttribute xaUsername = xmlDoc.CreateAttribute("val");
        xaUsername.Value = "singleVal";
        elmUsername.InnerXml = "";
        elmUsername.Attributes.Append(xaUsername);
        elmRoot.AppendChild(elmUsername);
     }

StackTrace:

at System.IO.__Error.WinIOError(Int32 errorCode, String maybeFullPath)
at System.IO.File.Delete(String path)
at ShareMgmt.CommonCodeClass.EmailTheConfigFile(String userEmail, String clientToken) in C:\Users\ddsds\Documents\Visual Studio 2008\Projects\ShareMgmt\Mgmt\CommonCodeClass.cs:line 756
at ShareMgmt.UsersForm.btnConfigToAdmin_Click(Object sender, EventArgs e) in C:\Users\ddsds\Documents\Visual Studio 2008\Projects\ShareMgmt\Mgmt\UsersForm.cs:line 1122

Answer 1

“Am I missing a close of file anywhere?” You can be sure the file gets closed by using a ‘using’ statement.

    XmlDocument xmlDoc = new XmlDocument();
    XmlDeclaration xmlDec = xmlDoc.CreateXmlDeclaration("1.0", "utf-8", null);
    xmlDoc.AppendChild(xmlDec);

    XmlElement elmRoot = xmlDoc.CreateElement("testConfig");
    xmlDoc.AppendChild(elmRoot);

    GetConfigTags(xmlDoc, elmRoot, clientToken);

    using (StreamWriter wText = new StreamWriter(CommonCodeClass.configLocation + "EmailConfig.xml"))
    {
            xmlDoc.Save(wText);
            wText.Flush();
    }

    File.Delete(CommonCodeClass.configLocation + "EmailConfig.xml");

This code works for me, but so does a variation of your original, so beyond that, I’m not quite sure what the issue is.

Addendum:

It appears—by your stack trace—that you’re trying to email an XML file. If that’s the case, and you’re using SmtpClient, you don’t even need to write the XML document to a file.

MemoryStream memoryStream = new MemoryStream();
xmlDoc.Save(memoryStream);

// ...

mailMessage.Attachments.Add(
    new Attachment(memoryStream, "EmailConfig.xml", "application/xml"));