Delphi Basics : DeleteFile command

DelphiBasics

DeleteFile
Function

Delete a file specified by its file name

SysUtils unit

function DeleteFile(const FileName string):Boolean;

Description

The DeleteFile function deletes a file given by its file name FileName.

The file is looked for in the current directory.

If the file was deleted OK, then True is returned, otherwise False is returned.

This function is easier to use than the equivalent System unit Erase routine.

Notes

Warning : the Windows unit also has a DeleteFile function that takes a PChar argument.

To ensure that you use are using the intended one, type SysUtils.DeleteFile.

Related commands

AssignFile		Assigns a file handle to a binary or text file
CloseFile		Closes an open file
Erase		Erase a file
Rename		Rename a file
RenameFile		Rename a file or directory

Download this web site as a Windows program.

Example code : Try to delete a file twice

var
  fileName : string;
  myFile   : TextFile;
  data     : string;

begin
  // Try to open a text file for writing to
  fileName := 'Test.txt';
  AssignFile(myFile, fileName);
  ReWrite(myFile);

  // Write to the file
  Write(myFile, 'Hello World');

  // Close the file
  CloseFile(myFile);

  // Reopen the file in read mode
  Reset(myFile);

  // Display the file contents
  while not Eof(myFile) do
  begin
    ReadLn(myFile, data);
    ShowMessage(data);
  end;

  // Close the file for the last time
  CloseFile(myFile);

  // Now delete the file
  if DeleteFile(fileName)
  then ShowMessage(fileName+' deleted OK')
  else ShowMessage(fileName+' not deleted');

  // Try to delete the file again
  if DeleteFile(fileName)
  then ShowMessage(fileName+' deleted OK again!')
  else ShowMessage(fileName+' not deleted, error = '+
                   IntToStr(GetLastError));
end;

Show full unit code

  Hello World
  Test.txt deleted OK
  Test.txt not deleted, error = 2