"Illegal characters in path" error using MemoryStream

Question

I am going in circles with this. But all I am doing is, reading a simple text file into a byte array and reading a byte array into memory stream. Take a look at the code below.

var filePath = Directory.GetCurrentDirectory() + "\\TextFile1.txt";
var fileContent = System.IO.File.ReadAllBytes(filePath);

using (var ms = new System.IO.MemoryStream(fileContent)) {}

And I get an error "Illegal characters in path".

Here is my text file content:

ASJJDASDA

ASDJKAJSDJKASJDKLASJD

ASDASDASD++++++++++

++++++++

Any ideas?

_"Illegal characters in path"_ is usually an IO error. What's the value of `filePath` and what line do you get the error on? — stuartd, Sep 20 '17 at 14:50
@MasterYoda what's the difference to the line OP already uses? — René Vogt, Sep 20 '17 at 14:53
I dont see this being an issue with the memory stream, if he gets the current directory \\ will go down another directory whereas \ will stay within the current one. FYI i dont know where OP stores his textfile, its a suggestion not an answer... — Master Yoda, Sep 20 '17 at 14:54
@MasterYoda now it won't compile because `\T` is not a valid escape character. If you mean `@"\TextFile1.txt"` we're at the starting point again, it's the same. But you're right, something must be wrong with the path. — René Vogt, Sep 20 '17 at 14:57
You can use [Path.Combine()](https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.io.path.combine(v=vs.110).aspx) here to make your intentions clearer (and avoid the apparent confusion of how to use escape codes). — itsme86, Sep 20 '17 at 15:00
@RenéVogt It will compile just fine. It just won't work as expected. — itsme86, Sep 20 '17 at 15:00
Please verify the value of `filePath`. I somehow doubt that this is all the relevant code, because `Directory.GetCurrentDirectory()` must return a valid path with no trailing `\\` (and even that would not matter). So the code seems correct so far. — René Vogt, Sep 20 '17 at 15:01
Print the value of filePath please and update your question. The problem has to have something to do with the filePath string and how its being escaped. — Master Yoda, Sep 20 '17 at 15:02
@itsme86 don't know your compiler, but mine raises an error on "Unrecognized esacpe sequence"s. — René Vogt, Sep 20 '17 at 15:02
OP's code works fine for me. As others have said, it would be handy to see what filePath contains. — spodger, Sep 20 '17 at 15:05

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Sep 20 '17 at 15:03

The above example should work.

Is it possible you have a weird instance where there is a backslash at the end of the Directory.GetCurrentDirectory()?

Try substituting

var filePath = Path.Combine(Directory.GetCurrentDirectory(), "TextFile1.txt");

and see what happens then.

"Illegal characters in path" error using MemoryStream

1 Answers1