SaveFileDialog

Prompts the user to select a location for saving a file on the server.

This class can either open and overwrite an existing file or create a new file.

Most of the functionality for this class is found in the FileDialog class.

For a full list of properties, methods and events see the API documentation.

Features

Filtering

The SaveFileDialog filters files shown to the user based on a given pattern. For example, the filter Image Files|*.jpg|All files|*.* will show files ending with .jpg by default. Users can modify the filter using the dropdown menu.

SaveFileDialog showing image file type filtering options

The FileDialog.FileName property returns the virtual path relative to the root. To get the physical path on the server, use FileDialog.MapPath().

Check Existing Files

The SaveFileDialog validates file existence before saving to disk, helping prevent accidental file overwrites.

SaveFileDialog showing file existence validation warning

Help

The SaveFileDialog includes an optional "?" (Help) tool for displaying navigation assistance.

SaveFileDialog showing help button and navigation interface

How To

Connect to the File System

Add at least one IFileSystemProvider to the Roots collection before showing the dialog:

//Using an absolute file path
SaveFileDialog filedialog = new SaveFileDialog(); 
filedialog.Roots.Add(new FileSystemProvider("C:\\", "Main_Directory"));

//Using a relative file path
SaveFileDialog filedialog = new SaveFileDialog(); 
filedialog.Roots.Add(new FileSystemProvider("./", "Main_Directory"));

Customize the Appearance

The SaveFileDialog supports customization of individual controls including textboxes and pickers.

To customize these controls:

1. Create a class inheriting from FileDialogUI

2. Add the custom FileDialog constructor

3. Modify the controls as needed

C#

public class CustomSaveFileDialogUI : FileDialogUI
{
    public CustomSaveFileDialogUI(SaveFileDialog saveFileDialog) : base(saveFileDialog)
    {
        this.HeaderBackColor = Color.DarkOrange;
        foreach (ColumnHeader col in this.listView.Columns)
        {
            col.BackColor = Color.DarkOrange;
        }
    }
}

After applying the OpenFileDialog's DialogTemplate property to the new class, the result looks like this:

Customized SaveFileDialog with dark orange theme applied

For advanced customization of the SaveFileDialog using custom templates, see below.