Create a Text File in C#

File.CreateText Method

The File.CreateText method creates and opens a file for writing UTF-8 encoded text. If file already exists, this method opens the file.

The following code snippet creates a file using the CreateText method that returns a StreamWriter object. The WriteLine method of SteamLine can be used to add line text to the object and writes to the file.

string fileName = @"C:\Temp\MaheshTX.txt";    
    
try    
{    
    // Check if file already exists. If yes, delete it.     
    if (File.Exists(fileName))    
    {    
        File.Delete(fileName);    
    }    
    
    // Create a new file     
    using (StreamWriter sw = File.CreateText(fileName))    
    {    
        sw.WriteLine("New file created: {0}", DateTime.Now.ToString());    
        sw.WriteLine("Author: Mahesh Chand");    
        sw.WriteLine("Add one more line ");    
        sw.WriteLine("Add one more line ");    
        sw.WriteLine("Done! ");    
    }    
    
    // Write file contents on console.     
    using (StreamReader sr = File.OpenText(fileName))    
    {    
        string s = "";    
        while ((s = sr.ReadLine()) != null)    
        {    
            Console.WriteLine(s);    
        }    
    }    
}    
catch (Exception Ex)    
{    
    Console.WriteLine(Ex.ToString());    
}

FileInfo.Create Method

The FileInfo.Create method creates a file.

The following code snippet creates a file using the Create method that returns a FileSteam object. The Write method of FileStream can be used to write text to the file.

string fileName = @"C:\Temp\MaheshTXFI.txt";    
FileInfo fi = new FileInfo(fileName);    
    
try    
{    
    // Check if file already exists. If yes, delete it.     
    if (fi.Exists)    
    {    
        fi.Delete();    
    }    
    
    // Create a new file     
    using (FileStream fs = fi.Create())    
    {    
        Byte[] txt = new UTF8Encoding(true).GetBytes("New file.");    
        fs.Write(txt, 0, txt.Length);    
        Byte[] author = new UTF8Encoding(true).GetBytes("Author Mahesh Chand");    
        fs.Write(author, 0, author.Length);    
    }    
    
    // Write file contents on console.     
    using (StreamReader sr = File.OpenText(fileName))    
    {    
        string s = "";    
        while ((s = sr.ReadLine()) != null)    
        {    
            Console.WriteLine(s);    
        }    
    }    
}    
catch (Exception Ex)    
{    
    Console.WriteLine(Ex.ToString());    
}

FileInfo.CreateText Method

The FileInfo.CreateText method creates and opens a file for writing UTF-8 encoded text. If file already exists, this method opens the file.

The following code snippet creates a file using the CreateText method that returns a StreamWriter object. The WriteLine method of SteamLine can be used to add line text to the object and writes to the file.

string fileName = @"C:\Temp\MaheshTXFITx.txt";    
FileInfo fi = new FileInfo(fileName);    
    
try    
{    
    // Check if file already exists. If yes, delete it.     
    if (fi.Exists)    
    {    
        fi.Delete();    
    }    
    
    // Create a new file     
    using (StreamWriter sw = fi.CreateText())    
    {    
        sw.WriteLine("New file created: {0}", DateTime.Now.ToString());    
        sw.WriteLine("Author: Mahesh Chand");    
        sw.WriteLine("Add one more line ");    
        sw.WriteLine("Add one more line ");    
        sw.WriteLine("Done! ");    
    }    
    
    // Write file contents on console.     
    using (StreamReader sr = File.OpenText(fileName))    
    {    
        string s = "";    
        while ((s = sr.ReadLine()) != null)    
        {    
            Console.WriteLine(s);    
        }    
    }    
}    
catch (Exception Ex)    
{    
    Console.WriteLine(Ex.ToString());    
}

Summary

In this article, I demonstrated several ways to create a file in C#.

Here is a recommended article: Use FileInfo class in C# to work with files