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An INI file handling class using C#

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4.79/5 (122 votes)
14 Mar 2002 830.2K   19.5K   166   79
A C# class that exposes the INI file handling functions from Kernal32.dll

Introduction

I created a C# class Ini which exposes 2 functions from KERNEL32.dll. These functions are: WritePrivateProfileString and

GetPrivateProfileString

Namespaces you will need: System.Runtime.InteropServices and System.Text

The Class

C#
using System;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
using System.Text;

namespace Ini
{
    /// <summary>
    /// Create a New INI file to store or load data
    /// </summary>
    public class IniFile
    {
        public string path;

        [DllImport("kernel32")]
        private static extern long WritePrivateProfileString(string section,
            string key,string val,string filePath);
        [DllImport("kernel32")]
        private static extern int GetPrivateProfileString(string section,
                 string key,string def, StringBuilder retVal,
            int size,string filePath);

        /// <summary>
        /// INIFile Constructor.
        /// </summary>
        /// <PARAM name="INIPath"></PARAM>
        public IniFile(string INIPath)
        {
            path = INIPath;
        }
        /// <summary>
        /// Write Data to the INI File
        /// </summary>
        /// <PARAM name="Section"></PARAM>
        /// Section name
        /// <PARAM name="Key"></PARAM>
        /// Key Name
        /// <PARAM name="Value"></PARAM>
        /// Value Name
        public void IniWriteValue(string Section,string Key,string Value)
        {
            WritePrivateProfileString(Section,Key,Value,this.path);
        }
        
        /// <summary>
        /// Read Data Value From the Ini File
        /// </summary>
        /// <PARAM name="Section"></PARAM>
        /// <PARAM name="Key"></PARAM>
        /// <PARAM name="Path"></PARAM>
        /// <returns></returns>
        public string IniReadValue(string Section,string Key)
        {
            StringBuilder temp = new StringBuilder(255);
            int i = GetPrivateProfileString(Section,Key,"",temp, 
                                            255, this.path);
            return temp.ToString();

        }
    }
}

Using the class

Steps to use the Ini class:

  1. In your project namespace definition add 
    using INI;
  2. Create a INIFile like this
    INIFile ini = new INIFile("C:\\test.ini");
  3. Use IniWriteValue to write a new value to a specific key in a section or use IniReadValue to read a value FROM a key in a specific Section.

That's all. It's very easy in C# to include API functions in your class(es).

License

This article has no explicit license attached to it but may contain usage terms in the article text or the download files themselves. If in doubt please contact the author via the discussion board below.

A list of licenses authors might use can be found here


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Comments and Discussions

 
QuestionCan't able to write to INI file- setting.ini file Pin
Member 1367735517-Jun-18 23:30
Member 1367735517-Jun-18 23:30 
Questionadd video Pin
Member 1298616412-Feb-17 14:50
Member 1298616412-Feb-17 14:50 
QuestionThis is awesome, but how to delete? Pin
Andy Cartwright11-Feb-16 21:58
Andy Cartwright11-Feb-16 21:58 
AnswerRe: This is awesome, but how to delete? Pin
Member 122924654-Jun-16 19:00
Member 122924654-Jun-16 19:00 
SuggestionBetter Updated Code Pin
LAoke2-Aug-15 6:25
LAoke2-Aug-15 6:25 
GeneralRe: Better Updated Code Pin
leftler23-Sep-15 12:00
leftler23-Sep-15 12:00 
QuestionThanks Pin
GoodID13-Jul-15 18:34
GoodID13-Jul-15 18:34 
QuestionNice Pin
Sivaraman Dhamodharan16-May-15 5:57
Sivaraman Dhamodharan16-May-15 5:57 
GeneralThanks Pin
Minatu4-Mar-15 14:36
Minatu4-Mar-15 14:36 
GeneralThanks Pin
meridbt26-Feb-15 23:35
meridbt26-Feb-15 23:35 
QuestionTrouble with relative paths Pin
feraudy16-Feb-15 9:58
feraudy16-Feb-15 9:58 
GeneralMy vote of 1 Pin
Member 1050939219-Nov-14 12:23
Member 1050939219-Nov-14 12:23 
QuestionCann't able to Write values in Ini file Pin
Devendra lodha15-Oct-14 23:36
Devendra lodha15-Oct-14 23:36 
AnswerRe: Cann't able to Write values in Ini file Pin
Garth J Lancaster15-Oct-14 23:56
professionalGarth J Lancaster15-Oct-14 23:56 
GeneralRe: Cann't able to Write values in Ini file Pin
Devendra lodha16-Oct-14 0:14
Devendra lodha16-Oct-14 0:14 
GeneralRe: Cann't able to Write values in Ini file Pin
Garth J Lancaster16-Oct-14 0:42
professionalGarth J Lancaster16-Oct-14 0:42 
Questionwhat WritePrivateProfileString returns Pin
Devendra lodha15-Oct-14 21:51
Devendra lodha15-Oct-14 21:51 
Questionmy vote i 5 of 5 Pin
TorbjornWave 2-Oct-14 0:54
TorbjornWave 2-Oct-14 0:54 
GeneralMy Vote of 5 Pin
Szymon Roslowski6-Aug-14 5:49
professionalSzymon Roslowski6-Aug-14 5:49 
QuestionSimple and great class Pin
Member 1038226927-Apr-14 2:41
Member 1038226927-Apr-14 2:41 
SuggestionSuggestion Pin
Nathan Ferreira Dos Santos30-Jan-14 13:41
Nathan Ferreira Dos Santos30-Jan-14 13:41 
GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
Elena Futornyak14-Jun-13 1:16
Elena Futornyak14-Jun-13 1:16 
Questionoverwriting Pin
Member 998609411-Jun-13 16:06
Member 998609411-Jun-13 16:06 
GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
Amogh Natu27-May-13 4:52
professionalAmogh Natu27-May-13 4:52 
GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
jai_magical16-Apr-13 11:40
jai_magical16-Apr-13 11:40 

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