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Creates a new directory. If the underlying file system supports security on files anddirectories, the function applies a specified security descriptor to the new directory.
To specify a template directory, use theCreateDirectoryEx function.
To perform thisoperation as a transacted operation, use theCreateDirectoryTransacted function.
BOOL CreateDirectoryA( [in] LPCSTR lpPathName, [in, optional] LPSECURITY_ATTRIBUTES lpSecurityAttributes);[in] lpPathName
The path of the directory to be created.
By default, the name is limited to MAX_PATH characters. To extend this limit to 32,767 wide characters, prepend "\\?\" to the path. For more information, seeNaming Files, Paths, and Namespaces.
Tip
Starting with Windows 10, Version 1607, you can opt-in to remove the MAX_PATH limitation without prepending "\\?\". See the "Maximum Path Length Limitation" section ofNaming Files, Paths, and Namespaces for details.
[in, optional] lpSecurityAttributes
A pointer to aSECURITY_ATTRIBUTESstructure. ThelpSecurityDescriptor member of the structure specifies a securitydescriptor for the new directory. IflpSecurityAttributes isNULL, the directory gets a default security descriptor. The ACLs in the defaultsecurity descriptor for a directory are inherited from its parent directory.
The target file system must support security on files and directories for this parameter to have an effect.(This is indicated whenGetVolumeInformationreturnsFS_PERSISTENT_ACLS.)
If the function succeeds, the return value is nonzero.
If the function fails, the return value is zero. To get extended error information, callGetLastError. Possible errors include thefollowing.
| Return code | Description |
|---|---|
| The specified directory already exists. |
| One or more intermediate directories do not exist; this function will only create the final directory in the path. |
Some file systems, such as the NTFS file system, support compression or encryption for individual files anddirectories. On volumes formatted for such a file system, a new directory inherits the compression and encryptionattributes of its parent directory.
An application can obtain a handle to a directory by callingCreateFile with theFILE_FLAG_BACKUP_SEMANTICS flag set. For a code example, seeCreateFile.
To support inheritance functions that query the security descriptor of this object may heuristically determineand report that inheritance is in effect. SeeAutomatic Propagation of Inheritable ACEsfor more information.
In Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012, this function is supported by the following technologies.
| Technology | Supported |
|---|---|
| Server Message Block (SMB) 3.0 protocol | Yes |
| SMB 3.0 Transparent Failover (TFO) | Yes |
| SMB 3.0 with Scale-out File Shares (SO) | Yes |
| Cluster Shared Volume File System (CsvFS) | Yes |
| Resilient File System (ReFS) | Yes |
For an example, seeRetrieving and Changing File Attributes.
Note
The fileapi.h header defines CreateDirectory as an alias that automatically selects the ANSI or Unicode version of this function based on the definition of the UNICODE preprocessor constant. Mixing usage of the encoding-neutral alias with code that is not encoding-neutral can lead to mismatches that result in compilation or runtime errors. For more information, seeConventions for Function Prototypes.
| Requirement | Value |
|---|---|
| Minimum supported client | Windows XP [desktop apps | UWP apps] |
| Minimum supported server | Windows Server 2003 [desktop apps | UWP apps] |
| Target Platform | Windows |
| Header | fileapi.h (include Windows.h) |
| Library | Kernel32.lib |
| DLL | Kernel32.dll |
Creating and Deleting Directories
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