Checking if file exists in asp.net mvc 5

Here's my solution:

<span>
@{
    var profileImg = "/Images/" + User.Identity.GetUserId() + ".jpg";
    var absolutePath = HttpContext.Current.Server.MapPath(profileImg);
    if (System.IO.File.Exists(absolutePath))
    {
        <img alt="image" width="50" height="50" class="img-circle" src="@profileImg" />
    }
    else
    {
        <img alt="image" width="50" height="50" class="img-circle" src="~/Images/profile_small.jpg" />
    }
}
</span>

System.IO.File will work if you provide an absolute path or a relative path. A relative path will not be relative to the HTML root folder, but the current working directory. The current working directory will be a value like C:\Program Files (x86)\IIS Express.

The ~ character at the beginning of the file path is only interpreted as part of the current ASP.NET context, which the File methods know nothing about.

The method to help you here is HttpServerUtility.MapPath

If you are in a controller method, you can invoke this method on the object HttpContext.Server, otherwise (e.g. in a View) you can use HttpContext.Current.Server.

 var relativePath = "~/files/downloads/" + fileCode + ".pdf";
 var absolutePath = HttpContext.Server.MapPath(relativePath);
 if(System.IO.File.Exists(absolutePath)) ....