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alexbarfoot
Aug 28, 2006
__Copying, moving, delecting and renaming files __This article contains four sections. a section on copying files, a section on moving files, a section on deleting files and a section on renaming files. I am happy for anyone to edit this article and rewrite parts. __Copying a file __Bellow the method by which a file can be copied using API calls is shown: [[code]] calldll #kernel132, "CopyFileA",_ currentfilename$ as ptr,_ 'the string containing the file to be copied copyfilename$ as ptr,_ 'the string containing the file name of the copied file bFailIfExists as long,_ '1or0 re as long 'not 0 if copy was successful [[code]] The currentfilename$ is the string that contains the file you want to make a copy of. The copyfilename$ is the file name for the copy. The bFailIfExists tells the computer what to do if the file name for the copy is already used. If set to 0 the copy will overwrite the current file with the same name. If set to 1 the copy does not overwrite the file. The code bellow shows how to copy a file into a different folder with the same file name: [[code]] let currentfilename$= "c:\text.txt" let copyfilename$= "c\folder\text.txt" let bFailIfExists= 0 calldll #kernel132, "CopyFileA",_ currentfilename$ as ptr,_ copyfilename$ as ptr,_ bFailIfExists as long,_ '1or0 re as long if re=0 then print, "copyfailed" [[code]] The code bellow shows how to make a copy of a file into the same folder with a different file name: [[code]] let currentfilename$= "c:\text.txt" let copyfilename$= "c\copyoftext.txt" let bFailIfExists= 0 calldll #kernel132, "CopyFileA",_ currentfilename$ as ptr,_ copyfilename$ as ptr,_ bFailIfExists as long,_ re as long if re=0 then print, "copyfailed" [[code]] Remember to include the file directories in the filename. __Moving a file __There are two ways to move a file, using the name command and using API calls. Bellow the method by which a file can be moved using API calls is shown: [[code]] calldll #kernel132, "MoveFileA",_ currentfilename$ as ptr,_ 'the string containing the file to be copied movefilename$ as ptr,_ 'the string containing the file name of the file in its new location re as long 'not 0 if move was successful [[code]] The currentfilename$ is the string that contains the name of the file you want to move. The movefilename$ is the file name for new location of the file. re will be either 0 or more. when re is 0 it means that moving the file has failed. The code bellow shows how to move a file and keep the same file name. [[code]] let currentfilename$= "c:\text.txt" let movefilename$= "c\folder\text.txt" calldll #kernel132, "MoveFileA",_ currentfilename$ as ptr,_ movefilename$ as ptr,_ re as long if re=0 the print, "move failed" [[code]] The code bellow shows how to move a file with a different file name: [[code]] let currentfilename$= "c:\text.txt" let movefilename$= "c\folder\textmoved.txt" calldll #kernel132, "MoveFileA",_ currentfilename$ as ptr,_ movefilename$ as ptr,_ re as long if re=0 the print, "move failed" [[code]] Bellow the method by which a file can be moved using the name comand is shown: [[code]] name filename$ as movefilename$ [[code]] what you need to do is set the filename$ string to the file you want to move. Remember to include file directories. Then you need to set the movefilename$ to the directories you want to move it to plus the file name. A working example is shown bellow: [[code]] let currentfilename$= "c:\text.txt" let movefilename$= "c\folder\text.txt" name filename$ as movefilename$ [[code]] __Deleting a file__ Files can be deleted using the kill command. The kill comand does not place the fiile in the recycle bin. The code bellow shows how the kill command works. [[code]] filedialog "select file a file to delete" if filename$="" then wait kill filename$ [[code]] Use the code above wisely and don't just delete any odd file because it is hard to get then back. __Renaming a file __You can use the name command to rename a file. This command can also be used to move a file. Look a at the move section to learn how that works. The code bellow shows how to rename a file: [[code]] filedialog "select file a file to rename" if filename$="" then wait prompt "enter a new file name"; newfilename$ name filename$ as newfilename$ print "file name has been changed fro";filename$;"to";newfilename$ [[code]] Remember to include file extensions such as .txt on the end of the new file name. Article by Alex Barfoot alexbarfoot at gmail.com