FOLDER Function

FOLDER

Function

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Syntax

folderRefNum% = FOLDER(path$, refNum%) parentFolderVRef% = FOLDER(":",refNum%)

Revised

June 14, 2000 (Release 3)

Description

Depending on the parameters used, this function does several things with folders (directories). It can:

Return a reference number for the current default directory.
Return a reference number for a directory that you specify.
Change the current default directory.
Create a new folder.
Return the parent volume

When FOLDER returns a reference number, it will either be a volume reference number (if the directory is a root directory), or a working directory reference number (if the directory is not a root directory). You can use this reference number to identify the directory when you use other FB statements such as OPEN.

This table summarizes the effects of the various parameter combinations. Note that when you use a nonzero number in refNum%, you can specify either a working directory reference number, a volume reference number, or a drive ID number. When you specify a volume reference number or a drive ID number, it represents the root directory on the specified volume.

	In		Out
Function	`path$`	`refNum%`	Value returned
Get the reference number of the current default directory	"" (blank)	zero	Reference number of current default directory
Get the reference number of the parent folder	":" (colon)	any nonzero number	Reference number of the parent folder. If no parent folder, it will return `refNum%`
Get a reference number for a directory relative to the current directory	partial path	zero	Reference number of specified directory, or zero if directory doesn’t exist
Get a reference number for an arbitrary directory	full path	zero	Reference number of specified directory, or zero if directory doesn’t exist
Change default directory	blank	non-zero reference number	Same number as `refNum%`
Create a directory relative to `refNum%`	partial path	non-zero reference number	If the path and `refNum%` refer to an existing folder, its reference number
Create an arbitrary directory	full path	any non-zero number	If the path is invalid or path and `refNum%` refer to an existing file, zero

Note:
The reference number returned in folderRefNum% is a temporary number, which is only valid until your program quits. You cannot use this same number to refer to this folder at a later date. If you need to keep track of a file's location over time, create an alias record for the file.