DOCUMENT:Q94339  27-JUL-2000  [foxpro]
TITLE   :Using FoxPro to Check for Existence of a Directory
PRODUCT :Microsoft FoxPro
PROD/VER:2.00 2.50 2.50a | 2.50 2.50a 3.0
OPER/SYS:
KEYWORDS:

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The information in this article applies to:

 - Microsoft Visual FoxPro for Windows, version 3.0 
 - Microsoft FoxPro for MS-DOS, versions 2.0, 2.5, 2.5a 
 - Microsoft FoxPro for Windows, versions 2.5, 2.5a 
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SUMMARY
=======

There are two ways to check for the existence of a directory on a drive:

 - The FILE() function can be used to check for the existence of a file on a
   local drive. FILE() only works on network drives under work groups.

   NOTE: The method described below using the FILE() function does not work when
   running FoxPro for Windows or FoxPro for MS-DOS under Windows 3.11. This
   method can only be used when running FoxPro for MS-DOS directly under MS-DOS
   versions greater than 3.0, or when running FoxPro for MS- DOS or FoxPro for
   Windows under Windows NT.

   -or-

 - The ADIR() and ASCAN() functions can be used together to check for the
   existence of a file on either a local or network drive.

MORE INFORMATION
================

FILE() attempts to locate a file or directory on disk and returns .T. or .F.
based on the results of the search. Specify the filename to search for as a
character string argument. To test for the existence of a directory, specify NUL
as the filename. For example:

      ?FILE('c:\temp\NUL')

The above command checks for the existence of the C:\FOXPRO2 directory. (NOTE:
This usage of NUL is not supported by versions of MS-DOS prior to version 3.0.)

ADIR() places file information in an array. The resulting array contains five
columns, containing filenames, sizes, dates, times, and attributes,
respectively. ADIR() takes up to three arguments:

 - <expC1> indicates the array name.

 - <expC2> is optional and can be used to specify a template filename,
   such as "C:\FOX*" or "*.DBF". Only filenames matching the template will be
   placed in the array.

 - <expC3> can contain the letters D, H, S, or V to limit the results to
   directory names, hidden files, system files, or the volume name,
   respectively.

The ASCAN() function can then be used to determine if a matching directory entry
was placed in the array. For example:

      ?ADIR(dirarray,'FOXPRO2','D')

The above command creates the array named "dirarray" and creates one row for the
directory FOXPRO2.

      ?ASCAN(dirarray,'FOXPRO2')

The above command returns .T. or .F. if FOXPRO2 is contained in the array.

REFERENCES
==========

For more information on FILE(), ADIR(), and ASCAN(), see the FoxPro version 2.0
"Commands & Functions" manual or the FoxPro version 2.5 "Language Reference"
manual.

Additional query words: VFoxWin FoxDos FoxWin directory exist exists existence

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Keywords          :  
Technology        : kbVFPsearch kbAudDeveloper kbFoxproSearch kbZNotKeyword3 kbFoxPro200DOS kbFoxPro250DOS kbFoxPro250aDOS kbFoxPro250 kbFoxPro250a kbVFP300
Version           : 2.00 2.50 2.50a | 2.50 2.50a 3.0

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