file.operations

__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