Copying, moving, delecting and renaming files

- alexbarfoot

Copying a file

Below the method by which a file can be copied using API calls is shown:

 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 boolean,_ '1or0 '1 or 0 
 re as boolean'not 0 if copy was successful 

The currentfilename$ is the string that contains the name of 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 below shows how to copy a file into a different folder with the same file name:

 let currentfilename$= "c:\text.txt" 
 let copyfilename$= "c\folder\text.txt" "c:\folder\text.txt" 
 let bFailIfExists= 0 
 calldll #kernel132, "CopyFileA",_ 
 currentfilename$ as ptr,_ 
 copyfilename$ as ptr,_ 
 bFailIfExists as boolean,_ '1or0 '1 or 0 
 re as boolean 
 if re=0 then print, print "copyfailed" 

The code below shows how to make a copy of a file into the same folder with a different filename:

 let currentfilename$= "c:\text.txt" 
 let copyfilename$= "c\copyoftext.txt" "c:\copyoftext.txt" 
 let bFailIfExists= 0 
 calldll #kernel132, "CopyFileA",_ 
 currentfilename$ as ptr,_ 
 copyfilename$ as ptr,_ 
 bFailIfExists as boolean,_ 
 re as boolean 
 if re=0 then print, print "copyfailed" 

Remember to include the complete path in the filename.

Moving a file

There are two ways to move a file; using the name command and using API calls.
Below the method by which a file can be moved using API calls is shown:

 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 boolean 'not 0 if move was successful 
 

The currentfilename$ is the string that contains the name of the file you want to move. The movefilename$ is the file name for the new location of the file. If the function succeeds, the return value is nonzero. If the function fails, the return value is zero.Points to a null-terminated string that specifies the new name of a file or directory. The new name must not already exist. A new file may be on a different file system or drive. The code below shows how to move a file and keep the same file name.

 let currentfilename$= "c:\text.txt" 
 let movefilename$= "c\folder\text.txt" "c:\folder\text.txt" 
 calldll #kernel132, "MoveFileA",_ 
 currentfilename$ as ptr,_ 
 movefilename$ as ptr,_ 
 re as boolean 
 if re=0 the print, then print "move failed" 

The code below shows how to move a file with a different file name:

 let currentfilename$= "c:\text.txt" 
 let movefilename$= "c\folder\textmoved.txt" "c:\folder\textmoved.txt" 
 calldll #kernel132, "MoveFileA",_ 
 currentfilename$ as ptr,_ 
 movefilename$ as ptr,_ 
 re as boolean 
 if re=0 the then print, "move failed" 

Below the method by which a file can be moved using the name comand is shown:

 name filename$ as movefilename$ 

You must set the filename$ string to the current name of the file you want to move. Remember to include the full path. Then you need to set the movefilename$ to the path to which you want to move it, plus the filename. movevilename$ movefilename$ can be any valid filename as long as it doesn't specify a file that already exists.

A working example is shown below:

 let currentfilename$= "c:\text.txt" 
 let movefilename$= "c\folder\text.txt" "c:\folder\text.txt" 
 name filename$ as movefilename$ 

Deleting a file

Files can be deleted using the kill command. The kill comand does not place the file in the recycle bin. The code below shows how the kill command works.

 filedialog "select file a file to delete" delete", "*.*", filename$ 
 if filename$="" then wait 
 kill filename$ 

Use the code above wisely and don't just delete any odd file because it is hard to get then it back.

Renaming a file

You can use the name command to rename a file. This command can also be used to move a file. See the move section above to learn how that works. The code below shows how to rename a file:

 filedialog "select file a file to rename" rename", "*.*", filename$ 
 if filename$="" then wait 
 prompt "enter a new file name"; newfilename$ 
 name filename$ as newfilename$ 
 print "Filename has been changed from";filename$;"to";newfilename$ 

Remember to include file extensions such as .txt on the end of the new file name.

Article by Alex Barfoot
alexbarfoot at gmail.com
- alexbarfoot