MIAMEX 95: Display open file dialog

Parameters

path  (String, up to a maximum of 4096 bytes)  [in/out]

On input, must contain the default filespec or the default directory, fully qualified, in AMOS or Windows notation. See Comments.

On return, it will contain the full filespec (in Windows notation) of the selected file(s). If more than one file was selected (see OFN_ALLOWMULTISELECT in flags), the individual filespecs will be separated by chr(10) characters, and all but the first filespec will be stripped down to just the file name and extension, since they will all be in the same directory.

filter  (String)  [in]

is a set of pairs of strings, concatenated all together using pipes ("|") for delimiters, determining which files will display in the dialog box. The first string in each pair is descriptive, and will display in the "Files of Type" area of the dialog box. The second string in each pair is a wildcard specification for that kind of file. If you have more than one wildcard spec for a particular descriptive name, then separate them with semicolons. For example:

FILTER="Data files|*.DAT|Text files|*.TXT; *.LST"

Note that the "Files of Type" control is actually a drop-down box and that "Data files" will show as the initial choice, and "Text Files" will be the next choice in the list. If you want them all appear together, then just specify one pair of strings, such as:

FILTER="Image Files (*.pcx, *.jpg, *.bmp)|*.pcx; *.jpg; *.bmp"

Also note: do not include any spaces on either side of the | delimiter characters lest they be confused with the pattern, causing a failure to match any files.

title  (String)  [in]

may be set to the desired title of the dialog box. The default is "Open". This is the main difference between the File Open and File Save versions of the dialog box. See type parameter.

flags  (Num)  [in/out]

May be set to any combination of the options shown below.

Note that since the parameter may be updated on return from the function (see OFN_EXTENSIONDIFFERENT and OFN_NOREADONLYRETURN), you'll have to use an actual variable for the flags parameter if you want to be so advised. Otherwise you can just specify an expression consisting of the literal flags, e.g. OFN_PATHMUSTEXIST+OFN_FILEMUSTEXIST.

Symbol	Value	Description
OFN_HIDEREADONLY	&h00000004	Hides the read-only checkbox
OFN_NOCHANGEDIR	&h00000008	This function is no longer supported (as of  Windows NT4 / 2000 / XP).
OFN_NOVALIDATE	&h00000100	Do not force filename entered to contain only valid characters.
OFN_ALLOWMULTI­SELECT	&h00000200	Allow the selection of multiple files. (OFN_­EXPLORER flag should be set along with this.) Successive names will appear, null delimited, in the returned PATH variable.
OFN_EXTENSION­DIFFERENT	&h00000400	Set on return if the extension entered differs from defext
OFN_PATHMUSTEXIST	&h00000800	Specified directory must exist
OFN_FILEMUSTEXIST	&h00001000	Specified file must exist. (Implies that OFN_­PATHMUSTEXIST)
OFN_CREATEPROMPT	&h00002000	Prompt for permission to create the file if the file does not already exist
OFN_NOREADONLY­RETURN	&h00008000	Set on return if file not read-only, directory writeable
OFN_NONETWORK­BUTTON	&h00020000	Disables the network button
OFN_EXPLORER	&h00080000	Forces the dialog box to be in the new Explorer-style. This is the default in most cases, except when OFN_ALLOWMULTISELECT is set.
OFN_DONTADDTO­RECENT	&h02000000	(Win2000/XP) Do not add file to the user’s most recently used document list
Definition file: ashell.def

Hex-Decimal Values

 

defext  (String)  [in]

may specify the default file extension. Do not include the period. If specified and the user types a filename with no extension, this will be appended to the returned path and fname parameters.

fname  (String)  [out]

is an optional convenience that will return just the filename and extension, without the rest of the path, saving you from having to parse it out of the path string. Note, however, that it is not guaranteed to be in the directory you initially specified. Parameter is ignored if OFN_ALLOWMULTISELECT is set. Maximum length is approximately 256.

type  (Num)  [in]

If specified and set to 1, the main button will say "Save" rather than "Open". This and the title are the main differences between an Open dialog and a Save dialog.