Dir, Dir$ (functions)

Syntax Dir$ [(filespec$ [,attributes])]
Description Returns a String containing the first or next file matching filespec$. If filespec$ is specified, then the first file matching that filespec$ is returned. If filespec$ is not specified, then the next file matching the initial filespec$ is returned.
Comments Dir$ returns a String , whereas Dir returns a String variant. The Dir$ / Dir functions take the following parameters:
Parameter Description
filespec$ String containing a file specification. If this parameter is specified, then Dir$ returns the first file matching this file specification. If this parameter is omitted, then the next file matching the initial file specification is returned. If no path is specified in filespec$, then the current directory is used.
attributes Integer specifying attributes of files you want included in the list, as described below. If omitted, then only the normal, read-only, and archive files are returned.
An error is generated if Dir$ is called without first calling it with a valid filespec$. If there is no matching filespec$, then a zero-length string is returned.
Wildcards The filespec$ argument can include wildcards, such as * and ?. The * character matches any sequence of zero or more characters, whereas the ? character matches any single character. Multiple *'s and ?'s can appear within the expression to form complete searching patterns. The following table shows some examples:
This pattern Matches these files Doesn't match these files
*S*.TXT SAMPLE.TXT GOOSE.TXT SAMS.TXT SAMPLE SAMPLE.DAT
C*T.TXT CAT.TXT CAP.TXT ACATS.TXT
C*T CAT CAP.TXT CAT.DOC
C?T CAT CUT CAT.TXT CAPIT CT
* (All files)
Attributes You can control which files are included in the search by specifying the optional attributes parameter. The Dir, Dir$ functions always return all normal, read-only, and archive files ( ebNormal Or ebReadOnly Or ebArchive ). To include additional files, you can specify any combination of the following attributes (combined with the Or operator):
Constant Value Includes
ebNormal 0 Normal, Read-only, and archive files
ebHidden 2 Hidden files
ebSystem 4 System files
ebVolume 8 Volume label
ebDirectory 16 DOS subdirectories
Example This example uses Dir to fill a SelectBox with the first 10 directory entries. 
Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)
Option Base 1
Sub Main()
  Dim a$(10)
  i% = 1
  a(i%) = Dir("*.*")
 
 While (a(i%) <> "") and (i% < 10)
    i% = i% + 1
    a(i%) = Dir
  Wend
 
  r = SelectBox("Top 10 Directory Entries",,a)
End Sub
See Also ChDir (statement); ChDrive (statement); CurDir, CurDir$ (functions); MkDir (statement); RmDir (statement); FileList (statement).