The FindFirstFile function searches a directory for a file whose name matches the specified filename. FindFirstFile examines subdirectory names as well as filenames.
VB4-32,5,6
Declare Function FindFirstFile Lib "kernel32" Alias "FindFirstFileA" ( _ ByVal lpFileName As String, _ lpFindFileData As WIN32_FIND_DATA _ ) As Long
Operating Systems Supported
Requires Windows NT 3.1 or later; Requires Windows 95 or later
Library
Kernel32
Parameter Information
· lpFileName
Windows 95: Points to a null-terminated string that specifies a valid directory or path and filename, which can contain wildcard characters (* and ?). This string must not exceed MAX_PATH characters.
Windows NT: Points to a null-terminated string that specifies a valid directory or path and filename, which can contain wildcard characters (* and ?).
There is a default string size limit for paths of MAX_PATH characters. This limit is related to how the FindFirstFile function parses paths. An application can transcend this limit and send in paths longer than MAX_PATH characters by calling the wide (W) version of FindFirstFile and prepending \\?\ to the path. The \\?\ tells the function to turn off path parsing; it lets paths longer than MAX_PATH be used with FindFirstFileW. This also works with UNC names. The \\?\ is ignored as part of the path. For example, \\?\C:\myworld\private is seen as C:\myworld\private, and \\?\UNC\bill_g_1\hotstuff\coolapps is seen as \\bill_g_1\hotstuff\coolapps.
· lpFindFileData
Points to the WIN32_FIND_DATA structure that receives information about the found file or subdirectory. The structure can be used in subsequent calls to the FindNextFile or FindClose function to refer to the file or subdirectory.
Return Values
The FindFirstFile function opens a search handle and returns information about the first file whose name matches the specified pattern. Once the search handle is established, you can use the FindNextFile function to search for other files that match the same pattern. When the search handle is no longer needed, close it by using the FindClose function.
This function searches for files by name only; it cannot be used for attribute-based searches.
Examples
- Find Files
Related Functions
- FindNextFile
- GetFileAttributes
- FindClose
