DIRectory and File Copy Utility

Introduction.

Last week, we explored how to use the Dir() DOS command to read files from the disk one by one and display their names in the Debug window.

Building on that, we will now create a VBA utility that uses the Dir() command together with the very useful FileCopy statement (note that it is a statement, not a function) to read and transfer files from one folder to another location on the disk. The files can be of any type—for example, *.pdf, *.docx, *.xls, or *.* (all files).

This utility will read the files from a folder specified in a text box, list them in a list box using the Dir() command, and allow you to copy either all the listed files or only the selected ones to a target folder specified in another text box.

The Utility Form.

The design view image of a Form created for this purpose is given below for reference:

Right-click to open Large Image in New Tab/Window.

The form design is simple, consisting of two text boxes, one list box, three command buttons, and a label control to display messages from the utility program. You can download this utility form as part of a sample database at the end of this article.

These are the names of the Controls on the Form:

1. Top Text box: Source

2. Text Box 2:  Target

3. List Box:  List1

4. Top Command Button: cmdDir

5. Second Command Button: cmdSelected

6. Last Command Button: cmdClose

7. Bottom empty Label Name: msg

Note: If you are designing this form yourself, make sure that the same control names are used as described above. The VBA code you will copy into the module references these exact names.

In addition to the main controls, there is a Label control below the first (source) text box that provides examples of how to specify the source file path correctly.

Another label control at the bottom of the form displays messages during input validation and shows error notifications while the VBA code is executing.

An Image of a sample run of the FileCopy Statement is given below:

Right-click to open Large Image in New Tab/Window.

You can create this user interface using the control names provided above. Once the form is designed with the correct control names, open the VBA window for the form and copy the following code into its VBA module:

The Form Module Code.

Option Compare Database
Option Explicit
Dim strSource1 As String
Dim strSource2 As String, strMsg As String

Private Sub cmdClose_Click()
On Error GoTo cmdClose_Click_Error

If MsgBox("Close File Copy Utility?", vbOKCancel + vbQuestion, "cmdClose_Click()") = vbOK Then
   DoCmd.Close acForm, Me.Name, acSaveYes
End If

cmdClose_Click_Exit:
Exit Sub

cmdClose_Click_Error:
MsgBox Err.Description, , "cmdClose_Click()"
Resume cmdClose_Click_Exit
End Sub

Private Sub cmdDir_Click()
'=========================================================
'Author : a.p.r.pillai
'Date   : June 2018
'Purpose: Take directory listing
'Rights : All Rights Reserved by www.msaccesstips.com
'=========================================================
Dim strSource As String, strMsg As String
Dim i As Integer, x As String
Dim j As Integer, strfile As String
Dim strList As ListBox, LList As String

On Error GoTo cmdDir_Click_Err
msg.Caption = ""

'Read Source location address
strSource = Nz(Me!Source, "")
If Len(strSource) = 0 Then
    strMsg = "Source Path is empty."
    MsgBox strMsg,vbOKOnly + vbCritical, "cmdDir_Click()"
msg.Caption = strMsg
    Exit Sub
End If

'check for the last back-slash location
'this can be used to split the folder name
'and file name type values separately.

i = InStrRev(strSource, "\")

'get the folder name part into the variable
strSource1 = Left(strSource, i)

'take file type (*.docx, *.exl, *.txt etc.) value into a separate
'variable temporarily
If Len(strSource) > i Then
    strSource2 = Right(strSource, Len(strSource) - i)
End If

'define Listbox object
Set strList = Me.List1

'Read the first file from the folder
strfile = Dir(strSource, vbHidden)
If Len(strfile) = 0 Then
    strMsg = "No Files of the specified type: '" & strSource2 & "' in this folder."
    MsgBox strMsg, vbCritical + vbOKOnly, "cmdDir()"
    msg.Caption = strMsg
    Exit Sub
End If

j = 0
LList = ""
Do While Len(strfile) > 0
   If Left(strfile, 1) = "~" Then 'ignore backup files, if any
      GoTo readnext:
   End If
    j = j + 1 'File list count
    LList = LList & Chr(34) & strfile & Chr(34) & ","
    
readnext:
    strfile = Dir() ' read next file
Loop

LList = Left(LList, Len(LList) - 1) ' remove the extra comma at the end of the list
strList.RowSource = LList 'insert the files list into the listbox RowSource property
strList.Requery 'refresh the listbox
msg.Caption = "Total: " & j & " Files found."

Me.Target.Enabled = True

cmdDir_Click_Exit:
Exit Sub

cmdDir_Click_Err:
MsgBox Err.Description, , "cmdDir_Click()"
Resume cmdDir_Click_Exit

End Sub


Private Sub cmdSelected_Click()
'=========================================================
'Author : a.p.r.pillai
'Date   : June 2018
'Purpose: Copy Selected/All Files to Target Location
'Rights : All Rights Reserved by www.msaccesstips.com
'=========================================================

Dim lstBox As ListBox, ListCount As Integer
Dim strfile As String, j As Integer, t As Double
Dim strTarget As String, strTarget2 As String
Dim chk As String, i As Integer, yn As Integer
Dim k As Integer

On Error GoTo cmdSelected_Click_Err

msg.Caption = ""
'Read Target location address
strTarget = Trim(Nz(Me!Target, ""))

'validate Destination location
If Len(strTarget) = 0 Then
   strMsg = "Enter a Valid Path for Destination!"
   MsgBox strMsg, vbOKOnly + vbCritical, "cmdSelected()"
   msg.Caption = strMsg
   Exit Sub
ElseIf Right(strTarget, 1) <> "\" Then
      strMsg = "Correct the Path as '" & Trim(Me.Target) & "\' and Re-try"
      MsgBox strMsg, vbOKOnly + vbCritical, "cmdSelected()"
      msg.Caption = strMsg
      Exit Sub
End If

'Take a count of files in listbox
Set lstBox = Me.List1
ListCount = lstBox.ListCount - 1

'take a count of selected files, if any, for copying
i = 0
For j = 0 To ListCount
If lstBox.Selected(j) Then
  i = i + 1
End If
Next

'identify user's response for copy
If (i = 0) And (ListCount > 0) Then
       strMsg = "Copy all Files..?"
       Me.cmdSelected.Caption = "Copy All"
Else
       strMsg = "Copy Selected Files..?"
       Me.cmdSelected.Caption = "Copy Marked files"

End If

'Me.cmdSelected.Requery

'get copy option from User
yn = MsgBox(strMsg, vbOKCancel + vbQuestion, "cmdSelected_Click()")

'Run Copy selected option
If (i = 0) And (yn = vbOK) Then
    GoSub allCopy
ElseIf (i > 0) And (yn = vbOK) Then
    GoSub selectCopy
Else
    Exit Sub
End If

'disable Copy button to stop a repeat copy of the same files.
'Remarks: User can make fresh selections from the same list
'To copy them to the same target locatiion.
'Or to a different location by specifying different Path
'in the Destination Text Box
Me.List1.SetFocus
Me.cmdSelected.Enabled = False

'Display copy status
strMsg = "Total " & k & " File(s) Copied." & vbCrLf & "Check the Target Folder for accuracy."
MsgBox strMsg, vbInformation + vbOKOnly, "cmdSelected_Click()"
Me.msg.Caption = strMsg

cmdSelected_Click_Exit:
Exit Sub

allCopy:
k = 0
For j = 0 To ListCount
    strfile = lstBox.ItemData(j)
   
    strSource2 = strSource1 & strfile
    strTarget2 = strTarget & strfile
    
    FileCopy strSource2, strTarget2
  'give enough time to copy the file
  'before taking the next file
  k = k + 1
  t = Timer()
  Do While Timer() > (t + 10)
    'do nothing
  Loop
Next
Return

selectCopy:
k = 0
For j = 0 To ListCount
   If lstBox.Selected(j) Then
        strfile = lstBox.ItemData(j)
        strSource2 = strSource1 & strfile
        strTarget2 = strTarget & strfile
        
            FileCopy strSource2, strTarget2
               'give enough time to copy the file
               'before taking the next file
               k = k + 1
                t = Timer()
                Do While Timer() > (t + 10)
                    'do nothing
                Loop
   End If
Next
Return


cmdSelected_Click_Err:
MsgBox Err.Description, , "cmdSelected_Click()"
Me.msg.Caption = Err.Description
Resume cmdSelected_Click_Exit

End Sub


Private Sub List1_AfterUpdate()
On Error GoTo List1_AfterUpdate_Error
Me.cmdSelected.Enabled = True
List1_AfterUpdate_Exit:
Exit Sub

List1_AfterUpdate_Error:
MsgBox Err.Description, , "List1_AfterUpdate()"
Resume List1_AfterUpdate_Exit
End Sub

You may save the Form with the name FileCopy.

Note: FileCopy is a VBA Statement, not a built-in Function.

You can copy different sets of files from the list displayed in the list box to different target folders by first deselecting any previous selections, selecting the desired files, and updating the destination folder address in the text box.

Download the Demo Database.

You may download the sample database with the VBA Code from the Link given below:

Download FileCopy2007.zip
Download (2003) FileCopy.zip

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DIR Getting File Names From Folder

Introduction.

Most of us are familiar with the Dir() function from the days of the DOS operating system. Dir() has often been the very first command introduced to anyone learning how to use a personal computer. Under Windows, this command still offers several options for retrieving information from the disk in various ways. For example, you can generate a complete list of folders, subfolders, and files on a hard disk with a single command and even redirect that list to a printer or save it to a text file using the redirection symbol (>).

In this article, however, we will focus only on how the Dir() function is used in VBA to read file names from a folder one by one and display them in the Debug window. When you run this function with a folder path as a parameter, it returns the first file name found in that folder. The question then is: how do we retrieve the remaining file names—one after another—from the same folder?

Using the DIR Command in the Debug Window.

We will try the Dir() Function from the Debug Window directly, so that it is easy to understand how to use this function to get a few file names from a folder one after the other.

1. Open the Microsoft Access VBA Window and then display the Debug Window (Ctrl+G).
2. Type the following command in the Debug Window and press Enter Key:

   ? Dir("")

   Dir() Function with an empty string as a parameter will fetch the first file name from the Current Folder and display it in the debug window. 

   Since we have not given a specific folder or pathname in the function parameter, it looks for files in the active folder on the disk.

3. Now, issue the following command without any parameters to get the next file name in the current folder

   ? Dir()
   OR
   ? Dir

4. Each time you run the DIR() command, it will get the next file from the same folder.
5. Use a specific Folder Path as the parameter, in place of the empty string, to get files from that particular folder.
6. Example:

   ? Dir("D:\Documents\")
   OR
   ? Dir("D:\Documents\*.*")
   

If D:\Documents\folder doesn't have files, then the above command will return an empty string. If you go further and execute the Dir command again, then it will end up with an error message.

There is an optional second parameter to the Dir() Command that we have not used in the above examples. Since this is a DOS Command executed in its own window, we can specify this second parameter to show its normal window(vbNormal) or hide the execution window (vbHidden), among other options available.

A VBA Wrapper Function for the DIR Function.

I have written a small function for you to list all the files in a folder in the Debug Window.

Public Function TestDir(ByVal strFolder As String) As String
'Function Usage e.g.: TestDir "D:\Documents\"
Dim j As Integer, strFile As String
'files counter
j = 1
'Run the function with the specified folder in a hidden window
strFile = Dir(strFolder, vbHidden)
'Next steps of Dir() function is nested in a loop
'to read all the files and print in the Debug Window

Do While Len(strFile) > 0
 Debug.Print j & ":" & strFile
 j = j + 1
 strFile = Dir()
Loop
End Function

Call the function from the Debug Window by giving the full path of the Folder as the parameter.

? TestDir("D:\Documents\")
OR
? TestDir("D:\Documents\*.*")

All the files from the specified folder will be listed in the Debug window along with a serial number. After reading and printing the last file from the folder, the Dir() function is called one more time and returns an empty string. At this point, the Do While condition evaluates to False, and the program stops.

If you need only a specific type of File to be read and displayed, then you may specify the parameter with the file type extension.

Example:

? TestDir("D:\Documents\*.xls")

The above example retrieves only Excel files and prints in the Debug window.

I have used the terms Function and Command interchangeably. Dir() is referred to as a Function in VBA reference documents and as a Command in Disk Operating System documents; both refer to the same operations done in different environments.

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