Visual Basic: CommonDialog Control

Flags Property (Open, Save As Dialogs)

See Also   Example   Applies To

Returns or sets the options for the Open and Save As dialog boxes.

Syntax

object**.Flags** [= value]

The Flags property syntax has these parts:

Part Description
object An object expression that evaluates to an object in the Applies To list.
value A constant or value specifying the options for the Open and Save As dialog boxes, as described in Settings.

Settings

The settings for value are:

Constant Value Description
cdlOFNAllowMultiselect &H200 Specifies that the File Name list box allows multiple selections.

The user can select more than one file at run time by pressing the SHIFT key and using the UP ARROW and DOWN ARROW keys to select the desired files. When this is done, the FileName property returns a string containing the names of all selected files. The names in the string are delimited by spaces.

cdlOFNCreatePrompt &H2000 Specifies that the dialog box prompts the user to create a file that doesn't currently exist. This flag automatically sets the cdlOFNPathMustExist and cdlOFNFileMustExist flags.
cdlOFNExplorer &H80000 Use the Explorer-like Open A File dialog box template. Works with Windows 95, Windows NT 4.0, or later versions.
CdlOFNExtensionDifferent &H400 Indicates that the extension of the returned filename is different from the extension specified by the DefaultExt property. This flag isn't set if the DefaultExt property is Null, if the extensions match, or if the file has no extension. This flag value can be checked upon closing the dialog box.
cdlOFNFileMustExist &H1000 Specifies that the user can enter only names of existing files in the File Name text box. If this flag is set and the user enters an invalid filename, a warning is displayed. This flag automatically sets the cdlOFNPathMustExist flag.
cdlOFNHelpButton &H10 Causes the dialog box to display the Help button.
cdlOFNHideReadOnly &H4 Hides the Read Only check box.
cdlOFNLongNames &H200000 Use long filenames.
cdlOFNNoChangeDir &H8 Forces the dialog box to set the current directory to what it was when the dialog box was opened.
CdlOFNNoDereferenceLinks &H100000 Do not dereference shell links (also known as shortcuts). By default, choosing a shell link causes it to be dereferenced by the shell.
cdlOFNNoLongNames &H40000 No long file names.
CdlOFNNoReadOnlyReturn &H8000 Specifies that the returned file won't have the Read Only attribute set and won't be in a write-protected directory.
cdlOFNNoValidate &H100 Specifies that the common dialog box allows invalid characters in the returned filename.
cdlOFNOverwritePrompt &H2 Causes the Save As dialog box to generate a message box if the selected file already exists. The user must confirm whether to overwrite the file.
cdlOFNPathMustExist &H800 Specifies that the user can enter only valid paths. If this flag is set and the user enters an invalid path, a warning message is displayed.
cdlOFNReadOnly &H1 Causes the Read Only check box to be initially checked when the dialog box is created. This flag also indicates the state of the Read Only check box when the dialog box is closed.
cdlOFNShareAware &H4000 Specifies that sharing violation errors will be ignored.

Remarks

The cdlOFNExplorer and cdlOFNNoDereferenceLinks flags work only under Windows 95, Windows NT 4.0, or later versions. Multiselect common dialogs under Windows 95/98 using cdlOFNExplorer use null characters for delimiters.

Under both Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 95 (and later versions), if you do not choose the cdlOFNAllowMultiselect flag, then both the cdlOFNExplorer and cdlOFNLongNames flags have no effect and are essentially the default.

If you use the cdlOFNAllowMultiselect flag by itself under both Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 95 (and later versions), you will not have support for long filenames. This is because the multiple filenames come back space delimited and long filenames could include spaces. You cannot avoid this behavior if you have Windows NT 3.5. If you use cdlOFNAllowMultiselect, you cannot see long filenames. If you add the cdlOFNExplorer flag under Windows 95 or later, you will be able to both multiselect and see long filenames. But the filenames come back null character delimited and not space delimited.

These constants are listed in the Microsoft CommonDialog Control (MSComDlg) object library in the Object Browser.

You can also define selected flags. Use the Const keyword in the Declarations section of the startup form to define the flags you want to use. For example:

Const ReadOnly  = &H00000001&
Const Effects  = &H00000100&
CommonDialog1.Flags = &H10& Or &H200&

Adding the desired constant values produces the same results. The following is equivalent to the preceding example:

CommonDialog1.Flags = &H210& 

Data Type

Long