VB.NET Language in a Nutshell, Second Edition

Name

Dir Function

Class

Microsoft.VisualBasic.FileSystem

Syntax

Dir[(pathname[, attributes])]

pathname (optional; String)

A string expression that defines a path, which may contain a drive name, a folder name, and a filename

attributes (optional; Numeric or Constant of the FileAttribute enumeration)

A FileAttribute enumeration constant or numeric expression specifying the file attributes to be matched

Return Value

String

Description

Returns the name of a single file or folder matching the pattern and attribute passed to the function

Rules at a Glance

• A zero-length string (“”) is returned if a matching file is not found.

• Possible values for attributes are:

FileAttribute enumeration	Value	Description
Normal	0	Normal (not hidden and not a system file)
ReadOnly	1	Read-only file
Hidden	2	Hidden
System	4	System file
Volume	8	Volume label; if specified, all other attributes are ignored
Directory	16	Directory or folder
Archive	32	Archive
Alias	64	Alias or link

• The attributes constants can be Ored together to create combinations of attributes to match; e.g., FileAttribute.Hidden Or FileAttribute. Directory will match hidden directories.

• If attributes is not specified, files matching pathname are returned regardless of attributes.

• You can use the wildcard characters * and ? within pathname to return multiple files.

• Although pathname is optional, the first call you make to Dir must include it. pathname must also be specified if you are specifying attributes. In addition, ...