Sample Code to Determine Whether a File Exists (175923)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications 6.0
  • Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications 5.0
  • Microsoft Office Word 2003
  • Microsoft Word 97 for Windows
This article was previously published under Q175923

SUMMARY

This article includes a sample Visual Basic for Applications procedure (or macro) that determines whether a particular file exists.

MORE INFORMATION

Microsoft provides programming examples for illustration only, without warranty either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose. This article assumes that you are familiar with the programming language being demonstrated and the tools used to create and debug procedures. Microsoft support professionals can help explain the functionality of a particular procedure, but they will not modify these examples to provide added functionality or construct procedures to meet your specific needs. If you have limited programming experience, you may want to contact a Microsoft Certified Partner or the Microsoft fee-based consulting line at (800) 936-5200. For more information about Microsoft Certified Partners, please visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/partner/referral/

For more information about the support options that are available and about how to contact Microsoft, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;EN-US;CNTACTMS

You can use the Dir function to check for an existing file by passing the file name and path to the function. If the function returns a zero-length string (""), the file does not exist.

The following sample code checks for the existence of the Autoexec.bat file in the C:\ folder. If the Dir function returns a zero-length string, the file was not found, so a message box displays "No such file!" If the Dir function finds C:\Autoexec.bat, a message box displays "File exists!"

Sample Visual Basic Procedure

   Sub DoesFileExist()
      Dim FileInQuestion As String
      FileInQuestion = Dir("C:\Autoexec.bat")
      If FileInQuestion = "" Then
         MsgBox "No such file!"
      Else
         MsgBox "File exists!"
      End If
   End Sub

REFERENCES

For more information about creating Visual Basic for Applications macros, click the Office Assistant in Microsoft Word, type how to create a macro, click Search, and then click to view "Create a macro."

For more information about running Visual Basic for Applications macros, click the Office Assistant in Microsoft Word, type how to run a macro, click Search, and then click to view "Run a macro."

For more information about the Dir function, click the Office Assistant in the Visual Basic Editor, type dir, click Search, and then click to view "Dir Function."

NOTE: If the Assistant is hidden, click the Office Assistant button on the Standard toolbar. If Word Help is not installed on your computer, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

120802 Office: How to Add/Remove a Single Office Program or Component

For more information about getting help with Visual Basic for Applications, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

163435 VBA: Programming Resources for Visual Basic for Applications

Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:3/23/2006
Keywords:kbcode kbhowto kbProgramming KB175923 kbAudDeveloper
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