Allow user to specify a directory via the Windows Browse Selection

Question

Specific to VBA:

Is it possible to ask user to specify a directory name via the standard Windows 'Browse' selection, and read that in as a variable (instead of hard-coding it in the software).

Such as:

String MyStr = <Inputted full path by the user via the Windows Browse Selection>

Yes, as per the [documentation](https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/office/ff836226.aspx) using `Application.FileDialog` — OldUgly, Dec 30 '16 at 01:16

score 3 · Answer 1 · answered Dec 30 '16 at 01:23

Here is a function you could use to allow the user to browse for a folder:

Public Function pickFolder() As String

    Dim strSelectedItem As String

    Dim dlgPickFolder As FileDialog
    Set dlgPickFolder = Application.FileDialog(msoFileDialogFolderPicker)

    With dlgPickFolder
        .AllowMultiSelect = False
    End With

    If dlgPickFolder.Show = -1 Then
        strSelectedItem = dlgPickFolder.SelectedItems(1) & "\"
    Else
    strSelectedItem = ""
    Set fd = Nothing
    End If
    Set fd = Nothing

pickFolder = strSelectedItem

End Function

You could use it simply by setting the value of your desired variable using this function:

Dim sFolder As String
sFolder = pickFolder()

Please let us know if was helpful thanks

score 3 · Answer 2 · answered Dec 30 '16 at 01:47

Set bffShell = CreateObject("Shell.Application")
Set bff = bffShell.BrowseForFolder(0, "Select the My Documents folder", &h4049)
If Err.number<>0 Then
        MsgBox "Error Setting up Browse for Folder"
    Else
        A = bff.ParentFolder.ParseName(bff.Title).Path
        If err.number=424 then err.clear
                Msgbox A
End If

I've used following flag options BIF_RETURNONLYFSDIRS (0x00000001), BIF_RETURNFSANCESTORS (0x00000008), BIF_NEWDIALOGSTYLE (0x00000040), and BIF_BROWSEINCLUDEFILES (0x00004000).

These are the flags option from MSDN https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/bb773205(v=vs.85).aspx

ulFlags Type: UINT

Flags that specify the options for the dialog box. This member can be 0 or a combination of the following values. Version numbers refer to the minimum version of Shell32.dll required for SHBrowseForFolder to recognize flags added in later releases. See Shell and Common Controls Versions for more information.

BIF_RETURNONLYFSDIRS (0x00000001)

0x00000001. Only return file system directories. If the user selects folders that are not part of the file system, the OK button is grayed.

Note The OK button remains enabled for "\server" items, as well as "\server\share" and directory items. However, if the user selects a "\server" item, passing the PIDL returned by SHBrowseForFolder to SHGetPathFromIDList fails.

BIF_DONTGOBELOWDOMAIN (0x00000002)

0x00000002. Do not include network folders below the domain level in the dialog box's tree view control.

BIF_STATUSTEXT (0x00000004)

0x00000004. Include a status area in the dialog box. The callback function can set the status text by sending messages to the dialog box. This flag is not supported when BIF_NEWDIALOGSTYLE is specified.

BIF_RETURNFSANCESTORS (0x00000008)

0x00000008. Only return file system ancestors. An ancestor is a subfolder that is beneath the root folder in the namespace hierarchy. If the user selects an ancestor of the root folder that is not part of the file system, the OK button is grayed.

BIF_EDITBOX (0x00000010)

0x00000010. Version 4.71. Include an edit control in the browse dialog box that allows the user to type the name of an item.

BIF_VALIDATE (0x00000020)

0x00000020. Version 4.71. If the user types an invalid name into the edit box, the browse dialog box calls the application's BrowseCallbackProc with the BFFM_VALIDATEFAILED message. This flag is ignored if BIF_EDITBOX is not specified.

BIF_NEWDIALOGSTYLE (0x00000040)

0x00000040. Version 5.0. Use the new user interface. Setting this flag provides the user with a larger dialog box that can be resized. The dialog box has several new capabilities, including: drag-and-drop capability within the dialog box, reordering, shortcut menus, new folders, delete, and other shortcut menu commands.

Note If COM is initialized through CoInitializeEx with the COINIT_MULTITHREADED flag set, SHBrowseForFolder fails if BIF_NEWDIALOGSTYLE is passed.

BIF_BROWSEINCLUDEURLS (0x00000080)

0x00000080. Version 5.0. The browse dialog box can display URLs. The BIF_USENEWUI and BIF_BROWSEINCLUDEFILES flags must also be set. If any of these three flags are not set, the browser dialog box rejects URLs. Even when these flags are set, the browse dialog box displays URLs only if the folder that contains the selected item supports URLs. When the folder's IShellFolder::GetAttributesOf method is called to request the selected item's attributes, the folder must set the SFGAO_FOLDER attribute flag. Otherwise, the browse dialog box will not display the URL.

BIF_USENEWUI

Version 5.0. Use the new user interface, including an edit box. This flag is equivalent to BIF_EDITBOX | BIF_NEWDIALOGSTYLE.

Note If COM is initialized through CoInitializeEx with the COINIT_MULTITHREADED flag set, SHBrowseForFolder fails if BIF_USENEWUI is passed.

BIF_UAHINT (0x00000100)

0x00000100. Version 6.0. When combined with BIF_NEWDIALOGSTYLE, adds a usage hint to the dialog box, in place of the edit box. BIF_EDITBOX overrides this flag.

BIF_NONEWFOLDERBUTTON (0x00000200)

0x00000200. Version 6.0. Do not include the New Folder button in the browse dialog box.

BIF_NOTRANSLATETARGETS (0x00000400)

0x00000400. Version 6.0. When the selected item is a shortcut, return the PIDL of the shortcut itself rather than its target.

BIF_BROWSEFORCOMPUTER (0x00001000)

0x00001000. Only return computers. If the user selects anything other than a computer, the OK button is grayed.

BIF_BROWSEFORPRINTER (0x00002000)

0x00002000. Only allow the selection of printers. If the user selects anything other than a printer, the OK button is grayed.

In Windows XP and later systems, the best practice is to use a Windows XP-style dialog, setting the root of the dialog to the Printers and Faxes folder (CSIDL_PRINTERS).

BIF_BROWSEINCLUDEFILES (0x00004000)

0x00004000. Version 4.71. The browse dialog box displays files as well as folders.

BIF_SHAREABLE (0x00008000)

0x00008000. Version 5.0. The browse dialog box can display sharable resources on remote systems. This is intended for applications that want to expose remote shares on a local system. The BIF_NEWDIALOGSTYLE flag must also be set.

BIF_BROWSEFILEJUNCTIONS (0x00010000)

0x00010000. Windows 7 and later. Allow folder junctions such as a library or a compressed file with a .zip file name extension to be browsed.

score 2 · Answer 3 · answered Dec 30 '16 at 01:22

Code like:

Sub MAIN()
    Dim folder As String
    folder = GetFolder
End Sub

Function GetFolder() As String
    Dim fldr As FileDialog
    Dim sItem As String
    Set fldr = Application.FileDialog(msoFileDialogFolderPicker)
    With fldr
        .Title = "Select a Folder"
        .AllowMultiSelect = False
        .InitialFileName = Application.DefaultFilePath
        If .Show <> -1 Then GoTo NextCode
        sItem = .SelectedItems(1)
    End With
NextCode:
    GetFolder = sItem
    Set fldr = Nothing
End Function

This was very helpful as well and it worked; Thanks! – nas Dec 30 '16 at 01:31 — nas, Dec 30 '16 at 01:31

Allow user to specify a directory via the Windows Browse Selection

3 Answers3