Move a folder to the recycle bin

[Trento Castricone]

I can programmatically move files to the recycle bin.
I would like to programmatically move folders to the recycle bin.
The "SHFILEOPSTRUCT structure" seems to be for files only.

Any help would be appreciated.

[Michael Mattias]

My code works fine. (Yes I had to tweak the flags)

' Test_deletefolder_rb
' 08.22.09
' ShFileOperation does not handle delete of folders to recycle bin?
' I don't believe that. I should have, it's true,
' Using FOF_WANTNUKEWARNING (when requested)  does come up
' what if... FOF_ALLOWUNDO is used?  Goes to recycle bin!

#COMPILE EXE
#DIM     ALL


#INCLUDE "WIN32API.INC"


FUNCTION PBMAIN () AS LONG
    
  LOCAL  szFolder AS ASCIIZ * %MAX_PATH
  LOCAL  SHFO  AS SHFILEOPSTRUCT
  LOCAL  iRet AS LONG


  RESET            szFolder
  szFolder      =  "D:\Testdata\DeleteMe"
  RESET            SHFO
  SHFO.hWnd     =  GetDesktopWindow()
  SHFO.wFunc    =  %FO_DELETE
  SHFO.pFrom    =  VARPTR(szFolder)
  SHFO.fFlags   =  %FOF_WANTNUKEWARNING OR %FOF_ALLOWUNDO

' SDK doc:
' " If pFrom is set to a file name, deleting the file with FO_DELETE will not move it to the Recycle Bin,
' " even if the FOF_ALLOWUNDO flag is set. You must use a full path.

  iRet = SHFileOperation (SHFO)
  MSGBOX  USING$ ("SHFO returns #   &", iRet, IIF$ (iRet, "Error", "Success"))
  
END FUNCTION

[Trento Castricone]

Move folder to recycle bin

Michael

Thanks - works!
I don't think I would have ever accomplished this one on my own.

(Requires no trailing backslash)

[Michael Mattias]

>I don't think I would have ever accomplished this one on my own.

Oh, come on.

All you would have had to do was try a couple of different flags and see what happened. Hell, that's how I did it. Took me maybe ten minutes, tops.

Or, if your problem was really...
>Requires no trailing backslash

.. then....
A. You didn't check the return code from ShFileOperation, did you? (code not shown)
B. Windows NEVER wants a trailing backslash when supplying a folder name.

MCM

[Trento Castricone]

Michael
FOF_WANTNUKEWARNINGVersion 5.0. Send a warning if a file is being permanently destroyed during a delete operation rather than recycled. This flag partially overrides FOF_NOCONFIRMATION.
I guess I just didn't understand the above verbiage.

Thanks again

[Michael Mattias]

>I guess I just didn't understand the above verbiage

I didn't either. But at least I showed my code.....

...which includes in the comments a "hint" that FOF_WANTNUKEWARNING is NOT the important flag here!!!!

MCM

[Trento Castricone]

This is the code I am using for "FILES".
I had NO code for "DIRECTORIES"

FUNCTION RecycleBinSilent(BYVAL FileName AS STRING) AS LONG
  LOCAL shfo AS SHFILEOPSTRUCT
  LOCAL szSource AS ASCIIZ * %MAX_PATH
  LOCAL lResult AS LONG
  RESET        szSource
  szSource     = FileName
  RESET        SHFO
  SHFO.hWnd    =  GetDesktopWindow()
  shfo.wFunc   = %FO_DELETE
  shfo.pFrom   = VARPTR(szSource)
  shfo.fFlags  = %FOF_ALLOWUNDO OR %FOF_NOCONFIRMATION 'OR %FOF_SIMPLEPROGRESS
  lResult = SHFileOperation(shfo)
  FUNCTION = shfo.fAnyOperationsAborted
END FUNCTION

[Roger Garstang]

B. Windows NEVER wants a trailing backslash when supplying a folder name.

MCM

That's like saying "There are no absolutes"...just in saying it makes an absolute. You also forgot about the root "Folder" which is a \. I too forgot about it a couple times and now always remember to handle its special case.

[Gary Beene]

Trento,

Is Reset necessary in your code? Since both variables that it's applied to are local and not STATIC, why did you reset them?

Just wondering.

Also, I just noticed from MCM's response that the file name must be the complete pathname. I ran your code with something like "myfile.txt" but until I used exe.path$ + "myfile.txt", the deleted file did not show in the recycle bin. It took me a minute to realize the his/your codes were the same (flags different) and applied to both files/folders.

Also I see that when a folder is deleted, it need not be empty - useful and dangerous.

Thanks to both of your for posting the code. I had been wanting just that snippet!

[Mel Bishop]

http://www.powerbasic.com/support/pbforums/showthread.php?t=17250

[Gary Beene]

Mel,

Thanks for the link. I had looked a few weeks ago and didn't see your post. Now that you point it out - there it is in plain sight.

I've said before that finding the right keywords can be troublesome, but in this case I don't see how I'd have missed it (except that it showed up off the first page of search results) - there are only a few ways to type "recycle bin".

... updated ... Wow, and now I see that it wasn't in PBWin. I've been guilty of thinking console forum stuff is not useful to PBWin apps, but now I know better. I'll need to go browse around that forum to see what I missed that I might find useful.

Thanks!

[Michael Mattias]

Is Reset necessary in your code? Since both variables that it's applied to are local and not STATIC, why did you reset them

No, and force of habit.

As a rule I'm a control freak and don't like putting total faith in defaults.

I also use a lot of 'unnecessary' parentheses, eschewing the operator precedence rules which should result in the order I want. Of course this also is as mich for my own benefit, so I can look at code six months later and know what I did without the need to look up those operator precedence rules.

[Mel Bishop]

...As a rule I'm a control freak...

As a rule MM, you shouldn't open yourself up like that.

[Michael Mattias]

>you shouldn't open yourself up like that

Over the years I have acknowledged other personal history and attributes a lot worse than being a control freak.

I'll live.

(Curious? Go find 'em yourself using the search. That ought to keep you busy for a couple of hours).

MCM

[Trento Castricone]

Gary

My problem was the trailing back slash on the path to delete folders.

As far as the RESET instruction goes:
Michael had it in his code, I read the documentation and then used it.
It seems to work just fine with or without RESET.

Maybe Michael can answer - why.

[Michael Mattias]

>Maybe Michael can answer - why [he used RESET]

I gave one answer in post#12 but if you don't like that one, you can use this:

"To give you something to keep you awake at night, wondering."