Four Different Methods to Display the Find Files Dialog

This article from Ovidiu Crisan shows four different methods of displaying the ‘Find Files’ dialog from within a Visual Basic Program.

If you want to use ‘Find Files’ standard dialog, in your programs you can choose between the following four methods.

• Using DDE: it’s needed an label control, even invisible.

Private Sub Command1_Click()
    With Label1
    .LinkTopic = "Folders|AppProperties"
    .LinkMode = vbLinkManual
    .LinkExecute "[OpenFindFile(,)]"
  End With
End Sub

Private Sub Form_Load()
  Label1.Visible = False
  Command1.Caption = "Find File (1)..."
  Me.Caption = "Find File (1)"
End Sub

• Using keybd_event API function to simulate Win + ‘F’:

Private Declare Sub keybd_event Lib "user32" _
    (ByVal bVk As Byte, _
    ByVal bScan As Byte, _
    ByVal dwFlags As Long, _
    ByVal dwExtraInfo As Long)
'
Private Const VK_LWIN = &H5B
Private Const KEYEVENTF_KEYUP = &H2
Private Const VK_APPS = &H5D
'
Private Sub Command1_Click()
    Call keybd_event(VK_LWIN, 0, 0, 0)
    Call keybd_event(&H46, 0, 0, 0)       'F
    Call keybd_event(VK_LWIN, 0, KEYEVENTF_KEYUP, 0)
End Sub
'
Private Sub Form_Load()
  Command1.Caption = "Find File (2)..."
  Me.Caption = "Find File (2)"
End Sub

• Using MS Q183903 (http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q183/9/03.asp)

Private Declare Function ShellExecute Lib "shell32.dll" _
    Alias "ShellExecuteA" _
    (ByVal hwnd As Long, _
     ByVal lpOperation As String, _
     ByVal lpFile As String, _
     ByVal lpParameters As String, _
     ByVal lpDirectory As String, _
     ByVal nShowCmd As Long) As Long

Private Const SW_SHOWNORMAL = 1
Private Const SW_SHOWMINIMIZED = 2
Private Const SW_SHOWMAXIMIZED = 3
Private Const SW_SHOW = 5
Private Const SW_MINIMIZE = 6
Private Const SW_SHOWMINNOACTIVE = 7
Private Const SW_SHOWNA = 8
Private Const SW_RESTORE = 9
Private Const SW_SHOWDEFAULT = 10

Private Sub Command1_Click()
   Call ShellExecute(Me.hwnd, _
      "find", _
      Dir1.Path, _
      vbNullString, _
      vbNullString, _
      SW_SHOWNORMAL)
End Sub

Private Sub Drive1_Change()
   Dir1.Path = Drive1.Drive
End Sub

Private Sub Form_Load()
   Command1.Caption = "Find File (3)..."
End Sub

• Using undocumented function SHFindFiles and SHSimpleIDListFromPath from Shell32.dll:

Private Declare Function SHFindFiles Lib "Shell32" _
    Alias "#90" _
    (pidlRoot As Long, pidlSavedSearch As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function SHSimpleIDListFromPath Lib _
    "Shell32" Alias "#162" _
    (ByVal lpszPath As String) As Long
'
Private Sub Command1_Click()
  Dim l As Long
  l = SHSimpleIDListFromPath(Dir1.Path)
  SHFindFiles ByVal l, ByVal 0
End Sub

Private Sub Drive1_Change()
  Dir1.Path = Drive1.Drive
End Sub

Private Sub Form_Load()
  Command1.Caption = "Find File (4)..."
  Me.Caption = "Find File (4)"
End Sub

For the last two methods you need to add a DriveListBox and a DirListBox
control. With this methods you can give the start path for searching.

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