Browse for path only while showing all files

[xl600]

Is there a way to configure the LabView brose dialog to show all files but only allow selection of existing paths (Like folders only selection mode)?  I have many paths to choose from and I would like the user to be able to see the files within those paths (So they know they're selecting a populated path) but I don't want them to select those files.

Thanks,

XL600

[James.M]

I asked this question a while ago and decided it was too much work for my project just for this functionality.

Like GerdW said, you can proabably find a Windows-style folder browser to use instead of the LabVIEW folder browser

[sabri.jatlaoui · Accepted solution]

HI xl600,

You can use strip path when user select a file and force the path value.

I made you a VI.

[James.M]

This isn't the ideal solution because it allows the user to select files as well as folders, but it re-opens the dialog if they do so. I don't like the idea of stripping the path if they select a file because it forces the user's hand.

[xl600]

That should work.  I was looking into the .NET approach to restrict selection to folders only (Not even allowing the user to click on a file within the current path) but like James pointed out, that's a lot of work for a minor convienence.

Thanks!

[James.M]

If you ever dive in to more .NET stuff, post back here. I tried the FolderBrowserDialog option, but I've always hated that interface, so I stuck with my loop above.

[xl600]

I will.  I was googling and found this tool

http://www.ssware.com/articles/folderbrowserdialog-unmasked-everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-the-...

Alas, it takes an act of congress for my company to authorize external code libraries (Let alone pay for them).

Sigh....

[James.M]

Ah yes, the struggle is real.

[altenbach]

What I do instead:

• Set the dialog for "existing files & folders" (even select a pattern so only certain files show, e.g. *.txt or whatever).
• If the user clicks "select folder", it will just take it.
• If the user clicks on a file (double-click, or the button), it will strip the file name and pass the containing folder instead to the code

Works great for my purpose.

(I typically place the files of the selected folder into a listbox, so if the user clicks a file instead, it even sets the listbox to the selected file afterwards. Example)

[tst]

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@xl600 wrote:

I will.  I was googling and found this tool

http://www.ssware.com/articles/folderbrowserdialog-unmasked-everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-the-...

Alas, it takes an act of congress for my company to authorize external code libraries (Let alone pay for them).

Sigh....

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I'm not sure why you think you need to pay for it. Your link says it's part of .NET. I don't know that specific component, but you can find an example of calling the parallel Win32 API function in this discussion - http://forums.ni.com/t5/LabVIEW/Browse-for-Folder-dialog/m-p/301237#M157254

If you don't want to call external code, you can do this yourself by building the tree, but that would require some code.