ACC: How to Retrieve the Path or the File Name from the Name Property (182306)



The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Access for Windows 95 7.0
  • Microsoft Access 97
  • Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications 5.0

This article was previously published under Q182306

SUMMARY

The Database object provided by Microsoft Data Access Objects (DAO) has a Name property. However, this property returns the full path and the file name of the database. In order to retrieve either the path or the file name separately, you must parse the string returned by the Name property by searching for slash characters ("/").

MORE INFORMATION

Microsoft provides programming examples for illustration only, without warranty either expressed or implied. This includes, but is not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. This article assumes that you are familiar with the programming language that is being demonstrated and with the tools that are used to create and to debug procedures. Microsoft support engineers 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 requirements. The following Visual Basic for Applications procedure loops backward through the string returned by the Name property and determines the position of the first slash. If you want only the name of the file without the path, the function returns the portion of the string to the right of the slash. If you want only the path of the folder in which the current database is located, the function returns the portion of the string to the left of the slash.
  1. Start Microsoft Access and open any database.
  2. Open a new module and type the following procedure:
          Function RetrievePathFile(Optional vComponent As Variant)
    
             ' This function takes an optional argument that specifies
             ' whether you want to return the directory portion of
             ' the path or the file portion of the path.
             ' Usage: If you want to return only the name of the file
             ' without the path, use the syntax:
             '    RetrievePathFile("FName")
             ' If you supply a different argument or no argument at all
             ' the function returns only the folder in which the file is
             ' located.
             Dim strCurDBName As String
             Dim i As Integer  ' loop counter.
             strCurDBName = CurrentDb.Name
             ' Loop backward through string to find last "\"
             For i = Len(strCurDBName) To 1 Step -1
                If Mid(strCurDBName, i, 1) = "\" Then
                   If IsMissing(vComponent) Then
                      RetrievePathFile = Mid(strCurDBName, 1, i - 1)
                   ElseIf vComponent = "FName" Then
                      RetrievePathFile = Mid(strCurDBName, i + 1)
                   Else
                      RetrievePathFile = Mid(strCurDBName, 1, i - 1)
                   End If
                Exit For
                End If
             Next i
          End Function
    					
  3. On the Debug menu, click Compile And Save All Modules.
  4. Press CRTL+G to open the Debug window.
  5. Type the following line in the Debug window, and then press ENTER:
    ?RetrievePathFile("FName")
    						
    The function returns the name of the current database without the complete path.
  6. Type the following line in the Debug window, and then press ENTER:
    ?RetrievePathFile()
    						
    The function returns the path of the folder in which the current database is located.

REFERENCES

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:MinorLast Reviewed:10/11/2006
Keywords:kbhowto kbProgramming KB182306