FolderBrowserDialog Class
Definition
Important
Some information relates to prerelease product that may be substantially modified before it’s released. Microsoft makes no warranties, express or implied, with respect to the information provided here.
Prompts the user to select a folder. This class cannot be inherited.
public ref class FolderBrowserDialog sealed : System::Windows::Forms::CommonDialogpublic sealed class FolderBrowserDialog : System.Windows.Forms.CommonDialogtype FolderBrowserDialog = class
inherit CommonDialogPublic NotInheritable Class FolderBrowserDialog
Inherits CommonDialog- Inheritance
Examples
The following code example creates an application that enables the user to open rich text (.rtf) files within the RichTextBox control.
// The following example displays an application that provides the ability to
// open rich text files (rtf) into the RichTextBox. The example demonstrates
// using the FolderBrowserDialog to set the default directory for opening files.
// The OpenFileDialog is used to open the file.
#using <System.dll>
#using <System.Windows.Forms.dll>
#using <System.Drawing.dll>
using namespace System;
using namespace System::Drawing;
using namespace System::Windows::Forms;
using namespace System::IO;
public ref class FolderBrowserDialogExampleForm: public System::Windows::Forms::Form
{
private:
FolderBrowserDialog^ folderBrowserDialog1;
OpenFileDialog^ openFileDialog1;
RichTextBox^ richTextBox1;
MainMenu^ mainMenu1;
MenuItem^ fileMenuItem;
MenuItem^ openMenuItem;
MenuItem^ folderMenuItem;
MenuItem^ closeMenuItem;
String^ openFileName;
String^ folderName;
bool fileOpened;
public:
// Constructor.
FolderBrowserDialogExampleForm()
{
fileOpened = false;
this->mainMenu1 = gcnew System::Windows::Forms::MainMenu;
this->fileMenuItem = gcnew System::Windows::Forms::MenuItem;
this->openMenuItem = gcnew System::Windows::Forms::MenuItem;
this->folderMenuItem = gcnew System::Windows::Forms::MenuItem;
this->closeMenuItem = gcnew System::Windows::Forms::MenuItem;
this->openFileDialog1 = gcnew System::Windows::Forms::OpenFileDialog;
this->folderBrowserDialog1 = gcnew System::Windows::Forms::FolderBrowserDialog;
this->richTextBox1 = gcnew System::Windows::Forms::RichTextBox;
this->mainMenu1->MenuItems->Add( this->fileMenuItem );
array<System::Windows::Forms::MenuItem^>^temp0 = {this->openMenuItem,this->closeMenuItem,this->folderMenuItem};
this->fileMenuItem->MenuItems->AddRange( temp0 );
this->fileMenuItem->Text = "File";
this->openMenuItem->Text = "Open...";
this->openMenuItem->Click += gcnew System::EventHandler( this, &FolderBrowserDialogExampleForm::openMenuItem_Click );
this->folderMenuItem->Text = "Select Directory...";
this->folderMenuItem->Click += gcnew System::EventHandler( this, &FolderBrowserDialogExampleForm::folderMenuItem_Click );
this->closeMenuItem->Text = "Close";
this->closeMenuItem->Click += gcnew System::EventHandler( this, &FolderBrowserDialogExampleForm::closeMenuItem_Click );
this->closeMenuItem->Enabled = false;
this->openFileDialog1->DefaultExt = "rtf";
this->openFileDialog1->Filter = "rtf files (*.rtf)|*.rtf";
// Set the help text description for the FolderBrowserDialog.
this->folderBrowserDialog1->Description = "Select the directory that you want to use as the default.";
// Do not allow the user to create new files via the FolderBrowserDialog.
this->folderBrowserDialog1->ShowNewFolderButton = false;
// Default to the My Documents folder.
this->folderBrowserDialog1->RootFolder = Environment::SpecialFolder::Personal;
this->richTextBox1->AcceptsTab = true;
this->richTextBox1->Location = System::Drawing::Point( 8, 8 );
this->richTextBox1->Size = System::Drawing::Size( 280, 344 );
this->richTextBox1->Anchor = static_cast<AnchorStyles>(AnchorStyles::Top | AnchorStyles::Left | AnchorStyles::Bottom | AnchorStyles::Right);
this->ClientSize = System::Drawing::Size( 296, 360 );
this->Controls->Add( this->richTextBox1 );
this->Menu = this->mainMenu1;
this->Text = "RTF Document Browser";
}
private:
// Bring up a dialog to open a file.
void openMenuItem_Click( Object^ /*sender*/, System::EventArgs^ /*e*/ )
{
// If a file is not opened then set the initial directory to the
// FolderBrowserDialog::SelectedPath value.
if ( !fileOpened )
{
openFileDialog1->InitialDirectory = folderBrowserDialog1->SelectedPath;
openFileDialog1->FileName = nullptr;
}
// Display the openFile Dialog.
System::Windows::Forms::DialogResult result = openFileDialog1->ShowDialog();
// OK button was pressed.
if ( result == ::DialogResult::OK )
{
openFileName = openFileDialog1->FileName;
try
{
// Output the requested file in richTextBox1.
Stream^ s = openFileDialog1->OpenFile();
richTextBox1->LoadFile( s, RichTextBoxStreamType::RichText );
s->Close();
fileOpened = true;
}
catch ( Exception^ exp )
{
MessageBox::Show( String::Concat( "An error occurred while attempting to load the file. The error is: ", System::Environment::NewLine, exp, System::Environment::NewLine ) );
fileOpened = false;
}
Invalidate();
closeMenuItem->Enabled = fileOpened;
}
// Cancel button was pressed.
else
// Cancel button was pressed.
if ( result == ::DialogResult::Cancel )
{
return;
}
}
// Close the current file.
void closeMenuItem_Click( Object^ /*sender*/, System::EventArgs^ /*e*/ )
{
richTextBox1->Text = "";
fileOpened = false;
closeMenuItem->Enabled = false;
}
// Bring up a dialog to chose a folder path in which to open/save a file.
void folderMenuItem_Click( Object^ /*sender*/, System::EventArgs^ /*e*/ )
{
// Show the FolderBrowserDialog.
System::Windows::Forms::DialogResult result = folderBrowserDialog1->ShowDialog();
if ( result == ::DialogResult::OK )
{
folderName = folderBrowserDialog1->SelectedPath;
if ( !fileOpened )
{
// No file is opened, bring up openFileDialog in selected path.
openFileDialog1->InitialDirectory = folderName;
openFileDialog1->FileName = nullptr;
openMenuItem->PerformClick();
}
}
}
};
// The main entry point for the application.
int main()
{
Application::Run( gcnew FolderBrowserDialogExampleForm );
}
// The following example displays an application that provides the ability to
// open rich text files (rtf) into the RichTextBox. The example demonstrates
// using the FolderBrowserDialog to set the default directory for opening files.
// The OpenFileDialog class is used to open the file.
using System;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using System.IO;
public class FolderBrowserDialogExampleForm : System.Windows.Forms.Form
{
private FolderBrowserDialog folderBrowserDialog1;
private OpenFileDialog openFileDialog1;
private RichTextBox richTextBox1;
private MenuStrip mainMenu1;
private ToolStripMenuItem fileMenuItem, openMenuItem;
private ToolStripMenuItem folderMenuItem, closeMenuItem;
private string openFileName, folderName;
private bool fileOpened = false;
// The main entry point for the application.
[STAThreadAttribute]
static void Main()
{
Application.Run(new FolderBrowserDialogExampleForm());
}
// Constructor.
public FolderBrowserDialogExampleForm()
{
this.mainMenu1 = new MenuStrip();
this.fileMenuItem = new ToolStripMenuItem();
this.openMenuItem = new ToolStripMenuItem();
this.folderMenuItem = new ToolStripMenuItem();
this.closeMenuItem = new ToolStripMenuItem();
this.openFileDialog1 = new OpenFileDialog();
this.folderBrowserDialog1 = new FolderBrowserDialog();
this.richTextBox1 = new RichTextBox();
this.mainMenu1.Items.Add(this.fileMenuItem);
this.fileMenuItem.Text = "File";
this.fileMenuItem.DropDownItems.AddRange(
new ToolStripItem[] {
this.openMenuItem,
this.closeMenuItem,
this.folderMenuItem
}
);
this.openMenuItem.Text = "Open...";
this.openMenuItem.Click += new EventHandler(this.openMenuItem_Click);
this.folderMenuItem.Text = "Select Directory...";
this.folderMenuItem.Click += new EventHandler(this.folderMenuItem_Click);
this.closeMenuItem.Text = "Close";
this.closeMenuItem.Click += new EventHandler(this.closeMenuItem_Click);
this.closeMenuItem.Enabled = false;
this.openFileDialog1.DefaultExt = "rtf";
this.openFileDialog1.Filter = "rtf files (*.rtf)|*.rtf";
// Set the help text description for the FolderBrowserDialog.
this.folderBrowserDialog1.Description =
"Select the directory that you want to use as the default.";
// Do not allow the user to create new files via the FolderBrowserDialog.
this.folderBrowserDialog1.ShowNewFolderButton = false;
// Default to the My Documents folder.
this.folderBrowserDialog1.RootFolder = Environment.SpecialFolder.Personal;
this.richTextBox1.AcceptsTab = true;
this.richTextBox1.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(8, 40);
this.richTextBox1.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(280, 312);
this.richTextBox1.Anchor = (
AnchorStyles.Top |
AnchorStyles.Left |
AnchorStyles.Bottom |
AnchorStyles.Right
);
this.ClientSize = new System.Drawing.Size(296, 360);
this.Controls.Add(this.mainMenu1);
this.Controls.Add(this.richTextBox1);
this.MainMenuStrip = this.mainMenu1;
this.Text = "RTF Document Browser";
}
// Bring up a dialog to open a file.
private void openMenuItem_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
// If a file is not opened, then set the initial directory to the
// FolderBrowserDialog.SelectedPath value.
if (!fileOpened) {
openFileDialog1.InitialDirectory = folderBrowserDialog1.SelectedPath;
openFileDialog1.FileName = null;
}
// Display the openFile dialog.
DialogResult result = openFileDialog1.ShowDialog();
// OK button was pressed.
if (result == DialogResult.OK)
{
openFileName = openFileDialog1.FileName;
try
{
// Output the requested file in richTextBox1.
Stream s = openFileDialog1.OpenFile();
richTextBox1.LoadFile(s, RichTextBoxStreamType.RichText);
s.Close();
fileOpened = true;
}
catch (Exception exp)
{
MessageBox.Show("An error occurred while attempting to load the file. The error is:"
+ System.Environment.NewLine + exp.ToString() + System.Environment.NewLine);
fileOpened = false;
}
Invalidate();
closeMenuItem.Enabled = fileOpened;
}
// Cancel button was pressed.
else if (result == DialogResult.Cancel)
{
return;
}
}
// Close the current file.
private void closeMenuItem_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
richTextBox1.Text = "";
fileOpened = false;
closeMenuItem.Enabled = false;
}
// Bring up a dialog to choose a folder path in which to open or save a file.
private void folderMenuItem_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
// Show the FolderBrowserDialog.
DialogResult result = folderBrowserDialog1.ShowDialog();
if (result == DialogResult.OK)
{
folderName = folderBrowserDialog1.SelectedPath;
if (!fileOpened)
{
// No file is opened, bring up openFileDialog in selected path.
openFileDialog1.InitialDirectory = folderName;
openFileDialog1.FileName = null;
openMenuItem.PerformClick();
}
}
}
}
' The following example displays an application that provides the ability to
' open rich text files (rtf) into the RichTextBox. The example demonstrates
' using the FolderBrowserDialog to set the default directory for opening files.
' The OpenFileDialog class is used to open the file.
Imports System.Drawing
Imports System.Windows.Forms
Imports System.IO
Public Class FolderBrowserDialogExampleForm
Inherits Form
Private folderBrowserDialog1 As FolderBrowserDialog
Private openFileDialog1 As OpenFileDialog
Private richTextBox1 As RichTextBox
Private mainMenu1 As MainMenu
Private fileMenuItem As MenuItem
Private WithEvents folderMenuItem As MenuItem, _
closeMenuItem As MenuItem, _
openMenuItem As MenuItem
Private openFileName As String, folderName As String
Private fileOpened As Boolean = False
Public Sub New()
Me.mainMenu1 = New System.Windows.Forms.MainMenu()
Me.fileMenuItem = New System.Windows.Forms.MenuItem()
Me.openMenuItem = New System.Windows.Forms.MenuItem()
Me.folderMenuItem = New System.Windows.Forms.MenuItem()
Me.closeMenuItem = New System.Windows.Forms.MenuItem()
Me.openFileDialog1 = New System.Windows.Forms.OpenFileDialog()
Me.folderBrowserDialog1 = New System.Windows.Forms.FolderBrowserDialog()
Me.richTextBox1 = New System.Windows.Forms.RichTextBox()
Me.mainMenu1.MenuItems.Add(Me.fileMenuItem)
Me.fileMenuItem.MenuItems.AddRange( _
New System.Windows.Forms.MenuItem() {Me.openMenuItem, _
Me.closeMenuItem, _
Me.folderMenuItem})
Me.fileMenuItem.Text = "File"
Me.openMenuItem.Text = "Open..."
Me.folderMenuItem.Text = "Select Directory..."
Me.closeMenuItem.Text = "Close"
Me.closeMenuItem.Enabled = False
Me.openFileDialog1.DefaultExt = "rtf"
Me.openFileDialog1.Filter = "rtf files (*.rtf)|*.rtf"
' Set the Help text description for the FolderBrowserDialog.
Me.folderBrowserDialog1.Description = _
"Select the directory that you want to use As the default."
' Do not allow the user to create New files via the FolderBrowserDialog.
Me.folderBrowserDialog1.ShowNewFolderButton = False
' Default to the My Documents folder.
Me.folderBrowserDialog1.RootFolder = Environment.SpecialFolder.Personal
Me.richTextBox1.AcceptsTab = True
Me.richTextBox1.Location = New System.Drawing.Point(8, 8)
Me.richTextBox1.Size = New System.Drawing.Size(280, 344)
Me.richTextBox1.Anchor = AnchorStyles.Top Or AnchorStyles.Left Or _
AnchorStyles.Bottom Or AnchorStyles.Right
Me.ClientSize = New System.Drawing.Size(296, 360)
Me.Controls.Add(Me.richTextBox1)
Me.Menu = Me.mainMenu1
Me.Text = "RTF Document Browser"
End Sub
<STAThread()> _
Shared Sub Main()
Application.Run(New FolderBrowserDialogExampleForm())
End Sub
' Bring up a dialog to open a file.
Private Sub openMenuItem_Click(sender As object, e As System.EventArgs) _
Handles openMenuItem.Click
' If a file is not opened, then set the initial directory to the
' FolderBrowserDialog.SelectedPath value.
If (not fileOpened) Then
openFileDialog1.InitialDirectory = folderBrowserDialog1.SelectedPath
openFileDialog1.FileName = nothing
End If
' Display the openFile dialog.
Dim result As DialogResult = openFileDialog1.ShowDialog()
' OK button was pressed.
If (result = DialogResult.OK) Then
openFileName = openFileDialog1.FileName
Try
' Output the requested file in richTextBox1.
Dim s As Stream = openFileDialog1.OpenFile()
richTextBox1.LoadFile(s, RichTextBoxStreamType.RichText)
s.Close()
fileOpened = True
Catch exp As Exception
MessageBox.Show("An error occurred while attempting to load the file. The error is:" _
+ System.Environment.NewLine + exp.ToString() + System.Environment.NewLine)
fileOpened = False
End Try
Invalidate()
closeMenuItem.Enabled = fileOpened
' Cancel button was pressed.
ElseIf (result = DialogResult.Cancel) Then
return
End If
End Sub
' Close the current file.
Private Sub closeMenuItem_Click(sender As object, e As System.EventArgs) _
Handles closeMenuItem.Click
richTextBox1.Text = ""
fileOpened = False
closeMenuItem.Enabled = False
End Sub
' Bring up a dialog to chose a folder path in which to open or save a file.
Private Sub folderMenuItem_Click(sender As object, e As System.EventArgs) _
Handles folderMenuItem.Click
' Show the FolderBrowserDialog.
Dim result As DialogResult = folderBrowserDialog1.ShowDialog()
If ( result = DialogResult.OK ) Then
folderName = folderBrowserDialog1.SelectedPath
If (not fileOpened) Then
' No file is opened, bring up openFileDialog in selected path.
openFileDialog1.InitialDirectory = folderName
openFileDialog1.FileName = nothing
openMenuItem.PerformClick()
End If
End If
End Sub
End Class
Remarks
This class provides a way to prompt the user to browse, create, and eventually select a folder. Use this class when you only want to allow the user to select folders, not files. Browsing of the folders is done through a tree control. In .NET Core 3.1 and later versions, this class uses the modernized file system browser window. Only folders from the file system can be selected; virtual folders cannot.
Typically, after creating a new FolderBrowserDialog, you set the RootFolder to the location from which to start browsing. Optionally, you can set the SelectedPath to an absolute path of a subfolder of RootFolder that will initially be selected. You can also optionally set the Description property to provide additional instructions to the user. Finally, call the ShowDialog method to display the dialog box to the user. When the dialog box is closed and the dialog box result from ShowDialog is DialogResult.OK, the SelectedPath will be a string containing the path to the selected folder.
You can use the ShowNewFolderButton property to control if the user is able to create new folders with the New Folder button.
FolderBrowserDialog is a modal dialog box; therefore, when shown, it blocks the rest of the application until the user has chosen a folder. When a dialog box is displayed modally, no input (keyboard or mouse click) can occur except to objects on the dialog box. The program must hide or close the dialog box (usually in response to some user action) before input to the calling program can occur.
Constructors
| FolderBrowserDialog() |
Initializes a new instance of the FolderBrowserDialog class. |
Properties
| AddToRecent |
Gets or sets a value indicating whether the dialog box adds the folder being selected to the recent list. |
| AutoUpgradeEnabled |
Gets or sets a value that indicates whether the dialog will be automatically upgraded to enable new features. |
| CanRaiseEvents |
Gets a value indicating whether the component can raise an event. (Inherited from Component) |
| ClientGuid |
Gets or sets the GUID to associate with this dialog state. Typically, state such as the last visited folder and the position and size of the dialog is persisted based on the name of the executable file. By specifying a GUID, an application can have different persisted states for different versions of the dialog within the same application (for example, an import dialog and an open dialog). This functionality is not available if an application is not using visual styles or if AutoUpgradeEnabled is set to |
| Container |
Gets the IContainer that contains the Component. (Inherited from Component) |
| Description |
Gets or sets the descriptive text displayed above the dialog box. |
| DesignMode |
Gets a value that indicates whether the Component is currently in design mode. (Inherited from Component) |
| Events |
Gets the list of event handlers that are attached to this Component. (Inherited from Component) |
| InitialDirectory |
Gets or sets the initial directory displayed by the folder browser dialog. |
| Multiselect |
Gets or sets a value indicating whether the dialog box allows multiple folders to be selected. |
| OkRequiresInteraction |
Gets or sets a value indicating whether the OK button of the dialog box is disabled until the user navigates the view or edits the filename (if applicable). |
| RootFolder |
Gets or sets the root folder where the browsing starts from. |
| SelectedPath |
Gets or sets the path selected by the user. |
| SelectedPaths |
Gets the paths of all selected folders in the dialog box. |
| ShowHiddenFiles |
Gets or sets a value indicating whether the dialog box displays hidden and system files. |
| ShowNewFolderButton |
Gets or sets a value indicating whether the New Folder button appears in the folder browser dialog box. |
| ShowPinnedPlaces |
Gets or sets a value indicating whether the items shown by default in the view's navigation pane are shown. |
| Site |
Gets or sets the ISite of the Component. (Inherited from Component) |
| Tag |
Gets or sets an object that contains data about the control. (Inherited from CommonDialog) |
| UseDescriptionForTitle |
Gets or sets a value that indicates whether to use the value of the Description property as the dialog title for Vista style dialogs. This property has no effect on old style dialogs. |
Methods
| CreateObjRef(Type) |
Creates an object that contains all the relevant information required to generate a proxy used to communicate with a remote object. (Inherited from MarshalByRefObject) |
| Dispose() |
Releases all resources used by the Component. (Inherited from Component) |
| Dispose(Boolean) |
Releases the unmanaged resources used by the Component and optionally releases the managed resources. (Inherited from Component) |
| Equals(Object) |
Determines whether the specified object is equal to the current object. (Inherited from Object) |
| GetHashCode() |
Serves as the default hash function. (Inherited from Object) |
| GetLifetimeService() |
Obsolete.
Retrieves the current lifetime service object that controls the lifetime policy for this instance. (Inherited from MarshalByRefObject) |
| GetService(Type) |
Returns an object that represents a service provided by the Component or by its Container. (Inherited from Component) |
| GetType() |
Gets the Type of the current instance. (Inherited from Object) |
| HookProc(IntPtr, Int32, IntPtr, IntPtr) |
Defines the common dialog box hook procedure that is overridden to add specific functionality to a common dialog box. (Inherited from CommonDialog) |
| InitializeLifetimeService() |
Obsolete.
Obtains a lifetime service object to control the lifetime policy for this instance. (Inherited from MarshalByRefObject) |
| MemberwiseClone() |
Creates a shallow copy of the current Object. (Inherited from Object) |
| MemberwiseClone(Boolean) |
Creates a shallow copy of the current MarshalByRefObject object. (Inherited from MarshalByRefObject) |
| OnHelpRequest(EventArgs) |
Raises the HelpRequest event. (Inherited from CommonDialog) |
| OwnerWndProc(IntPtr, Int32, IntPtr, IntPtr) |
Defines the owner window procedure that is overridden to add specific functionality to a common dialog box. (Inherited from CommonDialog) |
| Reset() |
Resets properties to their default values. |
| RunDialog(IntPtr) |
When overridden in a derived class, specifies a common dialog box. (Inherited from CommonDialog) |
| ShowDialog() |
Runs a common dialog box with a default owner. (Inherited from CommonDialog) |
| ShowDialog(IWin32Window) |
Runs a common dialog box with the specified owner. (Inherited from CommonDialog) |
| ToString() |
Returns a String containing the name of the Component, if any. This method should not be overridden. (Inherited from Component) |
Events
| Disposed |
Occurs when the component is disposed by a call to the Dispose() method. (Inherited from Component) |
| HelpRequest |
Occurs when the user clicks the Help button on the dialog box. |
