File to Clipboard for pasting file into other folder

[Mike Wilson]

I'm sure this has been asked before but I can't find it. Using Windows File Explorer, after navigating to the file you seek, you can select the file, right mouse click, and copy the file to the clipboard. This can be done with ui_get_file(). However, I am trying to reduce the user having to execute navigating and searching for files. I know of neither a way to get Alpha to show a single specific file in a folder having many files, nor of xbasic code to get a file to the clipboard making available the file to be pasted into a folder location of the users choice.

I am somewhat left with having to have a temp folder used to copy specific files into, have ui_get_file() to open that temp folder which will have few files for the user to have to select from, have the user perform right mouse click and copy, and then delete the temp folder file selected. Not a bad option, but I though maybe there is something more direct.

[Ted Giles]

Sorry Mike, you've lost me somewhere.
Do you know the file name before the search?
Can you construct thefile name from data in Alpha?
Are the file names constructed to relate to a record in AS?

I had this problem with images. Needed to associate an image with a specific item.
The item had a PK of, say 1234567+trailer+09 composed of vehicle, vehicle type,vehiclectype number
The image had a filename of 1234567trailer09.jpg, in the Images folder.
The file loookup was specific and went straight to the image file.

Why are you wanting to copy the file location?
Could you use a Hyperlink field?

[Mike Wilson]

Hi Ted,
Yes the complete file path and file name is known. Example:
ROOT FOLDER: C:\Art\Assets\Assets_repository\
FILE: C:\Art\Assets\Assets_repository\AST.00013_Coors Light Giant Kickoff.AI

With this, I would like foremost to be able to have this file copied directly to the the Clipboard to be able to paste the file the desktop. I see no method to do this directly with xbasic.
Unable to get the file directly put to the Clipboard, I believe I have to open the file navigator and right mouse click on the file to get the file onto the Clipboard.
I can use ui_get_file() to open the folder where the file is located, but the folder has 1000 files and navigating to the exact file is cumbersome. I don't see a way to get to the exact file using ui_get_file to have only that exact file presented to right click and copy it to the Clipboard. So

1- Is there a method to directly get the file to the Clipboard without having to use ui_get file()....
2. Is there a syntax/method to get ui_get_file() to present only the exact file and not the contents of all the files in the root folder and having to navigate to the file.

And no, using file.copy() is not an option, because I am using the scenario of pasting to the desktop as an example. Where the file is to be pasted is dynamic, not predetermied, and will be the choice of the user at the moment.

[Ted Giles]

I am probably being a bit thick here, but when you say "the file", what do you need to do with it?
Do you want the whole file to go into a Memo Field, to create a link so that if the user can click and display the file content or what?
Copying it would mean 2 versions of the file, so is that what you are after?

EDIT
What about Clipboard.Set_Data() ?
Then, you could test for the presence of the file using File.Exists()

So, a message if there is no file to find, or a Clipboard path with the file created in it as you have the construction already?

[Elke]

I know of no way to copy a file unless the location is known. However, you can filter the ui_get_file() with:
dim prmpt_default as c
dim prmpt_title as c
dim prmpt_filter as c
dim prmpt_flag as c
dim vFileName as c
prmpt_default = "C:\Art\Assets\Assets_repository"+chr(92)
vFileName = "AST.00013_Coors Light Giant Kickoff"
prmpt_title = "Select file"
prmpt_filter = "all("+ vFileName +"*.*)"
vscan_list = ui_get_file(a5_eval_expression(prmpt_title),prmpt_filter,prmpt_default)

[Tom Cone Jr]

Mike, it seems to me that it might be possible to:
- use File methods to write the file to a blob variable
- use the ui_browse_for_folder function to enable the user to select the destination
- prompt the user for a new filename, possibly suggesting a default
- use File or Blob methods to create the new file from the variable

In other words you might not have to use clipboard at all.

[Tom Henkel]

And no, using file.copy() is not an option, because I am using the scenario of pasting to the desktop as an example. Where the file is to be pasted is dynamic, not predetermied, and will be the choice of the user at the moment.

But, if you allow the user to select the file, then you would have the filename assigned to a variable already. If you assign a new variable to the stripped filename with the new path, then it should just be file.copy(orig_filename, new_filename).

Am I missing something?

Tom

[Mike Wilson]

Hi all,
Our users access our application on our network via RDP. When in the application, if a user navigates to a file and then uses right click and copies the file, the file is on the clipboard. Then the user navigates/toggles to their personal computer desktop or any place in their personal computer off the network, then they can right click and paste the file to the place they want the file to be copied to in a location off the network in their personal computer. I don't know how to have it for alpha on the network to direct the file copy to a location off the network. Using the clipboard is the only way I know of to make that happen between the different spaces. The address of C:\transfer when on the network will not copy the file to c:\transfer on the users personal computer.

[Finian Lennon]

Are the local computers visible as shared resources on the server? If the local machines were to be set up to share "C:\Transfer" as "AlphaTransfer" with "everyone" then that folder could, theoretically, be read by Alpha from the server. The IT people might not like that idea. You'd need to get the logged-in machine name for each user on the server. That was pretty easy up through Server 2012-R2 (you can run a batch file from Alpha with just the "SET" command - redirect the command output to a file, then parse the file for the "CLIENTNAME" value) but I don't know how you would do it for later server versions. (I don't think Alpha has a method for this.)

If that can be done then you could, again theoretically, use network addressing in a file.copy() command. Something like (don't trust my syntax!)
infile = "\\ServerName\FolderWithFile\filename"
outfile = "\\LocalMachineName\AlphaTransfer\filename"
file.copy(infile,outfile)

Might be worth a try.

[Mike Wilson]

Hi Finian,
Hum... Something to think about, and look into, for sure. Thank you.

[MoGrace]

Hi Mike,
Did you ever get this to work?

[Mike Wilson]

No I haven't. Still working on it. Will report back if and when I get some conclusions.