GETFILE - Get properties of local file(s)

Syntax:	GETFILE	[ file name ] [ /options ]
Arguments:	[ file name ]	Variable or string defining a file or path name to look for; wildcard characters allowed; if no path is defined
Options:	/incldirs	Search sub-folders for files matching the [ file name ] argument.
	/newest	Return the one absolute newest file in the directory tree.
	/oldest	Return the one absolute oldest file in the directory tree.
	/skip_changing	Ignore any file if file size is not stable for one second.
	/skip_changing_seconds=nn	Ignore any file if the size is not stable for the specified number of seconds. Values between 1 and 60 are allowed.
	/timeout=nn	Time-out in seconds to wait for presence of the file, if the timeout elapses before the file is found $ERROR_WAIT_TIMED_OUT is returned. If this option is omitted Robo-FTP looks for the file and immediately returns $ERROR_NO_FILE_FOUND if no match is found.

If you need to download a file please see the Help page for the RCVFILE script command.

Robo-FTP offers numerous commands for monitoring for files and iterating over directory structures on local and remote servers. There is significant overlap in capabilities between these commands, but there are also important differences that often make one command better suited to a particular task than the others. Please see the chapter Monitoring for Files and Iterating over Directory Structures for a description of these commands and recommendations for which commands to use in a particular situation.

This script command searches the current local directory for the file specified in the [ file name ] argument. If a matching file is found, a set of internal variables is populated which may then be used for various tasks like checking the status of a specific file, processing a group of files with names matching a wildcard pattern or executing a set of commands only when certain conditions exists. For example, a script might use the date and size variables to choose which files in a folder should be transferred, deleted or ignored.

When a match is found, the file name is saved in the %nextfile variable; the %nextpath variable contains the full local path and filename; the %nextfolder variable contains the path without the filename; the date and time of the file are saved in the %nextfiledate, %nextfiledatetime, and %nextfiletime variables; and the size of the file, in bytes, is saved in the %nextfilesize variable.

The /skip_changing and /skip_changing_seconds options are useful when there is a chance that a file being processed by Robo-FTP is also being modified by some other process.

GETFILE ignores flies that are exclusively locked by other applications or that are inaccessible due to security permissions. This command also ignores all files with the "hidden" or "system" file system attribute. You can use the DOS attrib.exe program to change these attributes. GETFILE will not ignore a hidden file if you specify that file's name explicitly.

This command returns $ERROR_NO_FILE_FOUND when no file matches the [ file name ] argument. The /timeout option can be used to wait for the existence of an expected file. This is accomplished by periodically polling the folder during the waiting period. If the file does not appear before the timeout expires $ERROR_WAIT_TIMED_OUT is returned.

Use the WORKINGDIR command to change the current directory before calling GETFILE if the file you want to find in not in the current directory or, alternatively, the /incldirs option may be used to find files in any subdirectory of the current directory.

This command is functionally equivalent to the GETNEXTFILE script command except for two important differences. The first difference between GETNEXTFILE and GETFILE is their behavior when called repetitively with a wildcard character in the [ file name ] argument. In this situation, each subsequent call to GETFILE automatically returns the next file in the list of all files matching the wildcard pattern. If there are three files matching the pattern, the first three calls to GETFILE each return a different set of internal variable values and the fourth call results in a "No File Found" error.

The GETREWIND command may be used to start over at the top of the list. In contrast, when GETNEXFILE is called repetitively with a wildcard character in the [file name] argument it returns the same set of values every time unless the /next option is specified.

Suppose a file named "ReadMe.txt" exists in the current local directory. In the following example, the first line will successfully populate %nextfile and the other internal variables but the second line will cause a "No File Found" error.

The second line returns an error because subsequent calls to GETFILE always return the next matching file in the list of files matching the [ file name ] argument. Since there can never be two files in the same folder with the same name, there can never be a next "ReadMe.txt" file. Because of this quirk it is safer to use GETNEXTFILE if you only need to check the existence, timestamp, or size of a single file with a known filename.

Do not use the GETFILE command to construct a loop that moves or deletes files; such loops may be built using GETNEXTFILE without the /next option. Use the DIFF command instead of either GETFILE or GETNEXTFILE if your project requirements include processing dynamic folders where files may be added, renamed, moved or deleted during processing.

Use of the /newest or /oldest options negates the auto-incrementing next behavior of the GETFILE command. When either of these options is used, Robo-FTP always returns the newest or oldest file respectively. This behavior requires checking the date of every file in the folder so combining either option with the /skip_changing or /skip_changing_seconds option will result in longer script execution times.

The GETREWIND command may be used to start over at the top of the list of files and folders that match the wildcard pattern.

The second difference between GETFILE and GETNEXTFILE involves the /incldirs option. If GETFILE is used with the /incldirs option it searches the current local directory and any subdirectories. If a file matching the [ file name ] argument is found then %nextfile, %nextfolder and all the other internal variable values are populated as discussed above. If GETNEXTFILE is used with the /incldirs option it searches only the current local directory. If a matching file name is found then the %nextfile variable is populated and the %nextfolder variable is empty; but if a sub-folder name matches the [ file name ] argument then the %nextfolder variable is populated and the %nextfile variable is empty.

To understand this second difference, suppose the current local directory contains a file named one.txt and a sub-folder named /sub and further suppose that sub-folder contains a file named two.txt and its own sub-folder named /deep which contains a file named three.txt as follows:

The chart below shows the results of calling GETFILE with various arguments and options. (Assuming GETREWIND is executed between calls to GETFILE.)

Command syntax	Error	%nextfile	%nextfolder
GETFILE "one.txt"	No	one.txt	<working>
GETFILE "sub" /incldirs	Yes	empty	emtpy
GETFILE "two.txt" /incldirs	No	two.txt	<working>\sub
GETFILE "deep" /incldirs	Yes	empty	empty
GETFILE "three.txt" /incldirs	No	three.txt	<working>\sub\deep

Command syntax	Error	%nextfile	%nextfolder
GETNEXTFILE "one.txt"	No	one.txt	empty
GETNEXTFILE "sub" /incldirs	No	empty	sub
GETNEXTFILE "two.txt" /incldirs	Yes	empty	empty
GETNEXTFILE "deep" /incldirs	Yes	empty	empty
GETNEXTFILE "three.txt" /incldirs	Yes	empty	empty

Consider the following example where GETFILE uses the "*" wildcard to match all the files in the current directory and then upload each of them.

The last modified date and time of files found with GETFILE are saved to three internal variables named %nextfiledate, %nextfiledatetime, and %nextfiletime. Consider the following example that cycles through all files in the current directory and any subdirectories until it finds one created after a specified date.

The following example sets the /timeout option to zero which causes Robo-FTP to wait indefinitely, polling the current local directory periodically until a file with a name matching *.rdy is found. Script execution resumes on the next line when a matching file is found.

If you only need to confirm the existence of a specific local file with a known filename you may wish to use the IFFILE or IFNFILE command instead.

This command returns $ERROR_NO_FILE_FOUND when no file matches the [ file name ] argument. This is not the same error as $ERROR_NO_FILES_FOUND. Please be sure to test for the correct error code.