GETFILE - Get file from folder structure on local PC

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	Descend into local folder(s) as they are found.
	/newest	Return the one absolute newest file in the directory tree.
	/oldest	Return the one absolute oldest file in the directory tree.
	/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.

This script command checks for (and optionally waits for) the existence of a local file defined by the [ file name ] argument. This command is commonly used either to find a group of files using a wildcard pattern and then process them one at a time or to check the status of a specific file with a known file name. When a matching file is detected a set of internal variable values are populated: 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.

GETFILE ignores "hidden" and "system" files. When no files match the [ file name ] argument GETFILE returns $ERROR_NO_FILE_FOUND. 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 GETFILE and GETNEXTFILE 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 GETNEXTFILE 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.

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.

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 and the other internal variable values are populated as discussed above. In contrast, if GETNEXTFILE is used with the /incldirs option it searches only the current local directory. If a file name matches the [ file name ] argument then the %nextfile variable is populated and the %nextfolder variable is empty. Conversely 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 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.