FileProperties class

A read-only collection of Windows shell properties for a single file, returned by FilePropertyExplorer.

FileProperties is a Virtual-COM object that provides indexed access to the detailed file properties the operating system exposes for the opened file, commonly called shell property handlers. Each entry in the collection is a FileProperty object with the system name, localized name, unique property ID, and current value of one shell property. Common examples include the duration of an audio file such as an MP3 and the EXIF properties of a JPEG image.

Instances are not constructed directly. Call FilePropertyExplorer.OpenFile or FilePropertyExplorer.BrowseAndOpenFile to obtain a FileProperties collection.

Dim Props As FileProperties
Set Props = FilePropertyExplorer.OpenFile("C:\Music\track.mp3")

Dim i As Long
For i = 0 To Props.Count - 1
    Dim Prop As FileProperty
    Set Prop = Props.Item(i)
    Debug.Print Prop.NameDesc & " = " & Prop.ValueDesc
Next i

Properties
Example
See Also

Properties

Count

Returns the number of shell properties in the collection. Long. Read-only.

Syntax: object.Count

The count is the number of properties the shell exposes for the opened file. Different file types expose different property sets.

FilePath

Returns the full file path of the file that was opened. String. Read-only.

Syntax: object.FilePath

The value is the full path of the file passed to FilePropertyExplorer.OpenFile. When a collection is obtained through FilePropertyExplorer.BrowseAndOpenFile, it is the path of the file the user selected in the dialog.

Item

Returns the FileProperty object at the given position, name, or ID in the collection.

Syntax: object.Item ( IndexOrNameOrID ) As FileProperty

IndexOrNameOrID

required A Variant that identifies the property to retrieve. Accepted forms:

An integer index from 0 to Count - 1.
A String matching FileProperty.Name (the system identity name, e.g. "System.Media.Duration").
A String matching FileProperty.ID (the unique property identifier).

Dim Props As FileProperties
Set Props = FilePropertyExplorer.OpenFile("C:\Music\track.mp3")

' By zero-based index:
Dim Prop As FileProperty
Set Prop = Props.Item(0)

' By system name:
Set Prop = Props.Item("System.Media.Duration")

VCOMObject

Holds the native-code COM object created internally by the Virtual-COM library. Object. For internal use only.

Warning

Do not read, assign, or pass VCOMObject to any function. The package marks it as for internal use only, and Count, FilePath and Item forward their calls to it.

Example

This example opens the file at the given path and prints its path, its property count and all its shell properties to the Debug console.

Sub PrintShellProps(FilePath As String)
    Dim Props As FileProperties
    Set Props = FilePropertyExplorer.OpenFile(FilePath)

    Debug.Print "File: " & Props.FilePath
    Debug.Print "Properties: " & Props.Count

    Dim i As Long
    For i = 0 To Props.Count - 1
        Dim Prop As FileProperty
        Set Prop = Props.Item(i)
        Debug.Print Prop.NameDesc & " (" & Prop.Name & ")" & " = " & Prop.ValueDesc
    Next i
End Sub