How to Browse for a Folder

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Introduction

This article presents a no-frills, cut-n-paste solution to the age-old problem of browsing for a folder. There are several classes out here that offer much more customization and a plethora of features, but I'm sure one more example won't hurt.

When to use this solution

The benefit of this approach over some of the others here is that this implementation is a direct wrapper function for SHBrowseForFolder. As such, you can use it in console applications that don't use MFC, such as unit-testing applications that could benefit from not hard-coding an output location for test results.

So, in short, if you're looking for eye candy, check out XFolderDialog or some of the other folder dialogs here. Otherwise, read on.

Using the code

To use this code, you need to include the following standard files:

#include "shlobj.h"
#include <string>

The GetFolder function

Params

• folderpath - A reference to the string that will contain the folder path if successful.
• szCaption - An optional message for the dialog.
• hOwner - An optional handle to the parent window.

Returns

• true if successful, false if cancelled or an error occurs.

bool GetFolder(std::string& folderpath, 
               const char* szCaption = NULL, 
               HWND hOwner = NULL)
{
   bool retVal = false;

   // The BROWSEINFO struct tells the shell 
   // how it should display the dialog.
   BROWSEINFO bi;
   memset(&bi, 0, sizeof(bi));

   bi.ulFlags   = BIF_USENEWUI;
   bi.hwndOwner = hOwner;
   bi.lpszTitle = szCaption;

   // must call this if using BIF_USENEWUI
   ::OleInitialize(NULL);

   // Show the dialog and get the itemIDList for the 
   // selected folder.
   LPITEMIDLIST pIDL = ::SHBrowseForFolder(&bi);

   if(pIDL != NULL)
   {
      // Create a buffer to store the path, then 
      // get the path.
      char buffer[_MAX_PATH] = {'\0'};
      if(::SHGetPathFromIDList(pIDL, buffer) != 0)
      {
         // Set the string value.
         folderpath = buffer;
         retVal = true;
      }

      // free the item id list
      CoTaskMemFree(pIDL);
   }

   ::OleUninitialize();

   return retVal;
}

Conclusion

Well, that's really all there is to it. If this code saves time for even one person out here, then the few minutes spent writing this was well worth it. Enjoy!