FileSystemObject Folder.Delete returns "Path not found" for really long paths

I have this code which i run with different values for sPath

Code:

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Dim oFSO As new Scripting.FileSystemObject
Dim oFolder As Scripting.Folder
Set oFolder = oFSO.GetFolder(sPath)
Call oFolder.Delete(True)

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This works well until it ran on several paths...when I get the following error
Error 76, "Path not found"

I have obviously checked and the paths do exist, and i do have permissions to read/delete them

I believe that the command tries to delete the folder, but firsts tries to delete the file under it, and this file has a absolute path which is over 256 characters long, which seams to exceed some limit in windows and prevents me from deleting the folder.

Any Ideas how I can delete the directory (recursively) without getting this problem?

Maybe converting it to its short name first? This will give it an 8/11 DOS notation, which should work for you.

Code:

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Option Explicit

Private Declare Function GetShortPathName Lib "kernel32" Alias "GetShortPathNameA" (ByVal lpszLongPath As String, ByVal lpszShortPath As String, ByVal lBuffer As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function GetFullPathName Lib "kernel32" Alias "GetFullPathNameA" (ByVal lpFileName As String, ByVal nBufferLength As Long, ByVal lpBuffer As String, ByVal lpFilePart As String) As Long

Public Function GetShortPath(strFileName As String) As String
    'KPD-Team 1999
    'URL: http://www.allapi.net/
    'E-Mail: KPDTeam@Allapi.net
    Dim lngRes As Long, strPath As String
    'Create a buffer
    strPath = String$(165, 0)
    'retrieve the short pathname
    lngRes = GetShortPathName(strFileName, strPath, 164)
    'remove all unnecessary chr$(0)'s
    GetShortPath = Left$(strPath, lngRes)
End Function

Function GetFullPath() As String
    'KPD-Team 2000
    'URL: http://www.allapi.net/
    'E-Mail: KPDTeam@Allapi.net
    Dim Buffer As String, Ret As Long
    'create a buffer
    Buffer = Space(255)
    'copy the current directory to the buffer and append 'myfile.ext'
    Ret = GetFullPathName("Project1.vbp", 255, Buffer, "")
    'remove the unnecessary chr$(0)'s
    GetFullPath = Left(Buffer, Ret)
End Function
   
Private Sub Form_Load()
  Dim snm$, lnm$
  snm = GetShortPath("D:\Visual Basic Samples\G\GetShortPath\")
  Debug.Print snm
  lnm = GetFullPath
  Debug.Print lnm
End Sub

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Have you tried to pass the Short-pathname to the function..

Here is a quick function to get the short pathname using a Windows API..

Code:

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Declare Function GetShortPathName Lib "kernel32" Alias "GetShortPathNameA" (ByVal lpszLongPath As String, ByVal
 
lpszShortPath As String, ByVal cchBuffer As Long) As Long
Public Function GetShortPath(ByVal strLongPath As String) As String
        Dim sLongPath  As String
        Dim sShortPath As String
        Dim lPathLen  As Long
        Dim lLen          As Long
       
        sShortPath = Space$(255)
        lLen = Len(sShortPath)
        lPathLen = GetShortPathName(strLongPath, sShortPath, lLen)
        GetShortPath = Left$(sShortPath, lPathLen)
       
End Function

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Hmm you beat me to it David...

Good one ;)

Thanks for your quick replies, however they do not solve my problem as,
I have tried ShortPath, but it still does not work as the paths of the files under the folder i am trying to delete push it back over 256....

Even if I were to write a recurssive delete function and use ShortPaths all the way, it is still a potential to hit the 256 character limit as it may be many many folders deep

There may be a 255 character limit to Windows filenames, though. One of the folders may not be a valid Windows folder, so I don't know if the shortname will work. Let us know!

Hmm, interesting.

The problem comes from that the folder is on a network drive.
They were created on a share, which was shallow.
However I need to access them from a lower level share, and this pushes the paths over the 256 limit.
Some of the subfolders are not accessible from this share...and are in this context as you say Not "valid Windows folders".

Something you could try to do is, with the root path you will start from (or each lowest level folder), shell a SUBST (DOS) command to specify that path as it's own drive, then use the substitute drive in the FSO and go from there.

Code:

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Associates a path with a drive letter.

SUBST [drive1: [drive2:]path]
SUBST drive1: /D

  drive1:        Specifies a virtual drive to which you want to assign a path.
  [drive2:]path  Specifies a physical drive and path you want to assign to
                a virtual drive.
  /D            Deletes a substituted (virtual) drive.

Type SUBST with no parameters to display a list of current virtual drives.

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Using SUBST allows you to bypass Windows internal limitations for file name and folder path lengths, and SUBST works on shared network folders as well.

That looks like it might work..
I will try it tomorrow and let you know the result
Thanks

Could just map them, also. As in NET USE /?.

Do you have error messages?, like :
Path too long
Error cannot delete file: cannot read from source file or disk
Cannot delete file: Access is denied
There has been a sharing violation.
Cannot delete file or folder The file name you specified is not valid or too long. Specify a different file name.
The source or destination file may be in use.
The file is in use by another program or user.
Error Deleting File or Folder
Make sure the disk is not full or write-protected and that the file is not currently in use.
Error Copying File or Folder.
Cannot remove folder.
The filename or extension is too long.
Path too deep.
Destination Path Too Long.
Could not find this item.
Filename is not valid.
The file could not be accessed.
Windows Delete Path Too Long
Source Path Too Long Delete
The path you entered, is too long. Enter a shorter path.
File Name could not be found. Check the spelling of the filename, and verify that the file location is correct.

You may used Long Path Tool (which I currently used). It is easy to used and very suitable to such kind of problem:)


you can find this one at http://longpathtool.com/