Member Avatar for dorkwad

Hey,

i'm trying to have 2 browse file dialog boxes, one that allows you to select a file from a folder, and the other folder should allow you to chose the location to copy the file to.

Thanks

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by zakeer.ms

Dani AI

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The quickest fix for the original ask is to let the user pick the source file with an OpenFileDialog and pick a destination folder with a FolderBrowserDialog (that matches the thread title). That complements ’s save-file approach when you actually want a full filename; use FolderBrowserDialog when you want only a folder. The example below shows a safe, non-blocking copy (async), progress reporting, and a simple collision-avoidance strategy so existing files are not overwritten.

' Button click: pick source file, pick target folder, then copy with progress
Private Async Sub BtnCopy_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles BtnCopy.Click
    Using ofd As New OpenFileDialog()
        ofd.Title = "Select source file"
        If ofd.ShowDialog() <> DialogResult.OK Then Return

        Using fbd As New FolderBrowserDialog()
            fbd.Description = "Select destination folder"
            fbd.ShowNewFolderButton = True
            If fbd.ShowDialog() <> DialogResult.OK Then Return

            Dim progress = New Progress(Of Integer)(Sub(p) ProgressBar1.Value = Math.Min(100, p))
            Dim cts = New Threading.CancellationTokenSource()
            Try
                Await CopyFileWithProgressAsync(ofd.FileName, fbd.SelectedPath, progress, cts.Token)
                MessageBox.Show("Copy complete")
            Catch ex As OperationCanceledException
                MessageBox.Show("Copy cancelled")
            Catch ex As Exception
                MessageBox.Show("Copy failed: " & ex.Message)
            End Try
        End Using
    End Using
End Sub

Private Async Function CopyFileWithProgressAsync(sourcePath As String, destFolder As String, progress As IProgress(Of Integer), token As Threading.CancellationToken) As Task
    Dim fileName = System.IO.Path.GetFileName(sourcePath)
    Dim destPath = System.IO.Path.Combine(destFolder, fileName)
    destPath = GetNonConflictingPath(destPath)

    Using src As New System.IO.FileStream(sourcePath, System.IO.FileMode.Open, System.IO.FileAccess.Read, System.IO.FileShare.Read, 81920, useAsync:=True),
          dst As New System.IO.FileStream(destPath, System.IO.FileMode.CreateNew, System.IO.FileAccess.Write, System.IO.FileShare.None, 81920, useAsync:=True)
        Dim buffer(81919) As Byte
        Dim total As Long = 0
        Dim read As Integer
        Do
            read = Await src.ReadAsync(buffer, 0, buffer.Length, token)
            If read = 0 Then Exit Do
            Await dst.WriteAsync(buffer, 0, read, token)
            total += read
            If src.Length > 0 Then progress?.Report(CInt(total * 100L / src.Length))
        Loop
    End Using
End Function

Private Function GetNonConflictingPath(path As String) As String
    If Not System.IO.File.Exists(path) Then Return path
    Dim dir = System.IO.Path.GetDirectoryName(path)
    Dim base = System.IO.Path.GetFileNameWithoutExtension(path)
    Dim ext = System.IO.Path.GetExtension(path)
    Dim i As Integer = 1
    While True
        Dim candidate = System.IO.Path.Combine(dir, String.Format("{0} ({1}){2}", base, i, ext))
        If Not System.IO.File.Exists(candidate) Then Return candidate
        i += 1
    End While
End Function

Notes and troubleshooting

  • This approach avoids freezing the UI (async) and reports progress via IProgress so updates run on the UI thread.
  • Handle common exceptions: UnauthorizedAccessException (permissions), IOException (file locked), and check free space for very large files.
  • FolderBrowserDialog.ShowNewFolderButton = True lets users create a folder on the fly; if you need a more modern folder picker consider platform-specific dialogs or the Windows API Code Pack.
  • This builds on the namespace advice from and the dialog discussion by while specifically using a folder-browser workflow for the destination as requested.

Recommended Answers

All 2 Replies

Member Avatar for G_Waddell

Hey,

i'm trying to have 2 browse file dialog boxes, one that allows you to select a file from a folder, and the other folder should allow you to chose the location to copy the file to.

Thanks

Hi You want to use an OpenFileDialog box for the Selection and a SaveFileDialog box for the destination. Then you copy the source file to the destination:

Private Sub CopyFile()
dim sSource as string
dim sDestination as string
dim diaSrc as new OpenFileDialog
'set up open file
with diaSrc
     .Title = "Browse to Document"
      .InitialDirectory = "C:\"
      .Filter = "All files (*.*)|*.*|All files (*.*)|*.*"
      .RestoreDirectory = True
end with

if diaSrc.showdialog = Windows.Forms.DialogResult.OK Then
   sSource = diaSrc.fileName
end if
'do the same with the destination on a savefiledialog....
'......

if file.exists(sDestination) Then 
   file.delete(sDestination)
end if
file.copy(sSource, sDestination)
end sub
Member Avatar for zakeer.ms

Imports System.IO
Nice Article.............

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