Get FileType And Executable File Path Of A File

Ever wondered if you needed the FileType and Executable File Path of a particular file? Well, I had to. So, I started to look into my famous, all time (24 X 7) library – internet. And found out that I can use the FileSystemObject and an API declaration to finish my work. So, here it goes.

For FileType, I used FileSystemObject and File object. And, for Executable File Path, I declared an API Function, FindExecutable using shell.dll library.

Here goes the code:

Private Declare Function FindExecutable Lib “shell32.dll” Alias “FindExecutableA” _
    (ByVal lpFile As String, ByVal lpDirectory As String, ByVal lpResult As String) As Long

Sub Check()
    Dim strExecutableProgramPath As String
    Dim strFilePathAndName As String, strFileType As String
    Dim objFileSystem As Object, objFile As Object
    
    'Create FileSystemObject
    Set objFileSystem = CreateObject(“Scripting.FileSystemObject”)
    strFilePathAndName = Worksheets(“Sheet1”).Range(“B1”).Value
    
    'Create File object and get FileType
    Set objFile = objFileSystem.GetFile(strFilePathAndName)
    strFileType = objFile.Type
    
    strExecutableProgramPath = FindExecutableProgram(strFilePathAndName)
    
    Worksheets(“Sheet1”).Range(“B2”).Value = strFileType
    Worksheets(“Sheet1”).Range(“B3”).Value = strExecutableProgramPath
    
    Set objFile = Nothing
    Set objFileSystem = Nothing
End Sub

Private Function FindExecutableProgram(FilePathAndNameWithExtension As String) As String
    Dim lngReturnValue As Long
    Dim strBuffer As String
    
    strBuffer = Space(260)
    
    'FindExecutable:
    'Retrieve the name and handle of the executable, associated with this file
    'Returns a value greater than 32 if successful.
    'Or a value less than or equal to 32 representing an error.
    'Return Value/Code Description
    '2 SE_ERR_FNF The specified file was not found.
    '3 SE_ERR_PNF The specified path is invalid.
    '5 SE_ERR_ACCESSDENIED The specified file cannot be accessed.
    '8 SE_ERR_OOM The system is out of memory or resources.
    '31 SE_ERR_NOASSOC There is no association for the specified file type with an executable file.
    
    lngReturnValue = FindExecutable(FilePathAndNameWithExtension, vbNullString, strBuffer)
    If lngReturnValue > 32 Then
        FindExecutableProgram = Left$(strBuffer, InStr(strBuffer, Chr$(0)) – 1)
    Else
        FindExecutableProgram = “No association found!”
    End If
End Function