fTime (Function)

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Modifying the date and time associated with a file
Managing the seconds
Handling errors
Operating mode in Windows Vista (and later)
Operating mode in the different operating systems

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fTime (Function)

In french: fHeure

Returns or modifies the different times associated with a file or directory (date created, modified or accessed).

In this version, you cannot find out or modify the creation time of a file or directory.

Example

See additional examples

// Retrieve the modification time of a file
ResTime = fTime("C:\MyDirectories\File.txt", "", fModify)

Syntax

<Result> = fTime(<File or directory path> [, <New time> [, <Type of time>]])

<Result>: Character string

Time associated with the file or directory (in HHMMSS format),
Empty string ("") if an error occurred. To get more details on the error, use ErrorInfo with the errMessage constant.

<File or directory path>: Character string

Name and full (or relative) path of file (up to 260 characters).
Full (or relative) path of directory (up to 260 characters).
A UNC path can be used. If this parameter corresponds to a directory name, this name may (or may not) end with "\".
This parameter can be in Ansi or Unicode format.

<New time>: Optional character string

Modifying a time: new time associated with the specified file or directory (in HHMMSS format),
Reading a time: empty string ("").

<Type of time>: Optional constant

Indicates the time to use:
fAccess Time of last access to the file or directory.
fCreation Time of file/directory creation.
This constant is not available.
fModify
(Default value) Time of last modification made to the file or directory.

Remarks

Modifying the date and time associated with a file

To modify the date and time associated with a file, you have the ability to use fDateTime.

Remark: You can also call fDate and fTime successively. However, fDateTime is faster.

Managing the seconds

All the methods for disk formatting (FAT, NTSF, ...) are not precise to the second. Depending on the method used, fTime may round the time passed as parameter

For example, for a FAT drive, the time for file access has a precision of one day. Therefore, the access time is "000000" and it cannot be modified.

Handling errors

fTime throws an error in the following cases:

the specified file is opened or locked by another application,
the specified file does not exist,
the name of the specified file is invalid,
the format of <New time> is incorrect. A WLanguage error occurs if the format of <New time> is incorrect.
a Unicode string was used for <Path of file or directory> in an operating system such as Windows 98 or Windows Me.

Operating mode in Windows Vista (and later)

If this function does not operate properly in Windows Vista (and later), check whether the file or directory used is not in one of the system directories (Windows directory or "Program Files" directory).

In Windows Vista (and later), with the UAC mechanism (User Account Control) enabled, you must have administrator privileges to handle and/or modify the files or directories in system directories (Windows directory or "Program Files" directory).

Programming tip: To handle and/or modify the files or directories without administrator privileges, you should:

avoid writing to the Windows directory or to the "Program Files" directory,
use the system directory of the application (returned by SysDir with the srAppDataCommun constant, for example).

Operating mode in the different operating systems

The time associated with a file or a directory cannot be modified in the following systems: Windows 98, Windows ME.
You cannot find out or modify the creation time associated with a file or with a directory.

Component: wd300std.dll