function junction: File System Object( Functional testing, HP QuickTest Professional)

Writing functions that make use of the methods exposed by the Windows file system object might seem trivial at first, but take my word for it, it is a worthwhile activity. If you use HP QuickTest Pro for test automation, or even need to do some system maintenance with VBScript, these simple scripts will become an invaluable part of your toolkit. You will come to depend on their simplicity and robustness when they are used for mundane tasks within your test automation scripts.
This first function returns the name of a file contained in a long path statement.
For example, if FullSpec = “C:\Folder1\Folder2\Folder3\MyFile.xls”, the function will return the value “MyFile.xls”:

‘————————————————————–
Function GetLongFileName(FullSpec)
‘returns file name with the extension from full path
‘assuming last element is file name
Dim fso
Set fso = CreateObject(”Scripting.FileSystemObject”)
GetLongFileName = fso.GetFileName(FullSpec)
End Function

Conversely, this next function returns the full path to a file from the fully-pathed file name.
For example, if FullSpec = “C:\Folder1\Folder2\Folder3\MyFile.xls”, the function will return the value “C:\Folder1\Folder2\Folder3″:

‘————————————————————–
Function GetParentPath(FullSpec)
‘returns just the path portion of string
‘assuming last element is file name
‘ Note: function parses out trailing backslash
Dim fso
Set fso = CreateObject(”Scripting.FileSystemObject”)
GetParentPath = fso.GetParentFolderName(FullSpec)
End Function

And as another twist, the function below returns the name of the file without the extension.
For example, if FullSpec = “C:\Folder1\Folder2\Folder3\MyFile.xls”, the function will return the value “MyFile”. This is useful as part of a routine for renaming converted files:

‘————————————————————–
Function GetFileBase(filespec)
‘returns file name without extension from full path
‘assuming last element is file name
Dim fso
Set fso = CreateObject(”Scripting.FileSystemObject”)
GetFileBase = fso.GetBaseName(filespec)
End Function

Of course, we can do much more than parse file names. Here’s a function that will add a new folder to a specified path, after verifying that the path is found and that the folder doesn’t already exist:

‘————————————————————–
Function AddNewFolder(FullPath, FolderName)
‘creates a subfolder under the specified path
Dim fso, f, fc, nf
If FolderName = “” Then
FolderName = “New Folder”
End If
Set fso = CreateObject(”Scripting.FileSystemObject”)
If (fso.FolderExists(FullPath)) Then
Set f = fso.GetFolder(FullPath)
Set fc = f.SubFolders
Else
AddNewFolder = “Path ” & FullPath & ” not found!”
Exit Function
End If
If (fso.FolderExists(FullPath & “\” & FolderName)) Then
AddNewFolder = “Folder ” & FolderName & ” exists”
Exit Function
Else
Set nf = fc.Add(FolderName)
AddNewFolder = 0 ‘ “Folder ” & FolderName & ” added”
End If
End Function

Don’t worry if your functions seem too small and simple: in the end, they really work better that way. If they do one thing, and do it well, they become a sturdy link in the chain of actions that can make up a test case!