There are a few general rules about functions that access files:

• If a function writes to a file that doesn't exist, that file is created
• If no file extension is specified for a filename, the default of ".txt" is assumed. To access a file which doesn't have an extension, place a full stop after the filename
• Filenames may include a full path and, if necessary, the folder is created, even if several levels of subfolders need creation (e.g. "c:\folder\file.txt") or a relative path (e.g. "..\file.txt", "folder\file.txt")
• When using relative paths, the path is usually specified relative to the ProgramFolder LibraryFolder or BitmapFolder. Refer to each function description.
• Network shared drives are also acceptable, they must be in the form "\\computername\sharename\filename"
• If a function tries to read from a file that does not exist, it returns a blank string or zero
• If a function needs to write to any file which is not writable (e.g. its marked read-only or is a directory) it does nothing
• Note that some of these functions are marked Action Only.
• Please remember that when using functions which re-write files (i.e. ReadAndIncrement and WriteLine) that anything that was in the specified file will be destroyed. Be especially careful when the name of the file to overwrite is generated by a formula

AppendLine [Action Only]
Adds a line of text to the end of the specified file
Syntax	AppendLine (file, text)
Inputs	File is what to add text to the end of
Notes	A newline character is automatically added to the end of text
Examples	AppendLine ("c:\drawing.log", "This was written using the appendline function")
See Also	WriteLine

BrowseFile [Action Only]
Browse for File with a file dialog
Syntax	BrowseFile(folder,filename,exts[[,relfolder],initfolder]) where exts is the list of extensions to browse for, eg "*.bmp|*.jpg|*.png" or ".csv;.xls;.blah"
Inputs	Puts up a file dialog for user selection.
Outputs	Returns yes and sets variables folder,filename provided user presses OK after selecting a file during browse. The browsing starts in initfolder (default TableFolder) and the value returned in the variable specified by folder is a path relative to relfolder (default TableFolder)
Notes	The square brackets indicate the optional 3rd and 4th params for the relative base folder and the initial browsing folder.Extensions list can be comma pipe or semicolon separated and * is optional as in examples above. browsefile(folder,filename,exts) - starts in TableFolder and set variables folder (relative to initfolder) and filename browsefile(folder,filename,exts,initfolder) - starts in initfolder and set variables folder (relative to initfolder) and filename browsefile(folder,filename,exts,relfolder,initfolder) - starts in initfolder and sets variables folder,filename (relative to relfolder)browsefile("myfoldervar","myfilevar",LibraryFolder,TableFolder) This starts browsing in the TableFolder but when the user selects a file, the path returned is relative to the LibraryFolder.
See Also	BrowseDXF, BrowseImage, BrowseModel

Call
Reads a formula from the specified file and evaluates it
Syntax	Call (file)
Inputs	File is a text file which has CabMasterPro formula in it
Outputs	Whatever the called formula returns
Notes	This function effectively reads the entire contents of the file and replaces the actual Call function with those contents. If file does not include a formula, the program will try to run it as one anyway and give errors as expected. When file does not exist, its content is assumed to be a blank string
Examples	Call ("aVeryLongFormula.txt")

Export [Action Only]
Saves data from the current drawing to the specified file
Syntax	Export (filename, full)
Inputs	Filename is the name of the tab file (tab-separated values) to export to, which will be overwritten if it already exists. Full is an optional Yes/No parameter (the default is No) which determines whether a Full or Minimal export will be done
Notes	If full is True, then this function is exactly the same as using the Export to ASCII - Full command on the File menu, otherwise it is the same as Export to ASCII - Minimal. The default location and extension for tab files is the Library_Folder and ".tab" respectively
Examples	Export ("exportedfile")
See Also	Merge

ExportData [Action Only]
Creates a set of tab files (tab-delimited values) for reporting purposes and external applications
Syntax	ExportData ( )
Inputs	None (you still need to use the empty brackets)
Notes	The tab files are created in the default location, which is the root of your hard drive (required by Crystal Reports)
Examples	ExportData ( )
See Also	Export

ExportDataMin [Action Only]
Creates a set of tab files (tab-delimited values) for reporting purposes and external applications
Syntax	ExportDataMin (reportfileforpics)
Inputs	Exports tab data (min no components) and picture date for reports. If you use empty brackets i.e. ExportDataMin() then exports tab data min (no component details) for reports, qmif, etc (no picture data)
See Also	Export, ExportData

ExportDoc3D [Action Only]
Prompts to create a 3D export file for whole drawing
Syntax	ExportDoc3D ( )
Inputs	None (you still need to use the empty brackets)
See Also	Export, ExportData, ExportItem3D

ExportItem3D [Action Only]
Prompts to create a 3D export file for current item in the Preview Pane
Syntax	ExportDoc3D ( )
Inputs	None (you still need to use the empty brackets)
See Also	Export, ExportData, ExportDoc3D

ExportValues [Action Only]
Generate user configurable export file
Syntax	ExportValues(outfile,filterfile,separator,append)
Inputs	outfile: Name of the file to create or append to. Default folder is the LibraryFolder, default extension is .tab filterfile: Name of a file to be read to specify the formulas to be evaluated to get the fields of the out file. The filterfile can have tab or newline separated formulas. The number of formulas found determines the number of values created. separator [default is tab]: Values created by evaluating the filterfile formulas are concatenated together with a separator as specified here. One could specify ENDL as a separator to create a column of values one per line, or use the default TAB to create a tab separated line of values. append [default is No]: A yes/no value says whether to append to any existing outfile. Default is to overwrite it.
Notes	Note: if a header line is also required in the file, this can be output either using WriteLine or ExportValues (with constant strings). The data can then be appended to this file using the append option in ExportValues.
Examples	ExportValues("somefile.txt","MyFormulaList.txt")
See Also	_OnLoadAction, _OnSaveAction

FileExists
Indicates whether the specified file already exists or not
Syntax	FileExists (filename)
Inputs	Filename is the name of the file that you want to check exists
Outputs	Returns 1 if the file exists, or 0 otherwise
Notes	FileExists will also detect if directories exist, as long as there is no trailing slash. Wildcard characters may be used: * (asterisk) matches any number of characters, and ? (question mark) matches any single character. To detect if a drive exists on a machine, use something like FileExists("e:\*"), which actually checks if any files exist on that drive. If the asterisk is left off the function will return 0.
Examples	FileExists ("c:\*") = 1 FileExists ("c:\windows\") = 0 FileExists ("*.qlt") FileExists ("..\??-03-2000.log")

FileLen
Returns the size of a specified file in bytes
Syntax	FileLen (filename)
Inputs	Filename is the file that you want the size of
Notes	If filename does not exist or is a directory, 0 is returned
Examples	FileLen ("c:\io.sys") = 222390
See Also	FileExists

ListFileNames
Returns the names of files in wildspec folder listed and put into string
Syntax	ListFileNames (wildspec,sep)
Inputs	wildspec string with pipe separator. sep string with user specified separator.
Notes	The results are basically a copy of File Names on the Define Questions page.

ListFolderNames
Returns the names of subfolders in wildspec folder listed and put into string
Syntax	ListFolderNames (wildspec,sep)
Inputs	wildspec string with pipe separator. sep string with user specified separator.
Notes	The results are basically a copy of Folder Names on the Define Questions page.

Merge [Action Only]
Loads data from the specified file and merges it with the current drawing
Syntax	Merge (filename)
Inputs	Filename is the name of the tab file (tab-separated values) to merge
Notes	This function is exactly the same as using the Merge from ASCII command on the File menu. The default location and extension for tab files is the Library_Folder and ".tab" respectively
Examples	Merge ("exportedfile")
See Also	Export

ReadAndIncrement
Reads a whole number from a file, increments that number and writes the result back to the file
Syntax	ReadAndIncrement (file)
Inputs	File is what the number is read from and written to
Outputs	The original number read from file is returned, not the incremented one
Notes	If a file has a number in it but is read-only, the result is still 0. If the contents of file does not start with a number, it is assumed to be zero and the new result is written over the file, completely destroying any contents of the file. ReadAndIncrement uses file locking which means that only one copy of CabMasterPro can access the file at once. This is useful for network environments, where each workstation running CabMasterPro can obtain a unique number by reading it from a shared file. A typical use for this is assigning job numbers to drawings, where it is critical that each number is only used once. File locking makes sure that two programs trying to read the file at the same time will get two different numbers and will not corrupt the file
Examples	ReadAndIncrement ("\\server\CabMasterPro\nextJobNumber.txt")

ReadFile
Returns the entire file specified
Syntax	ReadFile (file, separator)
Inputs	File is where the line is to be read from, separator is the character to replace endlines with. separator is optional, defaulting to the constant ENDL.
Notes	Lines are considered to end with either a carriage return and linefeed or just a newline. Note From File on the Define Questions page uses ReadFile with a pipe separator.
Examples	ReadFile ("somefile.txt") will return the contents of the file. ReadFile("somefile.txt","|") will return the file with new lines replaced by |'s
See Also	ReadLine

ReadLine
Returns a specific line of text read from a file
Syntax	ReadLine (file, num)
Inputs	File is where the line is to be read from, and num is the line number to read
Notes	Lines are considered to end with either a carriage return and linefeed or just a newline
Examples	ReadLine ("somefile.txt", 17)
See Also	WriteLine, ReadFile

SaveDrawing [Action Only]
Saves the current drawing to disk, optionally with a new name
Syntax	SaveDrawing (filename, setTitle)
Inputs	Filename is optional, and is the name of the file to save to. setTitle is an optional Yes/No parameter (default is Yes), and will update the drawing title to filename if Yes
Notes	If filename is omitted, SaveDrawing acts exactly like the Save command on the File menu. It will prompt the user for a filename if the drawing has not been saved before. If filename is provided but blank, SaveDrawing behaves the same as the Save As command (prompting the user for a new name), otherwise it saves to the specified file. If setTitle is false (or No) then the drawing title will not change... this is useful for auto-saves or saving a copy of the drawing. The default location and extension for drawings is Data_Folder and ".qid" respectively
Examples	SaveDrawing ( ) (note that you still need the empty brackets) SaveDrawing ("newname") SaveDrawing ("", false)

WriteLine [Action Only]
Creates a new file and writes the specified string to that file
Syntax	WriteLine (file, text)
Inputs	File is what you want text to be written to
Notes	If file already exists, it is overwritten so any data it may have contained is completely destroyed. File is the name of the file to write, and can be a full path (folder and filename) to a folder that does not yet exist. If necessary the folder is created, even if several levels of subfolders need creation. The default folder if not specified is the LibraryFolder. The default extension if not specified is ".txt".
Examples	WriteLine ("somefile.txt", "New Content")
See Also	ReadLine, AppendLine