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  Gets the relative path of a file w.r.t. a directory

Relative Path Function
Gets the relative path of a file w.r.t. a directory

by Manas Tungare (1 Submission)
Category: Files/File Controls/Input/Output
Compatability: Visual Basic 3.0
Difficulty: Intermediate
Date Added: Wed 3^rd February 2021
Rating: (4 Votes)

A reusable function that computes the relative path of a file with respect to a given directory


Examples will make the point clear, so here goes:

GetRelativePath ("C:\VB\", "C:\VB\File.ext")
returns "File.ext"

GetRelativePath ("C:\VB\", "C:\VB\Program\File.ext")
returns "Program\File.ext"

GetRelativePath ("C:\VB\", "C:\File.ext")
returns "..\File.ext"

It is useful to insert images and hyperlinks into webpages, given the filenames of the images and the HTML file.

Inputs

1. sBase
   Fully Qualified Path of the Base Directory

2. sFile
   Fully Qualified Path of the File of which the relative path is to be computed.

Assumes
Just remember to pass *complete* qualified paths to it. The CommonDialog.Filename property can be directly assigned in the call. e.g.

GetRelativePath ("C:\VB\", CommonDialog1.Filename)

Code Returns

Relative Path of sFile with respect to sBase.

Side Effects

None.

Public Function GetRelativePath(sBase As String, sFile As String)
'------------------------------------------------------------
' Accepts : sBase= Fully Qualified Path of the Base Directory
'  sFile= Fully Qualified Path of the File of which
'   the relative path is to be computed.
' Returns : Relative Path of sFile with respect to sBase.
' Modifies: Nothing.
'------------------------------------------------------------
' Author : Manas Tungare (www.manastungare.com)
'------------------------------------------------------------
Dim Base() As String, File() As String
Dim I As Integer, NewTreeStart As Long, sRel As String
 If Left(sBase, 3) <> Left(sFile, 3) Then
 'Since the files lie on different drives, the relative
 'filename is same as the Absolute Filename
 GetRelativePath = sFile
 Exit Function
 End If
 
 Base = Split(sBase, "\")
 File = Split(sFile, "\")
 
 While Base(I) = File(I)
 I = I + 1
 Wend
 
 If I = UBound(Base) Then
 'Then the Base Path is over, and the file lies
 'in a subdirectory of the base directory.
 'So simply append the rest of the path.
 While I <= UBound(File)
  sRel = sRel + File(I) + "\"
  I = I + 1
 Wend
 'Now remove the extra trailing "\" we put earlier.
 GetRelativePath = Left(sRel, Len(sRel) - 1)
 Exit Function
 End If
 
 NewTreeStart = I
 'The base path is not yet over, and we need to step
 'back using the "..\"
 While I < UBound(Base)
 sRel = sRel & "..\"
 I = I + 1
 Wend
 
 While NewTreeStart <= UBound(File)
 sRel = sRel & File(NewTreeStart) + "\"
 NewTreeStart = NewTreeStart + 1
 Wend
 'Now remove the extra trailing "\" we put earlier.
 GetRelativePath = Left(sRel, Len(sRel) - 1)
 
End Function

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