Displays a file dialog box for the user to select a file.
# Metadata
Platforms: desktop OS: mac, windows, linux Introduced: 2.6 Security: disk
# Syntax
answer file[s] prompt [with defaultPath] [with type types [or type types ...]] [titled windowTitle] [as sheet]
# Params
- prompt : If you specify empty, no prompt appears. - defaultPath : The name and location of the folder whose contents are listed when the dialog box appears. If no defaultPath is specified, the dialog box lists the contents of the last folder you used with a file dialog box. - types : Use the types parameter to specify which files should appear and be available for selection. Each set of types is a return-delimited list of values of the form "tag|extensions|filetypes". - windowTitle : The windowTitle, if specified, appears in the title bar of the dialog box. If no windowTitle is given, the title bar is blank. (This parameter has no effect on Mac OS systems, because Mac OS file dialog boxes don't have a title bar.)
# Examples
answer file "Select a file to delete:"
answer files "Select the files you wish to process:"
answer file "Input:" with "/Macintosh HD/"
answer file (field "Prompt") with type "LiveCode Stacks|rev|RSTK"
answer files "Select the images you wish to view:" with type "JPEG Images|jpg|JPEG"
# Description
Use the answer file command when a handler needs the file path of a file before continuing.
The dialog box displayed is the same one most programs use for the "Open" command in the File menu.
>*Important:* The answer file command does not open the file. It > only displays the dialog box and retrieves the path to the file the > user specifies.
If more than one type is specified, a drop-down list containing the tags will be displayed allowing the user to select which types of files to display. (This list is always displayed on Windows systems).
If the as sheet form is used, the dialog box appears as a sheet on OS X systems. On other systems, the as sheet form has no effect and the dialog box appears normally. Attempting to open a sheet from within another sheet displays the second stack as a modal dialog box instead. To give a dialog box a prompt when using the as sheet form a non-empty title must be provided. This will cause the prompt to appear in the same place it would if as sheet was not being used.
If the systemFileSelector property is set to false, LiveCode's built-in dialog box is used instead of the operating system's file dialog box.
# Tags
# See
- **command:** answer file - **glossary:** command, property, variable, handler, file dialog box, file path, modal dialog box, dialog box - **keyword:** file, it