files

List the files in a folder.

# Metadata

Platforms: desktop, server, mobile OS: mac, windows, linux, ios, android, web Introduced: 1.0 Security: disk

# Syntax

the [{ detailed | long }] files

# Params

- targetFolder : The folder path to search. - outputKind :

# Examples

put files(specialFolderPath("documents")) into field "Current Docs" sort lines of field "Current Docs" international

local tTotalSize repeat for each line tFileInfo in the detailed files add item 3 of tFileInfo to tTotalSize end repeat answer merge("The files in the current folder use" && \ "tTotalSize bytes")

local tDiskContents put the files & return & the folders into \ tDiskContents["the defaultFolder"] filter tDiskContents["the defaultFolder"] without ".."

# Description

Return a list of files in the targetFolder, with one file per line. If no targetFolder is specified, list the files in the current folder.

folders are not included in the list. To get a list of folders, use the folders function.

alias (on OS X systems), symbolic links (on Linux systems) and shortcuts (on Windows systems) are included in the list only if they refer to a file.

> *Note:* The order that files are listed is platform-dependent. The > order may vary between platforms, between filesystems, > and even between consecutive calls to the files function. If you > need a sorted list, use the sort command.

### Short form

When the files is called as a function, or without the `long` or `detailed` modifiers, it returns only the file names as a string with one file name per line.

> *Note:* On some platforms, file names are permitted to > include the return character. Such a file name > would be split across more than one line of the string returned by > the files function.

### Long form

`the long files` and `the detailed files` are synonyms. When the files function is called in this form, the return value is a list of files with detailed file attributes.

Each line in the return value is a comma-separated list of file attributes, as follows:

1. **Name**. The file name is URL-encoded. To reliably obtain the name use the `detailed-utf8` outputKind and decode using the URLDecode function followed by textDecode. For example, `textDecode(URLDecode(item 1 of tLine), "utf8")`. 2. **Size**, in bytes. On OS X systems, this is the size of the data fork. 3. **Resource fork size**, in bytes. (OS X only). 4. **Creation date**, in seconds. (OS X and Windows only). 5. **Last modification date**, in seconds. 6. **Last access date**, in seconds. 7. **Last backup date**, in seconds. 8. **User owner**. (Linux and OS X only). 9. **Group owner**. (Linux and OS X only). 10. **Permissions**. (Linux and OS X only; see note). 11. **Creator and fileType**. (OS X only).

Any attribute that is not relevant to the current platform is left empty.

The access permissions consist of three octal digits, in the same form used for the umask property.

> *Note:* On Windows, the permissions are always reported as "777".

# Tags

file system,

# See

- **property:** defaultFolder, umask - **constant:** return - **keyword:** long - **command:** sort - **function:** folders, specialFolderPath, URLDecode, textDecode - **glossary:** alias, current folder, data fork, folder, function, platform, return, resource fork, shortcut, symbolic link