Files and folders


Commands	`CAPCAD_FILE_TOOLS` (list a folder's files) · `CAPCAD_PICK_FILES` (file picker) · `CAPCAD_PICK_FOLDER` (folder picker)
Shortcuts	none. There is no alias in CapCad's `acad.pgp` for any of the three
Ribbon	CapCad tab › CAD Utilities panel › Tools split button › File tools (`CAPCAD_FILE_TOOLS`). `CAPCAD_PICK_FILES` and `CAPCAD_PICK_FOLDER` have no button
Category	CAD Utils: Segment (`CAPCAD_FILE_TOOLS`) · `CAPCAD_PICK_FILES` and `CAPCAD_PICK_FOLDER`: none
Form	`FileToolsForm` — CAPCAD File Tools, modeless, one reused instance. The two pickers have no form of their own: they open the Windows dialogs
Hosts	AutoCAD only (and Civil 3D). On ARES Commander `CAPCAD_FILE_TOOLS` is not available in this version and says so; on BricsCAD, GstarCAD and ZWCAD none of the three is available

Three small utilities that keep Explorer out of the way. One lists a folder's contents inside the CAD, in a panel the text comes out of copied or saved; the other two open the Windows dialogs and hand the choice back to whoever called.

The folder listing becomes text. Names only, or full paths — ready to paste into a spreadsheet, a script or a batch field.
Filter by extension. dwg, jpg or any extension you type; * brings everything.
Copy and save in one click. The result panel has Copy all and Save….
The form stays open. It is modeless: you change folder and list again without leaving the drawing.
File picking for automations. CAPCAD_PICK_FILES and CAPCAD_PICK_FOLDER are the bridge to scripts: they open the native Windows dialog and write the result into a system variable any AutoLISP can read.

`CAPCAD_FILE_TOOLS` — list a folder's files

Opens a small, modeless form with a path, an extension and a button. Clicking the button lists that folder's files in a text window.

No screenshot on this page. FileToolsForm only exists with the CAD open. The table below describes the controls by the caption they show.

Control	What it does
Path	The folder to list. It can be typed or pasted. While the text is not an existing folder, the field's background stays red and List files is disabled.
...	Opens the Windows folder picker and fills the Path field.
Ext.	The extension, without the dot. The list offers `dwg`, `jpg` and ``, but the field is editable: type `pdf`, `csv`, whatever you need. `` (or empty) lists everything.
Complete path	Unticked (the default), the output carries file names only; ticked, it carries each one's full path.
List files	Reads the folder and opens the result window. It only enables when the path exists.

The sweep is first level only: sub-folders are not visited.

The result window

The result opens in a modal window titled Files, with the text in a monospaced font, read-only, and scroll bars both ways. It carries three buttons:

Button	What it does
Copy all	Sends the whole text to the clipboard and confirms in the status bar.
Save…	Opens the Windows save dialog (`.txt`, `.csv` or anything) and writes the text.
Close	Closes the window. The File tools form stays open behind it.

A path that stops existing between the typing and the click, or an invalid extension, stops with the system's error message in a CapCad box — the list simply does not open.

`CAPCAD_PICK_FILES` and `CAPCAD_PICK_FOLDER` — the Windows dialogs

These are bridge commands. They do nothing to the drawing: they open the Windows dialog and write the choice into the system variable USERS3, so that another program — a script, an AutoLISP routine, a CapCad command — can read the result from there.

Today they are the supported way to ask a user for a file or a folder from an automation.

How they are called

Each command asks for one line of arguments separated by pipes (|). The line is read with spaces allowed, so everything after the command name goes into a single parameter.

CAPCAD_PICK_FILES     Label|Extension|InitialDir|AllowMultiple:
                      default on Enter →  Select files|*||1

CAPCAD_PICK_FOLDER    Label|InitialDir:
                      default on Enter →  Select folder|

From an AutoLISP routine:

(command "CAPCAD_PICK_FILES" "Pick the drawings|dwg|C:/Projects/Section1|1")
(setq picked (getvar "USERS3"))   ; "C:\\...\\a.dwg|C:\\...\\b.dwg" or "" if cancelled

`CAPCAD_PICK_FILES`, field by field

Field	What it does
Label	The dialog's title. Empty: Select files.
Extension	Builds the filter. `` or empty gives All files (.); any other text gives two filters — `<EXT> files (.ext)` and then All files.
InitialDir	The folder the dialog opens in. Forward slashes are converted to back slashes.
AllowMultiple	`0` turns multiple selection off. Any other value — including empty — leaves it on.

The result is each file's full path, separated by |. Cancelling writes empty text into USERS3.

`CAPCAD_PICK_FOLDER`, field by field

Field	What it does
Label	The description text of the folder picker. Empty: Select folder.
InitialDir	The pre-selected folder, if it exists. Unlike the file picker, this one does not convert forward slashes — give it back slashes.

The dialog carries the new folder button. The result is the folder's path with a trailing back slash (C:\Projects\Section1\). Cancelling writes empty text.

Remembered between sessions

Nothing. FileToolsForm always opens with an empty path and the extension dwg, and the two pickers write no preference at all — only the USERS3 variable, which belongs to the current drawing and does not survive closing the CAD.

Notes

Three-letter extensions catch more than you asked for. The *.dwg filter is resolved by Windows, which for extensions of exactly three characters also returns files whose extension begins with the text — a plan.dwg1 shows up in a dwg listing. Use * and read the list when that matters.
The listing does not go into sub-folders. To sweep a whole tree, list folder by folder.
USERS3 is a CAD variable, not a CapCad one. Any other command or routine can overwrite it. Read it immediately after calling the picker.
USERS3 holds text and its length is limited. A selection of dozens of long paths may not fit whole; in that case pick by folder rather than by file.
Cancelling and "picking nothing" are the same thing. Both commands write empty text when you cancel — including when you cancel the argument prompt, before the dialog even opens. Always test the result before using it.
The command line is the only report. Neither picker writes anything to the drawing, and neither says on screen what it captured.

CAPCAD_FILE_TOOLS — list a folder's files