Pathname conversion

[Kaller]

How do I convert a directory path like c:\more\of\this\  to match the actual character case of windows file store?

[Zvoni]

How do I convert a directory path like c:\more\of\this\  to match the actual character case of windows file store?

Haven't understood a word.

Example?

[Kaller]

the user enters a path like c:\my\work\
the system says path found: C:\My\Work
because the folders are named My and Work

[Zvoni]

the user enters a path like c:\my\work\
the system says path found: C:\My\Work
because the folders are named My and Work

Your point?
The Windows Filesystem is Case-Insensitive ("c:\my\work\" = "C:\My\Work\")
so i don't know what you want to achieve.
What is the expected Result you want to get? "Path not found" or what?

[bonmario]

How do I convert a directory path like c:\more\of\this\  to match the actual character case of windows file store?

Try this:
https://www.freepascal.org/docs-html/rtl/sysutils/expandfilenamecase.html

Hi, Mario

[Kaller]

@BonMario: I tried without success. @Zvoni  What if files get migrated for example? I think knowing the actual case is a reasonable request.

[bonmario]

I tried it now, and it works fine for me.
I use windows 11

[Kaller]

I got it working. Have to specify fcmExact. 

[bonmario]

Code: Pascal  [Select][+][-]

1.   procedure LeggiNomeFileRealeDaDisco(var NomeSrcReale: String);
2.   var NomeFileInp, NomeFileOut:String;
3.       Posx:Integer;
4.       MatchFound: TFilenameCaseMatch;
5.   begin
6.     //Inizializzazione variabili di lavoro
7.     NomeFileInp:=NomeSrcReale;
8.     NomeFileOut:='';
9.  
10.     while (NomeFileInp <> '') do begin
11.       {$IFDEF MSWINDOWS}
12.         if (Length(NomeFileInp) = 3) and
13.            (NomeFileInp[2] = ':') then begin
14.           NomeFileOut:=UpperCase(ExtractFileDrive(NomeFileInp)) + NomeFileOut;
15.           NomeFileInp:='';
16.         end;
17.       {$ELSE}
18.         if (NomeFileInp = PathDelim) then begin
19.           NomeFileOut:=PathDelim + NomeFileOut;
20.           NomeFileInp:='';
21.         end;
22.       {$ENDIF}
23.  
24.       if (NomeFileInp <> '') then begin
25.         NomeFileOut:=ExtractFileName(ExpandFileNameCase(NomeFileInp, MatchFound)) + NomeFileOut;
26.         Posx:=Pos(PathDelim, NomeFileInp);
27.         if (Posx > 0) then begin
28.           NomeFileOut:=PathDelim + NomeFileOut;
29.         end else begin
30.           NomeFileInp:='';
31.         end;
32.         NomeFileInp:=ExtractFileDir(NomeFileInp);
33.       end;
34.     end;
35.  
36.     //Valorizzazione finale dell'output
37.     NomeSrcReale:=NomeFileOut;
38.   end;
39.  

If i use this code:

Code: Pascal  [Select][+][-]

1. var NomeDir:String;
2.     NomeDir:='c:\users\bonmar\downloads';
3.     LeggiNomeFileRealeDaDisco(NomeDir);
4.     ShowMessage(NomeDir);
5.  

the output is this:

Code: Pascal  [Select][+][-]

1. C:\Users\BONMAR\Downloads

Hi, Mario

[Kaller]

Nice. Thanks.

[KodeZwerg]

My try, should be crosscompile compatible:

Code: Pascal  [Select][+][-]

1. function SensitivePath(const APath: string): string;
2.   function GetCurrent(const APath: string): string;
3.   var
4.     searchRec: TSearchRec;
5.   begin
6.     Result := '';
7.     if FindFirst(ExcludeTrailingBackslash(APath), faAnyFile, searchRec) = 0 then
8.     begin
9.       Result := searchRec.Name;
10.       FindClose(searchRec);
11.     end;
12.   end;
13. var
14.   s: string;
15.   i: Integer;
16.   arr: TStringArray;
17. begin
18.   if ((not FileExists(APath)) and (not DirectoryExists(APath))) then
19.     Exit(APath);
20.   s := '';
21.   Result := '';
22.   arr := APath.Split([PathDelim]);
23.   for i := Low(arr) to High(arr) do
24.     begin
25.       s := s + arr[i] + PathDelim;
26.       if i > 0 then
27.         arr[i] := GetCurrent(s);
28.       Result := Result + arr[i] + PathDelim;
29.     end;
30.   Result := ExcludeTrailingBackslash(Result);
31. end;

Only tested with path, not filenames.

//edit:
Works for both same good, files, folder.

My test:

Code: Pascal  [Select][+][-]

1.   WriteLn(SensitivePath('c:\windows\SysteM32'));
2.   WriteLn(SensitivePath('c:\WindOws\SyStem32\'));
3.   WriteLn(SensitivePath('c:\WinDows\SystEm32\D3D12CorE.Dll'));

The Result:

c:\Windows\System32
c:\Windows\System32\
c:\Windows\System32\D3D12Core.dll

[Bart]

function FindDiskFileName in FileUtils might be what you are looking for.

Bart

[Kaller]

On further investigation I think I understand the issues I was having. It appears that standard filename functions are not the answer, they do things like only work with the last item in the path. So even something like a trailing path delimiter will throw them off.   The routines provided by helpful posters here will be great.  Is it possible to get a directory without having to physically enter it?
I got GPT to convert Mario's code to English and compress it.

[KodeZwerg]

Is it possible to get a directory without having to physically enter it?

No.
If you want to have it like it is on disk than you must access disk, sound logical or?
Everything else is just to beautify a string but not to get it like you wanted to have.

I got GPT to convert Mario's code to English and compress it.

Uhm... applause?

[Kays]

[…] The Windows Filesystem

“The Windows Filesystem”? Jesus Christ.

Case-Insensitive […]

Meanwhile NTFS does support case-sensitive filenames. You will need to traverse the entire path checking each directory whether it has case-sensitive filename support enabled.

the user enters a path like c:\my\work\
the system says path found: C:\My\Work

I bet the WinAPI (or other essential library) provides some sort of canonicalize pathname function. Evidently you lack understanding of NTFS, so I strongly advise against implementing a mechanism by yourself.