cNamespaceWalk
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I initially brought this interface to VB6 to spite the people asking how to list files in sorted order, without actually having to sort them as they're added (the spite is that the complexity of using a shell interface from a tlb is higher than simply using Dir() and inserting already sorted). Then I almost didn't release this because while the interface is very simple, there's a large amount of support code. But here it is, using INamespaceWalk in VB6.
The interface is available on XP, but it's in oleexp so it may or may not break the whole TLB.
Project Update
In the original project, the walk could only be cancelled via the progress dialog. The only way besides this to cancel is by returning ERROR_CANCELLED in the EnterFolder event, which VB doesn't allow by default. I've attached another version of the sample project that uses SwapVTable to replace the normal EnterFolder with one that supports returning values. So every time a new folder is entered, you can continue (S_OK), skip that folder (S_FALSE), or stop all together (ERROR_CANCELLED).
What is INamespaceWalk?
INamespaceWalk provides an alternative way to list the files in a given directory. Unlike other methods, unless a no sort flag is specified, results are returned already in the natural sort order that they would appear in Explorer. There's also options for what to do with links. It's faster than FSO, but I'm not sure how it compares to a full API FindFirstFile/FindNextFile search. While it's not in the sample project, turning this into a search is as simple as checking the filename returned in the FoundItem event.
The most unique feature is that it provides a modern styled progress dialog just by specifying a flag.
The attached sample project contains a class module that wraps all the details up, making usage very simple:
Code:
With cNSW
.Flags = NSWF_DONT_RESOLVE_LINKS Or NSWF_DONT_TRAVERSE_LINKS Or NSWF_SHOW_PROGRESS
.Levels = CLng(Text2.Text)
.ReturnInfo = True
.Root = Text1.Text
.Walk
End WithRequires my Modern Shell Interfaces Type Library, v1.6 or higher.