select_folder.md

Folder Selection API

The pfd::select_folder class handles folder opening dialogs. It can be provided a title, and an optional starting directory:

pfd::select_folder::select_folder(std::string const &title,
                                  std::string const &default_path = "",
                                  pfd::opt option = pfd::opt::none);

The option parameter can be pfd::opt::force_path to force the operating system to use the provided path. Some systems default to the most recently used path, if applicable.

The selected folder is queried using pfd::select_folder::result(). If the user canceled the operation, the returned string is empty:

std::string pfd::select_folder::result();

It is possible to ask the folder selection dialog whether the user took action using the pfd::message::ready() method, with an optional timeout argument. If the user did not validate the dialog within timeout milliseconds, the function will return false:

bool pfd::select_folder::ready(int timeout = pfd::default_wait_timeout);

Example 1: simple folder selection

Using pfd::select_folder::result() will wait for user action before returning. This operation will block and return the user choice:

auto selection = pfd::select_folder("Select a folder").result();
if (!selection.empty())
    std::cout << "User selected folder " << selection << "\n";

Example 2: asynchronous folder open

Using pfd::select_folder::ready() allows the application to perform other tasks while waiting for user input:

// Folder selection dialog
auto dialog = pfd::select_folder("Select folder to open");

// Do something while waiting for user input
while (!dialog.ready(1000))
    std::cout << "Waited 1 second for user input...\n";

// Act depending on the user choice
std::cout << "Selected folder: " << dialog.result() << "\n";