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Count

property Count: Integer read

Example​

procedure ScriptEvent(var Value: variant);
begin
  Files.Search('C:\VeloxExamples\Inbound', '*.csv', 0);
  try
    Value := Files.Count;
  finally
    Files.Close;
  end;
end;

Usage​

Counts the current and remaining search entries by exhausting the cursor, then reruns the stored search and leaves it at its new first result.

Value

The value is the number of entries for which Exists is true while advancing from the current cursor position. It is not necessarily the total number originally matched:

  • immediately after Search, it counts the whole current enumeration;
  • after one or more calls to Next, it counts only the current and later entries; and
  • after exhaustion, Close or a failed search, it returns zero before attempting the restart.

Directories and special entries count if the stored search includes them.

Behaviour

Although syntactically a property read, Count materially mutates the helper. On return, the cursor normally points to the first entry of the new enumeration and Exists reflects that new FindFirst, not the exhausted sequence used for counting.

The filesystem is not snapshotted. If entries change during counting or before the restart, the returned count can describe a different set from the newly positioned cursor.

Errors

OS enumeration failures are hidden. Ordinary allocation/range/object-lifetime failures can propagate. There is no status telling the caller whether the count was complete.

Additional Technical Info​

Count is a read-only Integer property that counts entries from the current search position through the end, then starts the stored search again.

Implementation

The getter initializes the result to zero, repeatedly increments it and calls Next while Exists is true, then calls Search with the stored path, mask and attribute integer. That restart closes the exhausted handle and runs a fresh FindFirst.

Edge cases and quirks

  • Reading Count after advancing undercounts the original set.
  • Reading it on a new object uses initially empty stored values; the internal restart constructs a root-relative backslash with an empty mask and normally remains false.
  • Enumeration errors are treated like the end and can produce a partial count. Restart errors are also reduced to Exists = False.
  • With more than MaxInt remaining entries, the Integer increment can overflow under the host's checked arithmetic settings.
  • The restart keeps a successful new handle open, so Count does not release resources permanently.

Side effects

The current enumeration is exhausted and replaced by a fresh search. No files are changed.

Performance and concurrency

The getter is O(n) in the number of remaining entries and performs an additional FindFirst. Do not place it repeatedly in a loop. Concurrent filesystem changes and calls on the same helper make both count and final cursor nondeterministic.

Related entries

  • GetFilenames consumes the remainder without restarting.
  • Search establishes the values used by the automatic restart.
  • Exists exposes the new first-result state after the getter returns.

External references

Created 2026-07-15