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Exists

property Exists: Boolean read

Example​

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

Usage​

Reports whether the helper's shared search cursor currently has a usable entry, not whether an arbitrary filesystem path exists.

Value

True means the most recent Search, Next or Count restart positioned the shared TSearchRec on an entry. False means there is no public current entry.

This is not equivalent to FileExists(path) or DirectoryExists(path). It takes no path, performs no independent check and says nothing about whether a previously returned name still exists.

Behaviour

Reading the property itself performs no I/O. When true, the current-entry properties are enabled. When false, they return empty or zero sentinels.

Important usage notes

  • False conflates no matching entry, normal end-of-search, access denied, invalid path, invalid handle and other OS failures.
  • A True result is subject to a filesystem race: another process can delete or replace the entry immediately afterward.
  • Reading Count can change false to true by restarting a previously exhausted stored search.
  • A bulk copy/move operation reuses the same search fields and therefore overwrites any manual enumeration state.

Additional Technical Info​

Exists is the read-only Boolean state of the current TvxScriptFiles directory cursor.

Implementation

The getter simply returns the object's FExists field. Search and Next set it from whether Delphi returned zero. Close sets it false. GetFilenames and Count change it indirectly by consuming/restarting the enumeration.

Performance and concurrency

The getter is constant-time, but its backing field is mutable and unsynchronized. Do not use it as a cross-thread readiness flag or as authorization to access a path.

Related entries

  • Search establishes the first-entry state.
  • Next advances and can make the state false.
  • FileName returns the current base name only while this property is true.

External references

Created 2026-07-15