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StoredPathName

property StoredPathName: String read write;

Example​

procedure ReportBackingPath(const Attachment: TIdAttachmentFile;
  var Value: Variant);
begin
  // Reading is useful for diagnostics; avoid exposing the path to untrusted output.
  Value := Attachment.StoredPathName;
end;

Usage​

StoredPathName gets or replaces the local path used for the attachment. Assignment changes only the path text; it does not copy the file, validate the path or transfer temporary-file cleanup responsibility.

Critical temporary-file cleanup hazard​

Do not assign this property on a received/decoded attachment or on an attachment populated through an load method. Those paths set the hidden temporary flag true. The destructor later calls DeleteFile(StoredPathName) using the property's current value and ignores the Boolean result.

If a script replaces the path while that flag is true, destruction can delete the newly named unrelated file and leave the original Velox temporary file orphaned. The setter provides no way to clear or transfer the hidden flag. This is both a data-loss and local-authority risk.

The safe pattern is to treat the property as read-only in scripts. To use different bytes, construct/attach a new outgoing attachment through the owning mail API, or copy bytes with the documented load/save methods while preserving the owner and metadata contracts.

Additional Technical Info​

StoredPathName is the local path used by TIdAttachmentFile when it opens, saves or cleans up attachment bytes. It is distinct from inherited FileName, which is normally only the display/MIME base name.

For an outgoing attachment created with a path, the property initially contains that argument and later send/save operations read the live file. For content decoded or loaded through LoadFromStream, it contains a Velox-generated system temporary filename.

Reading the property returns the stored String without checking existence, accessibility or ownership. It can disclose local directory names and host layout, so do not place it in customer-facing logs, messages or map output unless that disclosure is explicitly acceptable.

Assignment is a raw field write​

The setter performs only Self.StoredPathName := value against the native field. It does not:

  • canonicalise, validate or check the path;
  • copy, move, open or delete content at assignment time;
  • update inherited FileName, ContentType or other MIME metadata;
  • reset AttachmentBlocked;
  • change the hidden FileIsTempFile cleanup flag; or
  • transfer cleanup ownership from an old path to a new path.

Consequently, assigning an outgoing attachment changes which live file future operations read, while its recipient-visible filename and MIME type can still describe the previous path. A missing or inaccessible replacement is accepted immediately and fails only on later access.

Paths, races and failures​

Paths are resolved by the Velox process identity. Relative paths are dependent on service working context; use controlled absolute paths for outgoing files. Path existence is a race, not a reservation: a file can change between any validation and later send/save.

Property reads and writes allocate only the managed String and perform no direct I/O. Later operations can synchronously read, overwrite or delete the named file. The property and attachment are not thread-safe; never mutate the path while another flow is sending, saving, loading or destroying the item.

The source-reviewed example deliberately reads rather than assigns the path and warns about disclosure. It was not executed by the documentation workflow.

External references

Created 2026-07-15