FileList1.Path = source_dir
FileList1.Refresh
If FileList1.ListCount > 0 Then
' do xyz
End If

As expected this works fine on my local hard disk but if the files are
actually on a network drive then the ListCount returns zero even
though there is actually files in the directory when viewed with
Explorer.
This seems to me that it might be some sort of latency problem and the
refresh hasn't finished before going on to check the listcount value.
Is there some way of making the system wait until the refresh has
finished before going on to the next bit of code? That is without
doing any crappy work around code to wait x number of seconds etc
every time.
I tried the DoEvents function but got no joy from that.

did you set FileList1.Pattern = "*.*"   ???

Good luck,
Guido.

' do xyz

... without using a control?  Check out the FindFirstFile methods in the
Code Library/FileAPI section at http://www.mvps.org/vbnet/

--

Randy Birch, MVP Visual Basic

http://www.mvps.org/vbnet/
http://www.mvps.org/ccrp/

Please correspond only using the newsgroups so all can benefit.

FileList1.Path = source_dir
FileList1.Refresh
If FileList1.ListCount > 0 Then
' do xyz
End If

As expected this works fine on my local hard disk but if the files are
actually on a network drive then the ListCount returns zero and
nothing is displayed in the box even though there is actually files in
the directory when viewed with Explorer.

At first I thought this was some kind of latency problem so I tried
using the DoEvents function but to no avail.

However I found that Mystring = Dir(source_dir, vbNormal) returned the
files from the directory so that proved it wasn't a latency problem.

So after a bit of investigation I found it's something to do with
length of string used to set FileList1.Path

For Example
if I use something like source_dir = "t:\abc\def\ghi\jkl"  then
everything is fine
but if I use source_dir = "t:\myproject_1\project_data" then the file
list box doesn't see the directory contents.

I'll have to suss out what the actual limits are but why does this
only affect network drives , has anyone ever seen this
before?????????????????????????

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q196/1/41.asp
PRB: Problems Using Intrinsic File System Controls

SYMPTOMS

  When you are using the intrinsic Visual Basic file system
controls
  (for example, DriveListBox, DirListBox, FileListBox), some or
all of
  your files are not listed. This usually occurs when you are
trying to
  access files on a network server, but can occur locally under
some
  circumstances.

  These controls are old technology. They were not designed for,
  nor tested with, some of the new operating and network system
  software. Specifically, these controls rely on the existence of
8.3
  file and directory names. Any set of circumstances that result
in
  the unavailability of 8.3 names will cause problems. For
example,
  you can disable the creation of 8.3 file or directory names on
a
  Windows NT Server. If this happens, the intrinsic controls will
only
  see those directories or files that have 8.3 names.

  RESOLUTION

  As stated in the Visual Basic 5.0 Programmer's Guide, the best
  resolution is to use the CommonDialog control. Not only is it
more
  likely to work, it also makes your application's user interface
  consistent with other Windows applications.

  Even if you do not want to use the CommonDialog, it can help
you
  determine the specific nature of the problem you are
experiencing.
  To demonstrate this, try using the CommonDialog to access the
  directories or files that are causing the problem when you are
  using the intrinsic controls. If the CommonDialog can display
these
  files, the problem is most likely the result of the limitations
of the
  intrinsic controls. If the CommonDialog fails, the problem is
most
  likely located in the computer or network file system
configuration.