How can I set the default file type for a CFileDialog?

Question

I am using CFileDialog for displaying the open file dialog. I have set the filter as follows:

static TCHAR BASED_CODE szFilter[] = _T("Chart Files (*.xlc)|*.xlc|")
                                     _T("Worksheet Files (*.xls)|*.xls|Data Files (*.xlc;*.xls)|")
                                     _T("*.xlc; *.xls|All Files (*.*)|*.*||");

I need to set the default file type to be "Worksheet Files" whenever I DoModal the dialog box. I am unable to figure out how to do it. MS Paint is doing, it selects the "All Picture files" when we open the open file dialog.

Please let me know how to do it.

Got the answer one can use nFilterIndex of OPENFILENAME to set the default selected file type. — Pankaj, Jan 20 '11 at 12:04

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Jan 20 '11 at 12:08

1

You're looking for the SetDefExt function. This allows you to specify the default file extension for an open/save file dialog box. Remember that the string you specify should not contain a period (.).

Of course, you could also just specify this in the constructor. The second parameter is the default extension (lpszDefExt).

answered Jan 20 '11 at 12:08

Cody Gray - on strike

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Although MFC dialog have a somewhat twisted logic, changing default extension does not selects the default filter accordingly. Use nFilterIndex instead. – JB. Oct 18 '12 at 12:13
nFilterIndex is not a member of CFileDialog – Michael Haephrati Jul 23 '20 at 12:14
@Michael `nFilterIndex` is a member of the `OPENFILENAME` structure, which, *I believe*, is exposed by `CFileDialog`. – Cody Gray - on strike Jul 23 '20 at 18:12
Yes, I wrote https://stackoverflow.com/a/63054216/1592639 based on that ... – Michael Haephrati Jul 23 '20 at 23:14

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Jul 23 '20 at 12:24

You should read and write This code will do the job during the run time of your program. To be able to display the last used selection next time you run your program, you can store the value of LastIndex in the Registry.

// A dialog box with several filters for various media file types
static int LastIndex = -1;          // Holds the last used filter. You can store it in the Registry to use it during next run.

const TCHAR szFilter[] = _T("Video Files (*.mpg, *.mov, *.mp4)|*.mpg;*.mov;*.mp4|Audio Files (*.wav, *.mp3, *.m4a, *.flac)|*.wav;*.mp3;*.m4a;*.flac|MXF Files (*.mxf)|*.mxf|All Files (*.*)|*.*||");

CFileDialog dlg(TRUE, _T("Select Media File"), NULL, OFN_HIDEREADONLY | OFN_FILEMUSTEXIST, szFilter, this);

if(LastIndex != -1) dlg.m_ofn.nFilterIndex = LastIndex; // restore last used index 
                                                        // from last time

if (dlg.DoModal() == IDOK)
{
    LastIndex = dlg.m_ofn.nFilterIndex; // Store last used index for next time
    CString sFilePath = dlg.GetPathName();
}

How can I set the default file type for a CFileDialog?

2 Answers2