>>The following example will put the list of files into the file "output.txt", which must then be analyzed.
>>
>>
>>RUN DIR c:\MyFolder\*.* /B > output.txt
>>
>
>I need the fastest and most reliable method, which would work correctly on a directory with more than 13K files.
Well, then, see how fast it works, and compare it with the other methods.
The part above should work without problems; to read in the file, you can use FileToStr() and alines() (if you expect less than 65,000 files), or FileToStr() and a combination of _mline and mline() (if you expect more than 65,000 files).
Difference in opinions hath cost many millions of lives: for instance, whether flesh be bread, or bread be flesh; whether whistling be a vice or a virtue; whether it be better to kiss a post, or throw it into the fire... (from Gulliver's Travels)