>Ok then, how about this... if I have the long directory name, how can I get the shortened version of it?

How about the Win32 GetShortPathName()?

Declare integer GetShortPathName in win32api string @, string @, integer
lsShortPath = Space(200)
?getshortpathname("c:\documents and settings", @lsShortPath, 200)
?lsshortpath