---
name: "XtFindFile"
section: "3"
platform: "linux"
package: "libxt"
version: "1.3.1-1"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/XtFindFile"
---

# XtFindFile(3)

search for a file using substitutions in the path list

## NAME

XtFindFile - search for a file using substitutions in the path list

## SYNTAX

\#include \<X11/Intrinsic.h\>

char \* XtFindFile(const char \**path*, Substitution *substitutions*, Cardinal *num\_substitutions*, XtFilePredicate *predicate*);

## ARGUMENTS

- *path*

  Specifies a path of file names, including substitution characters.

- *substitutions*

  Specifies a list of substitutions to make into a path.

- *num\_substitutions*

  Specifies the number of substitutions passed in.

- *predicate*

  Specifies a procedure to call to judge a potential file name, or NULL.

## DESCRIPTION

The *path* parameter specifies a string that consists of a series of potential file names delimited by colons. Within each name, the percent character specifies a string substitution selected by the following character. The character sequence “%:” specifies an embedded colon that is not a delimiter; the sequence is replaced by a single colon. The character sequence “%%” specifies a percent character that does not introduce a substitution; the sequence is replaced by a single percent character. If a percent character is followed by any other character, **XtFindFile** looks through the specified *substitutions* for that character in the *match* field and if found replaces the percent and match characters with the string in the corresponding *substitution* field. A *substitution* field entry of NULL is equivalent to a pointer to an empty string. If the operating system does not interpret multiple embedded name separators in the path (i.e., “/” in POSIX) the same way as a single separator, **XtFindFile** will collapse multiple separators into a single one after performing all string substitutions. Except for collapsing embedded separators, the contents of the string substitutions are not interpreted by **XtFindFile** and may therefore contain any operating-system-dependent characters, including additional name separators. Each resulting string is passed to the predicate procedure until a string is found for which the procedure returns **True**; this string is the return value for **XtFindFile**. If no string yields a **True** return from the predicate, **XtFindFile** returns NULL.

If the *predicate* parameter is NULL, an internal procedure that checks if the file exists, is readable, and is not a directory will be used.

It is the responsibility of the caller to free the returned string using **XtFree** when it is no longer needed.

## SEE ALSO

*X Toolkit Intrinsics - C Language Interface*\
 *Xlib - C Language X Interface*