Binaryworld - GetFileDescription - Retrieving the description of a file from the reg ... [ VB.net -> Windows ]

' Retrieves the description of a file from the registry
' or a null string if the file's extension isn't registered
' Example: Debug.WriteLine(GetFileDescription("D:\nyc.zip"))

Function GetFileDescription(ByVal filePath As String) As String
  ' get the classname from the registry
  Dim regKey As Microsoft.Win32.RegistryKey
  Try
    regKey = Microsoft.Win32.Registry.ClassesRoot.OpenSubKey( New _
      System.IO.FileInfo(filePath).Extension)
    If Not regKey Is Nothing Then
      ' read the file's class name
      Dim className As String = regKey.GetValue("")
      If className.Length > 0 Then
        Dim regKey2 As Microsoft.Win32.RegistryKey
        Try
          ' read the file type description
          regKey2 = Microsoft.Win32.Registry.ClassesRoot.OpenSubKey _
            (className)
          Return regKey2.GetValue("")
        Catch e As Exception
        Finally
          If Not regKey2 Is Nothing Then regKey2.Close()
        End Try
      End If
    End If
  Catch e As Exception
  Finally
    If Not regKey Is Nothing Then regKey.Close()
  End Try
End Function