How To Find an Item in a Tree Control Via its Label

The "tree view" common control does not have any built-in method for searching the entire tree, or for selecting an item contained within the tree when given a specific item label. This article provides code that returns the location of any item in a tree when given a specific label to search for.
The GetItemByName() function takes the window handle of the tree control, HTREEITEM, which points to the item in the tree to start searching and a string for which to search.

unit Unit1;

interface

uses
  Windows, Messages, SysUtils, Classes, Graphics, Controls, Forms, Dialogs,
  StdCtrls, ComCtrls;

type
  TForm1 = class(TForm)
    Button1: TButton;
    TreeView1: TTreeView;
    procedure Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
  private
    { Private declarations }
  public
    { Public declarations }
  end;

var
  Form1: TForm1;

implementation

{$R *.DFM}

uses
  commctrl;

// Note: If you have items with more than 50 characters
// of text, you'll need to increase this value.
const MAXTEXTLEN=50;

function GetItemByName(Wnd : hWnd;  hItem : HTREEITEM;
                       szItemName : LPCTSTR) : HTREEITEM ;
var
  szBuffer: array [0..MAXTEXTLEN+1] of char;
  item : TTVItem;
  hItemFound, hItemChild : HTREEITEM;

begin
    // If hItem is NULL, start search from root item.
    if (hItem = nil) then
        hItem := HTREEITEM(SendMessage(Wnd, TVM_GETNEXTITEM, TVGN_ROOT, 0));
    while (hItem <> nil) do
    begin
        item.hItem := hItem;
        item.mask := TVIF_TEXT OR TVIF_CHILDREN;
        item.pszText := szBuffer;
        item.cchTextMax := MAXTEXTLEN;
        SendMessage(Wnd, TVM_GETITEM, 0, longint(@item));

        // Did we find it?
        if (lstrcmp(szBuffer, szItemName) = 0) then
          begin
             Result := hItem;
             Exit;
          end;

        // Check whether we have child items.
        if (item.cChildren > 0) then
        begin
            // Recursively traverse child items.

            hItemChild := HTREEITEM(SendMessage(Wnd, TVM_GETNEXTITEM,
                                                TVGN_CHILD, longint(hItem)));

            hItemFound := GetItemByName(Wnd, hItemChild, szItemName);

            // Did we find it?
            if (hItemFound <> nil) then
             begin
                Result :=  hItemFound;
                Exit;
             end;
        end;

        // Go to next sibling item.
        hItem := HTREEITEM(SendMessage(Wnd, TVM_GETNEXTITEM,
                                       TVGN_NEXT, LPARAM(hItem)));
    end;

    // Not found.
    Result := nil;
end;

procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
  hItem : HTREEITEM;
begin
  hItem := GetItemByName(TreeView1.Handle, nil, 'Serge');
  if (hItem <> nil) then
   begin
     TreeView1.SetFocus;
     SendMessage(TreeView1.Handle, TVM_SELECTITEM, TVGN_CARET,  longint(hItem));
   end;
end;

end.