Waiting for FTP directory to empty.

How do I listen for an empty FTP/SFTP directory in BizTalk?

I have been asked to write a process to moves files to an FTP directory, then create a file in the source directory containing the file count. Another program (from another company), deletes those files once a day from the FTP directory. After the files have been deleted, and the directory is emptied, I need to move the flat file to this FTP.

I’m new to BizTalk and so far I’ve pondered whether creating a variable in the orchestration that references System.IO.FileSystemWatcher would work. If this is the correct solution, I still don’t know how to write the expression or allow the Path property of the FileSystemWatcher to be configurable.

Otherwise, I’m happy to accept that BizTalk may not be the right tool for the job – though the powers-that-be may not.