I am creating a batch file to be run later which will be used to copy files from one location to another while renaming the files, skipping any existing files, and without prompting the user. Examples of files to be copied:
00021001.txt
00021001.xyz
00021001.abc
00021001001.jpg
Copied files will have the names:
00022001.txt
00022001.xyz
00022001.abc
00022001001.jpg
Things I have tried:
xcopy C:\Testing\1000012\21\00021*.* C:\Testing\1000013\22\00022*.* /D
This almost does it. It copies all the files starting with "00021" in the first location into the second location while properly renaming them to start with "00022". It skips all the files with the same name and date stamp, but ends up prompting to copy any files from the source which are newer than the target.
robocopy C:\Testing\1000012\21\ C:\Testing\1000013\22\ 00021*.* /xo /xn /xc
I was hoping that by excluding older, newer, and same date files it would work (even if it doesn't rename - I would just do that in a separate step.) Unfortunately, this just ends up overwriting newer source files over existing target files if they are a different filesize.
I have even tried the Copy-Item command in PowerShell. But it doesn't do the renaming like Xcopy, and it doesn't skip existing files (although I can get it to confirm and say "No to All".)
Copy-Item -Path "C:\CWUImageCompare\Testing\1000012\CWU\chemistry\129\21\00021*.*" -Destination "C:\CWUImageCompare\Testing\1000013\CWU\chemistry\129\20\" -Confirm
If xcopy had the "Skip if existing" flag I'd be all set, but it doesn't.
#ECHO OFF
SETLOCAL ENABLEDELAYEDEXPANSION
rem The following settings for the source directory & destination directory are names
rem that I use for testing and deliberately includes spaces to make sure
rem that the process works using such names. These will need to be changed to suit your situation.
SET "sourcedir=u:\your files"
SET "destdir=u:\your results"
FOR /f "skip=1delims=" %%b IN ('xcopy /L /Y "%sourcedir%\00021*.*" "%destdir%\00022*.*" ^|sort') DO (
SET "oname=%%~nxb"
IF EXIST "%destdir%\00022!oname:~5!" (ECHO "%%b" skipped) ELSE (ECHO COPY /y "%%b" "%destdir%\00022!oname:~5!")
)
GOTO :EOF
Always verify against a test directory before applying to real data.
Seems a little complicated, but essentially, execute the xcopy (I omitted the /D for testing) with /L /Y to simply produce a list.
Since the list has a last line that begins with a numeric, whereas the other lines start with a drive-letter, sort the list and skip the first line.
This would implement the date-requirement.
Then grab the part after the first 5 characters of the name+extension, test whether the new name exists and either report or copy as appropriate (The copy command is disarmed for testing)
I have to create an script to copy files from a folder structure to other.
My source folder structure is similar to this:
-RootFolder
--ParentFolder1
--SubParentFolder1
--ToCopy
/*Here are the files to copy*/
--SubParentFolder2
--ParentFolder2
--OtherSubParentFolder
--ToCopy
/*Here are the files to copy*/
--ParentFolder3
--OtherSubParentFolder2
I want to copy the files that are in the "ToCopy" folders, into another folder, with this structure:
Destination folder structure:
--TargetDirectory
--SubParentFolder1
//Here the files that were in the ToCopy folder inside the SubParentsFolder1
--OtherSubParentFolder
//Here the files that were in the ToCopy folder inside the OtherSubParentFolder
Notice that I use the name of the "ToCopy" parent folder in the destination subfolders.
I know how I would do this with code (like C#), but I am at a lost on how to achieve it with a Batch file. Is it even possible? Or I would need to use something like powershell?
How can I copy my files following the structure I described?
I think, this should work...
$Folder= gci -path "d:\pstest" -recurse -Filter "ToCopy" | where { $_.psiscontainer }
Foreach ($Foldername in $Folder) {
$Destinationfolder=$Foldername.Parent
copy-item $Foldername.fullname -Destination "d:\Outputfolder\$Destinationfolder" -recurse
}
Hi to follow is a script I hacked away (via help from stack overflow), that reads the files from a txt document, then requests destination folder input and also src folder name it then just goes and recursively copies all the files to the new folder without keeping the old subfolder structure.
I will update this in future with the link to the person that I got the base template from for the admin area, but to keep in mind once you click that Batch can run as though it was a php script then everything makes sense. Took me whole day to research every command and alternative on SS64.com
Major thing to note is the pushd "%~dp0" this I use to make sure batch always uses my current directory as root.
As said I will do a proper write up on this and further stream lining since I am using it actively for moving files during a woocommerce shop update. P.S. the text file name should be entered without the .txt extention and every file name should start on a new line. Also if the destination directory does not exist it will create it. Use excel maybe to list the names then for renaming could output to new column and compile the batch rename command copy to new batch run first batch to fetch files and second batch to rename to preferred title, I do it in steps to keep my sanity.
Sorry was just a example of how I use it, but yes go ahead and enjoy hope this works for you.
#echo off
CLS
setlocal EnableDelayedExpansion
REM Changes root path to relative of current bat folder
pushd "%~dp0"
REM finds files in provided .txt file and copies them to destination directory
REM CHECK FOR ADMIN RIGHTS
COPY /b/y NUL %WINDIR%\06CF2EB6-94E6-4a60-91D8-AB945AE8CF38 >NUL 2>&1
IF ERRORLEVEL 1 GOTO:NONADMIN
DEL %WINDIR%\06CF2EB6-94E6-4a60-91D8-AB945AE8CF38 >NUL 2>&1
:ADMIN
REM GOT ADMIN RIGHTS
COLOR 1F
ECHO Hi, %USERNAME%!
ECHO Please wait...
set /p DEST_DIR="Copy files to:"%=%
set /p SEARCH_DIR="Copy files from:"%=%
#echo.
#echo Please check folder name for accuracy.
#echo Copy files to: %DEST_DIR%
#echo Copy files from: %SEARCH_DIR%
set /p CORRECT_FOLDERS="Are these correct? (please check spelling) y/n:"
if '%CORRECT_FOLDERS%'=='y' GOTO:YES_ANSWER
if '%CORRECT_FOLDERS%'=='n' GOTO:NO_ANSWER
COLOR 2F
ECHO.
PAUSE
GOTO:EOF
:NONADMIN
REM NO ADMIN RIGHTS
COLOR 4F
ECHO.
ECHO PLEASE RUN AS ADMINISTRATOR
ECHO.
pause
GOTO:EOF
:YES_ANSWER
#echo.
#echo you answered yes
#echo.
if exist %DEST_DIR% GOTO:READ_DATA
if not exist %DEST_DIR% md %DEST_DIR%&GOTO:READ_DATA
PAUSE
:NO_ANSWER
#echo.
#echo you answered no
set /p TRY_AGAIN="Try again? y/n:"
if '%TRY_AGAIN%'=='y' GOTO:YES_ANSWER
if '%TRY_AGAIN%'=='n' GOTO:EXIT_PROGRAM
PAUSE
:EXIT_PROGRAM
#echo.
#echo "So Sorry"
PAUSE
GOTO:EOF
:READ_DATA
#echo.
set /p GET_FILENAMES="What is the name of the text file your filenames are stored in?"%=%
if exist %GET_FILENAMES%.txt #echo We will now read and copy the files for you, have some coffee might take awhile & GOTO:WRITE_DATA
if not exist %GET_FILENAMES%.txt #echo Filename does not match, please type only the name without .txt extention & GOTO:READ_DATA
PAUSE
:WRITE_DATA
#echo.
#echo reading file name...
for /f "usebackq delims=" %%a in ("%GET_FILENAMES%.txt") do (
for /r "%SEARCH_DIR%" %%b in ("%%a*") do (
#echo Copy Started...
copy "%%b" "%DEST_DIR%\%%~nxb"
)
)
#echo Copy finished, please review actions. Lekker Man.
PAUSE``
I have a filesystem that uses a hash algorithm to organize files. I have used xcopy in the past to copy files to a different location by passing in a file that has a list of all the files and having it iterate through it. The script looks similar to the following:
for /f "delims=, tokens=1,2,3" %i in (D:\foo.csv)
do echo F | xcopy /i /d "Z:\%i\%j\%k" "Y:\%i\%j\%k" >> "D:\xcopy\Log.txt"
However, now I've run into a situation where in addition to copying the files that are provided in the foo.csv file, I want them to be deleted as well. I looked at the xcopy documentation and couldn't find anything. Is there someway I can accomplish this, even if I have to run another script to go through the same list of files and delete them after using xcopy?
Thanks!
You can use parenthesis to indicate multiple commands to be excecuted by the for operand:
for /f "delims=, tokens=1,2,3" %%i in (D:\foo.csv) do (
echo F | xcopy /i /d "Z:\%%i\%%j\%%k" "Y:\%%i\%%j\%%k" >> "D:\xcopy\Log.txt"
del /F "Z:\%%i\%%j\%%k"
)
I'm not familiar with Windows (I'm happily using Gnu/Linux since 1993), but perhaps you could add some command with variables like del %n somewhere (or replace xcopy with your own .bat file doing what you want)
From the look of it you can use move command instead of xcopy, since you're not using any extended features from xcopy. The '/d' is supposed to be used to only copy the files if they are newer, not sure how useful that is for your purpose since you want to delete them. Otherwise, move doesn't have many more options to speak of.
Another possible, and slightly more sophisticated, method is robocopy.
robocopy /MOVE /XO "Z:\%i\%j\%k" "Y:\%i\%j\%k"
The /MOVE would delete both folders and files after copying, and /XO flag excludes older files from being copied. robocopy is primarily available in newer operating systems (i.e. Not XP). You can check the above mentioned reference for more details.
Hope this helps. Although, just using del as previously mentioned should work fine also.
I am using XCOPY in a post-build event to copy compiled DLLs from their output folders to the main app's output folder. The DLLs are being copied to a "Modules" subfolder in the main app output folder, like this:
xcopy "$(TargetPath)" "$(SolutionDir)Prism4Demo.Shell\$(OutDir)Modules\"
The command works fine if the Modules folder exists, but I have discovered during testing that if the folder doesn't exist, XCOPY doesn't create it, and the command fails.
Is there an XCOPY switch that will cause the folder to be created if it doesn't exist? If not, what would I add to my post-build event to create the folder if it doesn't exist? Thanks for your help.
Answer to use "/I" is working but with little trick - in target you must end with character \ to tell xcopy that target is directory and not file!
Example:
xcopy "$(TargetDir)$(TargetName).dll" "$(SolutionDir)_DropFolder" /F /R /Y /I
does not work and return code 2, but this one:
xcopy "$(TargetDir)$(TargetName).dll" "$(SolutionDir)_DropFolder\" /F /R /Y /I
Command line arguments used in my sample:
/F - Displays full source & target file names
/R - This will overwrite read-only files
/Y - Suppresses prompting to overwrite an existing file(s)
/I - Assumes that destination is directory (but must ends with \)
I tried this on the command line using
D:\>xcopy myfile.dat xcopytest\test\
and the target directory was properly created.
If not you can create the target dir using the mkdir command with cmd's command extensions enabled like
cmd /x /c mkdir "$(SolutionDir)Prism4Demo.Shell\$(OutDir)Modules\"
('/x' enables command extensions in case they're not enabled by default on your system, I'm not that familiar with cmd)
use
cmd /?
mkdir /?
xcopy /?
for further information :)
I hate the PostBuild step, it allows for too much stuff to happen outside of the build tool's purview. I believe that its better to let MSBuild manage the copy process, and do the updating. You can edit the .csproj file like this:
<Target Name="AfterBuild" Inputs="$(TargetPath)\**">
<Copy SourceFiles="$(TargetPath)\**" DestinationFiles="$(SolutionDir)Prism4Demo.Shell\$(OutDir)Modules\**" OverwriteReadOnlyFiles="true"></Copy>
</Target>
Use the /i with xcopy and if the directory doesn't exist it will create the directory
for you.
You could use robocopy:
robocopy "$(TargetPath)" "$(SolutionDir)Prism4Demo.Shell\$(OutDir)Modules" /E
Simple short answer is this:
xcopy /Y /I "$(SolutionDir)<my-src-path>" "$(SolutionDir)<my-dst-path>\"
Simply type in quotes slash delimiter "/" and add to final destination 2 back-slashes "\\"
It's will be create New folders to copy and copy need file(-s).
xcopy ".\myfile" "....folder1/folder2/destination\\"
I tried this on the command.it is working for me.
if "$(OutDir)"=="bin\Debug\" goto Visual
:TFSBuild
goto exit
:Visual
xcopy /y "$(TargetPath)$(TargetName).dll" "$(ProjectDir)..\Demo"
xcopy /y "$(TargetDir)$(TargetName).pdb" "$(ProjectDir)..\Demo"
goto exit
:exit
Try /E
To get a full list of options: xcopy /?
This seems pretty simple and maybe I'm just overlooking the proper flag, but how would I, in one command, copy a file from one directory to another and rename it in the destination directory? Here's my command:
if exist "bin\development\whee.config.example"
if not exist "TestConnectionExternal\bin\Debug\whee.config"
xcopy "bin\development\whee.config.example"
"TestConnectionExternal\bin\Debug\whee.config"
It prompts me with the following every time:
Does TestConnectionExternal\bin\Debug\whee.config specify a file name
or directory name on the target (F = file, D = directory)?
I want to suppress this prompt; the answer is always F.
I use
echo f | xcopy /f /y srcfile destfile
to get around it.
Don't use the xcopy, use copy instead, it doesn't have this issue.
xcopy is generally used when performing recursive copies of multiple files/folders, or when you need the verification/prompting features it offers. For single file copies, the copy command works just fine.
Another option is to use a destination wildcard. Note that this only works if the source and destination filenames will be the same, so while this doesn't solve the OP's specific example, I thought it was worth sharing.
For example:
xcopy /y "bin\development\whee.config.example" "TestConnectionExternal\bin\Debug\*"
will create a copy of the file "whee.config.example" in the destination directory without prompting for file or directory.
Update: As mentioned by #chapluck:
You can change "* " to "[newFileName].*". It persists file extension but allows to rename. Or more hacky: "[newFileName].[newExt]*" to change extension
There is some sort of undocumented feature in XCOPY. you can use:
xcopy "bin\development\whee.config.example" "c:\mybackup\TestConnectionExternal\bin\Debug\whee.config*"
i tested it just today. :-)
Just go to http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb491035.aspx
Here's what the MAIN ISSUE is "... If Destination does not contain an existing directory and does not end with a backslash (), the following message appears: ...
Does destination specify a file name
or directory name on the target
(F = file, D = directory)?
You can suppress this message by using the /i command-line option, which causes xcopy to assume that the destination is a directory if the source is more than one file or a directory.
Took me a while, but all it takes is RTFM.
So, there is a simple fix for this. It is admittedly awkward, but it works.
xcopy will not prompt to find out if the destination is a directory or file IF the new file(filename) already exists. If you precede your xcopy command with a simple echo to the new filename, it will overwrite the empty file. Example
echo.>newfile.txt
xcopy oldfile.txt newfile.txt /Y
I met same issue when try to copy file with new name only if file does not exist in destination or exist (with new name), but is older. The solution is to add * char at end of destination file name. Example:
xcopy "C:\src\whee.config.txt" "C:\dest\bee.config.txt*" /D /Y
This is from Bills answer.
Just to be really clear for others.
If you are copying ONE file from one place to another AND you want the full directory structure to be created, use the following command:
xcopy "C:\Data\Images\2013\08\12\85e4a707-2672-481b-92fb-67ecff20c96b.jpg" "C:\Target Data\\Images\2013\08\12\85e4a707-2672-481b-92fb-67ecff20c96b.jpg\"
Yes, put a backslash at the end of the file name and it will NOT ask you if it's a file or directory. Because there is only ONE file in the source, it will assume it's a file.
xcopy src dest /I
REM This assumes dest is a folder and will create it, if it doesnt exists
XCOPY with * at the end of the target to copy files whether they exist or not in destination
XCOPY with \ at the end of the target to copy folders and contents whether exist or not in destination
Alternatively
RoboForm SOURCE DEST FILE for files
RoboForm SOURCE DEST for folders
I had a similar issue and both robocopy and xcopy did not help, as I wanted to suppress the comments and use a different destination filename. I found
type filename.txt > destfolder\destfilename.txt
working as per my requirements.
Back to the original question:
xcopy "bin\development\whee.config.example" "TestConnectionExternal\bin\Debug\whee.config"
could be done with two commands eg:
mkdir "c:\mybackup\TestConnectionExternal\bin\Debug\whee.config\.."
xcopy "bin\development\whee.config.example" "c:\mybackup\TestConnectionExternal\bin\Debug\whee.config\"
By simply appending "\.." to the path of the destination file the destination directory is created if it not already exists. In this case
"c:\mybackup\TestConnectionExternal\bin\Debug\"
which is the parent directory of
the non-existing directory
"c:\mybackup\TestConnectionExternal\bin\Debug\whee.config\.."
At least for WIN7 mkdir does not care if the directory
"c:\mybackup\TestConnectionExternal\bin\Debug\whee.config\"
really exists.
The right thing to do if you wanna copy just file and change it's name at destination is :
xcopy /f /y "bin\development\example.exe"
"TestConnectionExternal\bin\Debug\NewName.exe*"
And it's Gonna work fine
I suggest robocopy instead of copy or xcopy. Used as command or in GUI on clients or servers. Tolerant of network pauses and you can choose to ignore file attributes when copying of copy by file attributes. Oh, and it supports multi-core machines so files are copied much faster in "parallel" with each other instead of sequentially. robocopy can be found on MS TechNet.
For duplicating large files, xopy with /J switch is a good choice. In this case, simply pipe an F for file or a D for directory. Also, you can save jobs in an array for future references. For example:
$MyScriptBlock = {
Param ($SOURCE, $DESTINATION)
'F' | XCOPY $SOURCE $DESTINATION /J/Y
#DESTINATION IS FILE, COPY WITHOUT PROMPT IN DIRECT BUFFER MODE
}
JOBS +=START-JOB -SCRIPTBLOCK $MyScriptBlock -ARGUMENTLIST $SOURCE,$DESTIBNATION
$JOBS | WAIT-JOB | REMOVE-JOB
Thanks to Chand with a bit modifications:
https://stackoverflow.com/users/3705330/chand
Place an asterisk(*) at the end of the destination path to skip the dispute of D and F.
Example:
xcopy "compressedOutput.xml" "../../Execute
Scripts/APIAutomation/Libraries/rerunlastfailedbuild.xml*"
Use copy instead of xcopy when copying files.
e.g.
copy "bin\development\whee.config.example"
"TestConnectionExternal\bin\Debug\whee.config"
Work Around, use ReName... and Name it some Cryptic Name, then ReName it to its Proper Name
C:
CD "C:\Users\Public\Documents\My Web Sites\AngelFire~Zoe\"
XCopy /D /I /V /Y "C:\Users\Public\Documents\My Web Sites\HostGator ~ ZoeBeans\cop.htm"
Ren "cop.htm" "christ-our-passover.htm"
xcopy will allow you to copy a single file into a specifed folder it just wont allow you to define a destination name. If you require the destination name just rename it before you copy it.
ren "bin\development\whee.config.example" whee.config
xcopy /R/Y "bin\development\whee.config"
"TestConnectionExternal\bin\Debug\"
When working with single files , I use both commands.
To copy a file to another existing directory, use copy
copy srcPath\srcFile existingDir\newFile
To copy an existing file to and create new directories, use xcopy
xcopy srcPath\srcFile newDirectoryPath\newFile
To suppress the xcopy 'file or directory' prompt, echo in the response. So for a file copy echo in f.
echo f | xcopy srcPath\srcFile newDirectoryPath\newFile
Note flag /y works in both commands to suppress the confirmation to overwrite the existing destination file.
MS Docs: copy, xcopy
Since you're not actually changing the filename, you can take out the filename from the destination and there will be no questions.
xcopy bin\development\whee.config.example TestConnectionExternal\bin\Debug\ /Y
This approach works well when the destination directory is guaranteed to exist, and when the source may equally be a file or directory.
You cannot specify that it's always a file. If you don't need xcopy's other features, why not just use regular copy?
Does xxxxxxxxxxxx specify a file name
or directory name on the target
(F = file, D = directory)? D
if a File : (echo F)
if a Directory (echo D)