Delete all files except one folder

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liu

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I have over 200 folders I need to delete all the files inside but keep

one folder (same name for all the folders) intact. Instead of going to

each folder to delete files manually, is there a way to batch that

process?



Thanks,
 
I have over 200 folders I need to delete all the files inside but keep

one folder (same name for all the folders) intact. Instead of going to

each folder to delete files manually, is there a way to batch that

process?



Thanks,
 
liu wrote:

> I have over 200 folders I need to delete all the files inside but keep

> one folder (same name for all the folders) intact. Instead of going to

> each folder to delete files manually, is there a way to batch that

> process?

>

> Thanks,



Search

Select all

De-select the one you want to keep

Delete



--



dadiOH

____________________________



dadiOH's dandies v3.06...

....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from

LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.

Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico
 
liu wrote:

> I have over 200 folders I need to delete all the files inside but keep

> one folder (same name for all the folders) intact. Instead of going to

> each folder to delete files manually, is there a way to batch that

> process?

>

> Thanks,



Search

Select all

De-select the one you want to keep

Delete



--



dadiOH

____________________________



dadiOH's dandies v3.06...

....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from

LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.

Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico
 
use Xcopy /T /E to duplicate the empty directory structure then delete

the full one.



liu wrote:

> I have over 200 folders I need to delete all the files inside but keep

> one folder (same name for all the folders) intact. Instead of going to

> each folder to delete files manually, is there a way to batch that

> process?

>

> Thanks,
 
use Xcopy /T /E to duplicate the empty directory structure then delete

the full one.



liu wrote:

> I have over 200 folders I need to delete all the files inside but keep

> one folder (same name for all the folders) intact. Instead of going to

> each folder to delete files manually, is there a way to batch that

> process?

>

> Thanks,
 
On Jun 9, 3:07 pm, "dadiOH" wrote:

> liu wrote:

> > I have over 200 folders I need to delete all the files inside but keep

> > one folder (same name for all the folders) intact. Instead of going to

> > each folder to delete files manually, is there a way to batch that

> > process?

>

> > Thanks,

>

> Search

>     Select all

>         De-select the one you want to keep

>             Delete

>

That probably needs a lot of work. You would have to know every

filename inside the folder you don't want to delete or visually going

through the list.
 
"liu" wrote in message

news:503a80b8-5214-4cd1-bf69-b491ba554a5c@a42g2000vbl.googlegroups.com...

> I have over 200 folders I need to delete all the files inside but keep

> one folder (same name for all the folders) intact. Instead of going to

> each folder to delete files manually, is there a way to batch that

> process?

>

> Thanks,



I'm sure it can be done with a simple batch file but I confess that I am not

clear about your requirements. Please elaborate with an example.
 
> I'm sure it can be done with a simple batch file but I confess that I am not

> clear about your requirements. Please elaborate with an example.



Thank you very much for the offer to help. Here is what I have:

Multiple projects each one with a runtime (many HTML, ASP, images

etc), In each project there is a Source folder named "Source".

I'd like to delete the runtime while keep the Source folder intact.

There are many images, etc files in the Source folder too. Basically,

delete everything in root except "Source" folder and the content

inside.



Thanks,
 
"liu" wrote in message

news:a73eaee2-4e38-44cd-af32-d0c6786e51c7@g18g2000vbl.googlegroups.com...

>> I'm sure it can be done with a simple batch file but I confess that I am

>> not

>> clear about your requirements. Please elaborate with an example.

>

> Thank you very much for the offer to help. Here is what I have:

> Multiple projects each one with a runtime (many HTML, ASP, images

> etc), In each project there is a Source folder named "Source".

> I'd like to delete the runtime while keep the Source folder intact.

> There are many images, etc files in the Source folder too. Basically,

> delete everything in root except "Source" folder and the content

> inside.

>

> Thanks,



Your description is still rather general. Please quote a specific example of

what you wish to keep and what you wish to delete.
 
liu wrote:

> On Jun 9, 3:07 pm, "dadiOH" wrote:

>> liu wrote:

>>> I have over 200 folders I need to delete all the files inside but

>>> keep one folder (same name for all the folders) intact. Instead of

>>> going to each folder to delete files manually, is there a way to

>>> batch that process?

>>

>>> Thanks,

>>

>> Search

>> Select all

>> De-select the one you want to keep

>> Delete

>>

> That probably needs a lot of work. You would have to know every

> filename inside the folder you don't want to delete or visually going

> through the list.



Why would you have to know the file names? ? You said you wanted to delete

*all* the files in all folders except those in one folder; you said nothing

about keeping *specific* files within a *specific* folder.



You need a better folder naming scheme.



--



dadiOH

____________________________



dadiOH's dandies v3.06...

....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from

LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.

Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico
 
liu wrote:

>> I'm sure it can be done with a simple batch file but I confess that

>> I am not clear about your requirements. Please elaborate with an

>> example.

>

> Thank you very much for the offer to help. Here is what I have:

> Multiple projects each one with a runtime (many HTML, ASP, images

> etc), In each project there is a Source folder named "Source".

> I'd like to delete the runtime while keep the Source folder intact.

> There are many images, etc files in the Source folder too. Basically,

> delete everything in root except "Source" folder and the content

> inside.



Ah, you want to keep *all* folders that have a given name, not just one

physical folder.



The only thing I can think of is to use a renaming program to batch rename

each "Source" folder to "Source1... Source2...etc". You could then use

Windows search to locate them, move all to a different location, then use

Windows search as I originally suggested on the root folder to delete what

was left in the project folders.





--



dadiOH

____________________________



dadiOH's dandies v3.06...

....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from

LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.

Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico
 
> > Thank you very much for the offer to help. Here is what I have:

> > Multiple projects each one with a runtime (many HTML, ASP, images

> > etc), In each project there is a Source folder named "Source".

> > I'd like to delete the runtime while keep the Source folder intact.

> > There are many images, etc files in the Source folder too. Basically,

> > delete everything in root except "Source" folder and the content

> > inside.

>

> > Thanks,

>

> Your description is still rather general. Please quote a specific example of

> what you wish to keep and what you wish to delete.



project a

project a\file1.htm

project a\file2.htm

...

project a\file3.css

project a\file4.js

....

project a\images\file5.jpg

....

project a\Source\file6.fla

project a\Source\file7.fla

.....



I'd like to delete everything inside project a including folders

inside except Source folder. Keep everything inside the source folder

no matter what are inside.



project b

same structure but different files.



Do the same for the remaining 200 more projects with the same

structure.



Thanks for the help,
 
> Ah, you want to keep *all* folders that have a given name, not just one

> physical folder.

>

> The only thing I can think of is to use a renaming program to batch rename

> each "Source" folder to "Source1... Source2...etc".  You could then use

> Windows search to locate them, move all to a different location, then use

> Windows search as I originally suggested on the root folder to delete what

> was left in the project folders.

>

Then I have to move them back to the original project folder. How do I

that non-manually?

That may be better than doing everything manually and probably easier

to write a batch to move them back.



Thanks for the suggestion!
 
"liu" wrote in message

news:9feb6371-7331-41f7-b604-e41a20418119@18g2000vbi.googlegroups.com...

>> > Thank you very much for the offer to help. Here is what I have:

>> > Multiple projects each one with a runtime (many HTML, ASP, images

>> > etc), In each project there is a Source folder named "Source".

>> > I'd like to delete the runtime while keep the Source folder intact.

>> > There are many images, etc files in the Source folder too. Basically,

>> > delete everything in root except "Source" folder and the content

>> > inside.

>>

>> > Thanks,

>>

>> Your description is still rather general. Please quote a specific example

>> of

>> what you wish to keep and what you wish to delete.

>

> project a

> project a\file1.htm

> project a\file2.htm

> ...

> project a\file3.css

> project a\file4.js

> ...

> project a\images\file5.jpg

> ...

> project a\Source\file6.fla

> project a\Source\file7.fla

> ....

>

> I'd like to delete everything inside project a including folders

> inside except Source folder. Keep everything inside the source folder

> no matter what are inside.

>

> project b

> same structure but different files.

>

> Do the same for the remaining 200 more projects with the same

> structure.

>

> Thanks for the help,



OK, things are getting clearer. Try this:

[01] @echo off

[02] SetLocal EnableDelayedExpansion

[03] set Source=c:\Project

[04] set Target=c:\HoldingFolder

[05] set Action=echo

[06] for /d %%a in ("%Source%*.*") do (

[07] for %%b in ("%%a") do set Name=%%~na

[08] %Action% md "%Target%\!Name!"

[09] %Action% move "%%a\Source" "%Target%\!Name!"

[10] %Action% rd "%%a" /s /q

[11] %Action% move "%Target%\!Name!" C:\

[12] pause

[13] )



Instructions:

1. Copy & paste the code into a batch file of your choice. Remove the line

numbers.

2. The code assumes that your projects are kept in folders called

"c:\Project xxx" where xxx can be any character string. Modify line #3 if

this is not the case.

3. The drive letter used in lines #4 and #11 must be the same as the drive

letter used for Source in line #3.

4. Run the batch file as it is from a Command Prompt and examine its screen

output carefully.

5. If satisfied, modify line #5 to that it reads

set Action=

then run the batch file until it pauses for the first time. Check that it

has done the right thing.

6. If satisfied, remove line #12, then rerun the batch file.



Note: All care and no responsibility taken. You are responsible for backing

up your files before using this program.
 
On Jun 12, 3:11 am, "Pegasus [MVP]" wrote:

> "liu" wrote in message

>

> news:9feb6371-7331-41f7-b604-e41a20418119@18g2000vbi.googlegroups.com...

>

>

>

>

>

> >> > Thank you very much for the offer to help. Here is what I have:

> >> > Multiple projects each one with a runtime (many HTML, ASP, images

> >> > etc), In each project there is a Source folder named "Source".

> >> > I'd like to delete the runtime while keep the Source folder intact.

> >> > There are many images, etc files in the Source folder too. Basically,

> >> > delete everything in root except "Source" folder and the content

> >> > inside.

>

> >> > Thanks,

>

> >> Your description is still rather general. Please quote a specific example

> >> of

> >> what you wish to keep and what you wish to delete.

>

> > project a

> > project a\file1.htm

> > project a\file2.htm

> > ...

> > project a\file3.css

> > project a\file4.js

> > ...

> > project a\images\file5.jpg

> > ...

> > project a\Source\file6.fla

> > project a\Source\file7.fla

> > ....

>

> > I'd like to delete everything inside project a including folders

> > inside except Source folder. Keep everything inside the source folder

> > no matter what are inside.

>

> > project b

> > same structure but different files.

>

> > Do the same for the remaining 200 more projects with the same

> > structure.

>

> > Thanks for the help,

>

> OK, things are getting clearer. Try this:

> [01] @echo off

> [02] SetLocal EnableDelayedExpansion

> [03] set Source=c:\Project

> [04] set Target=c:\HoldingFolder

> [05] set Action=echo

> [06] for /d %%a in ("%Source%*.*") do (

> [07]    for %%b in ("%%a") do set Name=%%~na

> [08]    %Action% md   "%Target%\!Name!"

> [09]    %Action% move "%%a\Source" "%Target%\!Name!"

> [10]    %Action% rd   "%%a" /s /q

> [11]    %Action% move "%Target%\!Name!" C:\

> [12]    pause

> [13] )

Thank you for the script. I will give it try at work. I will try on a

duplicate first. So don't worry that I would delete files

unexpectedly.
 
I tried it, but it didn't do anything.

I duplicated some of my project folders to c:\test and I created a

folder called "new" inside c:\test.

I copy, and revised, and saved it as domagic.bat. The text is below:



@echo off

SetLocal EnableDelayedExpansion

set Source=c:\tests

set Target=c:\tests\new

set Action=

for /d %%a in ("%Source%*.*") do (

for %%b in ("%%a") do set Name=%%~na

%Action% md "%Target%\!Name!"

%Action% move "%%a\Source" "%Target%\!Name!"

%Action% rd "%%a" /s /q

%Action% move "%Target%\!Name!" c:\



I typed domagic in CMD, but it goes to the next blank command prompt

right away.



??

Thanks for the help again.
 
"liu" wrote in message

news:b037ef0c-31b5-41c1-9814-442d533427fd@h13g2000yqm.googlegroups.com...

> I tried it, but it didn't do anything.

> I duplicated some of my project folders to c:\test and I created a

> folder called "new" inside c:\test.

> I copy, and revised, and saved it as domagic.bat. The text is below:

>

> @echo off

> SetLocal EnableDelayedExpansion

> set Source=c:\tests

> set Target=c:\tests\new

> set Action=

> for /d %%a in ("%Source%*.*") do (

> for %%b in ("%%a") do set Name=%%~na

> %Action% md "%Target%\!Name!"

> %Action% move "%%a\Source" "%Target%\!Name!"

> %Action% rd "%%a" /s /q

> %Action% move "%Target%\!Name!" c:\

>

> I typed domagic in CMD, but it goes to the next blank command prompt

> right away.

>

> ??

> Thanks for the help again.



It's for situations like these that you must use the debugging mode that I

gave you. I also note that you dropped line 13. Can't do this! Here is the

original script again, this time with your folders. Leave Line 5 as it is

while debugging. Note also that you get into big problems when making the

target folder a subfolder of the source folder. They must be different!

[01] @echo off

[02] SetLocal EnableDelayedExpansion

[03] set Source=c:\Test

[04] set Target=c:\New

[05] set Action=echo

[06] for /d %%a in ("%Source%*.*") do (

[07] for %%b in ("%%a") do set Name=%%~na

[08] %Action% md "%Target%\!Name!"

[09] %Action% move "%%a\Source" "%Target%\!Name!"

[10] %Action% rd "%%a" /s /q

[11] %Action% move "%Target%\!Name!" C:\

[12] pause

[13] )
 
Thanks again for the help.



I think it is missing a function to read the names of all the folders

inside the project folder.



I got:

md "c:\New\Tests"

move "c:\Tests\Source" "c:\New\Tests"

rd "c:\Tests" /s /q

move "c:\New\Tests" C:\



In fact, I have project folders inside Tests folder. Each project

folder has its Source folder.



What I need it to do:

md "c:\New\project a"

move "c:\Tests\project a\Source" "c:\New\project a"

rd "c:\Tests\project a" /s /q

move "c:\New\Tests\project a" C:\



then it will continue with project b, project c, etc...



So project name is missing in the path.



Thanks for the help,
 
"liu" wrote in message

news:d3625860-6e34-4b03-9c8c-ed237f9ba9c4@a3g2000vbl.googlegroups.com...

> Thanks again for the help.

>

> I think it is missing a function to read the names of all the folders

> inside the project folder.

>

> I got:

> md "c:\New\Tests"

> move "c:\Tests\Source" "c:\New\Tests"

> rd "c:\Tests" /s /q

> move "c:\New\Tests" C:\

>

> In fact, I have project folders inside Tests folder. Each project

> folder has its Source folder.

>

> What I need it to do:

> md "c:\New\project a"

> move "c:\Tests\project a\Source" "c:\New\project a"

> rd "c:\Tests\project a" /s /q

> move "c:\New\Tests\project a" C:\

>

> then it will continue with project b, project c, etc...

>

> So project name is missing in the path.

>

> Thanks for the help,



This is getting too complex for me. Time to change direction - try this

batch file:

[1] @echo off

[2] set Source=C:\Tests

[3] set Key=\Source\

[4] set action=echo

[5] for /f "delims=" %%a in ('dir /s /b %Source% ^| find /i /v "%Key%"')

do %action% del "%%a"

[6] for /f "delims=" %%a in ('dir /s /b /ad %Source% ^| find /i /v "%Key%"')

do %action% rd /s /q "%%a"
 
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