Table of Contents
LIST OF FILES
Category: Create / Generate
Description
This action creates a table with a list of files in the specified folder and their attributes.
Use cases
Create a file list to be used later for iterations or file commands.
Action settings
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Folder* | The folder to extract the list of files from. |
| Columns | Provides options to select the types of data to return as fields in the dataset. See below. |
| Subfolders | Provides options to scan through subfolders within the chosen folder. See below. |
* Setting can be specified using a parameter.
Columns settings
These options define the columns that will be included in the generated dataset. At least one option must be selected.
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| File name with pull path | Returns the fully-qualified file name including absolute path. Default. |
| File name only | Returns the file name only, excluding path. |
| File extension | Returns the file's extension only. |
| Size | Returns the file's size, in bytes. |
| Date created | Returns the date the file was originally created. |
| Date modified | Returns the date the file was last edited. |
| Read-only | Returns a Boolean (TRUE/FALSE) value defining whether the file is set to read-only mode, or is editable (read/write). |
| Date last accessed | Returns the date the file was most recently accessed. |
Subfolders settings
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Scan subfolders | Select this option to scan for files within subfolders under the selected Folder. |
| Scanning depth | The number of subfolder levels, under the parent folder, the action will scan within. e.g. "1" will scan through the subfolders found directly under the parent folder only; "2" will scan through the subfolders of the subfolders (i.e. 2 levels deep) found under the parent folder. |
| Ignore scan errors | Select to ignore any errors produced when scanning subfolders for files. This is useful for avoiding errors when scanning folder depths that may not exist in all subfolders. |
Examples
Example #1
Create a list of files in the Documents folder.
After (result table)
| File name with full path | Size |
|---|---|
| C:\Documents\File1.csv | 2000 |
| C:\Documents\File2.xlsx | 350000 |
| C:\Documents\File3.txt | 1500 |
| C:\Documents\File4.csv | 70000 |
Action parameters
Folder: C:\Documents
Columns: File name with full path, Size
Example #2
Create a list of files in the Public Datasets folder and the subfolders directly under it
After (result table)
| File name with full path | File extension | Read-only |
|---|---|---|
| D:\Public Datasets\US Household Income\2020.csv | .csv | FALSE |
| D:\Public Datasets\US Household Income\2021.csv | .csv | FALSE |
| D:\Public Datasets\Titanic passenger list.xslx | .xlsx | TRUE |
| D:\Public Datasets\HTML code table.xls | .xls | FALSE |
Action parameters
Folder: D:\Public Datasets
Columns: File name with full path, File extension, Read-only
Subfolders: Scan subfolders
Scanning depth: 1
Community examples
- Finding all projects with particular action (Project; Module: Main; Group: Tab 1; Table: Documents; Action position: 1)
- Load only workbooks with given number of sheets (Project; Module: Main; Group: Tab 1; Table: Get file names to load;
Action position: 1) - Embedded connection - search for type email server (Project; Module: Main; Group: Tab 1; Table: Projects with email connectors; Action position: 1)
Shortcuts
Fast ways to create the action:
- Press the "Add data" menu button. Pick "Generate data".
- Drag a folder with various file types into the application window. Select "Generate a list of files in the folder".