Efficiently Randomly Select and Move Files with Batch Scripting

Описание: Learn how to use batch scripting in Windows to randomly select and move files with similar names and different extensions to a designated folder.
---
This video is based on the question https://stackoverflow.com/q/63445797/ asked by the user 'RobNZ' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/14096538/ ) and on the answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/63446941/ provided by the user 'Gerhard' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/7818749/ ) at 'Stack Overflow' website. Thanks to these great users and Stackexchange community for their contributions.

Visit these links for original content and any more details, such as alternate solutions, latest updates/developments on topic, comments, revision history etc. For example, the original title of the Question was: How to select randomly a certain number of files (same filename but 4/5 different extensions) and move them to another folder?

Also, Content (except music) licensed under CC BY-SA https://meta.stackexchange.com/help/l...
The original Question post is licensed under the 'CC BY-SA 4.0' ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... ) license, and the original Answer post is licensed under the 'CC BY-SA 4.0' ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... ) license.

If anything seems off to you, please feel free to write me at vlogize [AT] gmail [DOT] com.
---
Efficiently Randomly Select and Move Files with Batch Scripting

Finding a way to randomly select files from a directory and move them to another specified folder can be a challenging task, especially when these files share a common name but come with different extensions. In this guide, we will guide you through a simple batch script solution that accomplishes this goal.

Understanding the Problem

Imagine you have a folder containing several files related to certain items or themes. For instance, you might have a collection of files related to The Beatles with varying formats:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

These files all bear the same base name but have different extensions. The challenge here lies in selecting a certain number of these files randomly and then moving all associated files (those with the same base name) to a different directory. Additionally, in cases where certain extensions are missing, the script should skip them without errors.

Step-by-Step Solution

Let's break down how to create a batch file that meets these requirements.

Setting Up Your Environment

Create Your Folders:
Ensure you have a source directory (C:\Test1) containing your files, and a destination directory (C:\Test2) where you want the selected files to be moved.

Open a Text Editor:
Use Notepad or any text editor of your choice to create your batch file (with a .bat extension).

Writing the Batch Script

Below is a complete batch script that will achieve the desired outcome:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Code Breakdown

Initialization:

setlocal enabledelayedexpansion: This allows the use of variable expansion within loops (very useful for accessing random file names).

set "folder=C:\Test1" and set "destfolder=C:\Test2": Define the source and destination directories.

File Loop:

for %%a in (*.*): This loops through every file in the source folder.

The set "name[!num!]=%%~na" captures just the base filename (without extensions) in an array.

Selecting Random Files:

The for /l %%i in (1,1,10) loop executes 10 times to randomly select 10 different file groups.

Copying Files:

The function :randm generates a random index to select which filename to copy, allowing for all file extensions to be copied that match the name.

Final Thoughts

By structuring your batch script to first gather the base names of your files and then iterate through a random selection process, you can effortlessly move your files without disarray. This approach also ensures that files with missing extensions do not hinder the process.

Remember: Always test your batch files with a backup of your files to prevent accidental loss of data.

Conclusion

With these steps, you should now be able to set up a batch file that efficiently selects and moves files across directories while managing errors due to missing file types.

Feel free to adapt the script to better suit your needs!