I want to copy multiple text files into a single text file without having to
have all of the text files in one folder. The problem is that many of the
text files have the same name, so I want them to remain in separate
sub-folders. If the text files are all in the same folder, I know I can just
use the DOS command: copy *.txt file.txt.

I tried using xcopy *.txt C:\file.txt /s, hoping that all the text files in
the subfolders of my working directory would all get copied into file
C:\file.txt. But instead, it just overwrote file.txt a couple of thousand
times rather than combining all the files into one big text file.

Any advice?

Direct quote from Windows Help for Xcopy.

"Appending files
To append files, specify a single file for destination, but multiple
files for source (that is, by using wildcards or file1+file2+file3 format)."

My interpretation of past experience.
You need at least one + in there as I recall. Also you will want the
destination NOT in the same path as the source files.

JornyO wrote:

> I want to copy multiple text files into a single text file without having to
> have all of the text files in one folder. The problem is that many of the
> text files have the same name, so I want them to remain in separate
> sub-folders. If the text files are all in the same folder, I know I can just
> use the DOS command: copy *.txt file.txt.
>
> I tried using xcopy *.txt C:\file.txt /s, hoping that all the text files in
> the subfolders of my working directory would all get copied into file
> C:\file.txt. But instead, it just overwrote file.txt a couple of thousand
> times rather than combining all the files into one big text file.
>
> Any advice?

"JornyO" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:C9E39C43-2C4D-44D5-B182-(E-Mail Removed)...
> I want to copy multiple text files into a single text file without having
to
> have all of the text files in one folder. The problem is that many of the
> text files have the same name, so I want them to remain in separate
> sub-folders. If the text files are all in the same folder, I know I can
just
> use the DOS command: copy *.txt file.txt.
>
> I tried using xcopy *.txt C:\file.txt /s, hoping that all the text files
in
> the subfolders of my working directory would all get copied into file
> C:\file.txt. But instead, it just overwrote file.txt a couple of thousand
> times rather than combining all the files into one big text file.
>
> Any advice?

I think an example would go a long way towards describing
your exact requirements accurately.

What I wrote earlier basically was an example of what I am trying to do. In
the folder C:\Data there are multiple sub-folders (\010101, \010102, \010103,
etc...) that each contain several text files. I can't copy all of the text
files from these subfolders into a single folder (in order to use "copy" in
command prompt) because there are files in the different subfolders with the
same name. What I was trying to do with the xcopy command was copy all of
the contents of the .txt files in the subfolders into a single .txt file
located in C:\.

The command I tried was: xcopy *.txt C:\file.txt /s

This command did in fact copy each text file from the subfolders, but rather
than appending them all into the same file, it just overwrote C:\file.txt
each time it copied one of the text files from one of the subfolders. For
some reason, using the simple command "copy *.txt file.txt" works fine if all
of the source text files are in the same folder. But as I said, I want to
get text files from the subfolders and have them all combined into a single
text file. Thanks for your time so far! The help is greatly appreciated.

"Pegasus (MVP)" wrote:

>
> "JornyO" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:C9E39C43-2C4D-44D5-B182-(E-Mail Removed)...
> > I want to copy multiple text files into a single text file without having
> to
> > have all of the text files in one folder. The problem is that many of the
> > text files have the same name, so I want them to remain in separate
> > sub-folders. If the text files are all in the same folder, I know I can
> just
> > use the DOS command: copy *.txt file.txt.
> >
> > I tried using xcopy *.txt C:\file.txt /s, hoping that all the text files
> in
> > the subfolders of my working directory would all get copied into file
> > C:\file.txt. But instead, it just overwrote file.txt a couple of thousand
> > times rather than combining all the files into one big text file.
> >
> > Any advice?
>
> I think an example would go a long way towards describing
> your exact requirements accurately.
>
>
>

Try this batch file:

@echo off
set HomeFolder=c:\temp

Echo Snapshot taken on %date% at %time:~0,5% > c:\Collect.txt
call :Sub %HomeFolder%
for /F "tokens=*" %%* in ('dir /s /b /ad') do call :Sub %%*
notepad c:\Collect.txt
goto :eof

:Sub
pushd "%*"
if exist *.txt (
echo. >> c:\Collect.txt
echo Folder=%* >> C:\Collect.txt
echo ==================== >> c:\Collect.txt
for %%b in (*.txt) do (
echo %%b >> c:\Collect.txt
type "%%b" >> c:\Collect.txt
)
)
popd

Make sure to copy & paste it rather than retyping it.


"JornyO" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:E86FF8C1-77E1-4671-B147-(E-Mail Removed)...
> What I wrote earlier basically was an example of what I am trying to do.
In
> the folder C:\Data there are multiple sub-folders (\010101, \010102,
\010103,
> etc...) that each contain several text files. I can't copy all of the
text
> files from these subfolders into a single folder (in order to use "copy"
in
> command prompt) because there are files in the different subfolders with
the
> same name. What I was trying to do with the xcopy command was copy all of
> the contents of the .txt files in the subfolders into a single .txt file
> located in C:\.
>
> The command I tried was: xcopy *.txt C:\file.txt /s
>
> This command did in fact copy each text file from the subfolders, but
rather
> than appending them all into the same file, it just overwrote C:\file.txt
> each time it copied one of the text files from one of the subfolders. For
> some reason, using the simple command "copy *.txt file.txt" works fine if
all
> of the source text files are in the same folder. But as I said, I want to
> get text files from the subfolders and have them all combined into a
single
> text file. Thanks for your time so far! The help is greatly appreciated.
>
> "Pegasus (MVP)" wrote:
>
> >
> > "JornyO" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> > news:C9E39C43-2C4D-44D5-B182-(E-Mail Removed)...
> > > I want to copy multiple text files into a single text file without
having
> > to
> > > have all of the text files in one folder. The problem is that many of
the
> > > text files have the same name, so I want them to remain in separate
> > > sub-folders. If the text files are all in the same folder, I know I
can
> > just
> > > use the DOS command: copy *.txt file.txt.
> > >
> > > I tried using xcopy *.txt C:\file.txt /s, hoping that all the text
files
> > in
> > > the subfolders of my working directory would all get copied into file
> > > C:\file.txt. But instead, it just overwrote file.txt a couple of
thousand
> > > times rather than combining all the files into one big text file.
> > >
> > > Any advice?
> >
> > I think an example would go a long way towards describing
> > your exact requirements accurately.
> >
> >
> >

I tried the code you suggested by copying and pasting it into a text file and
then changing the extension to .bat. I tried running it twice, once by
double-clicking on the Batch file icon, and once from Command Prompt. Both
times I got the same result: a 1KB file called Collect.txt in C:\ with a
single line of text that says: "Snapshot taken on 03/15/2007 at 9:00" That
batch file was in the parent folder whose subfolders contain the text files I
want copied into a single file.

Did I miss something? Perhaps my limited knowledge of coding and scripting
is making blind to something that ought to be obvious.



"Pegasus (MVP)" wrote:

@echo off
set HomeFolder=c:\temp

Echo Snapshot taken on %date% at %time:~0,5% > c:\Collect.txt
call :Sub %HomeFolder%
for /F "tokens=*" %%* in ('dir /s /b /ad') do call :Sub %%*
notepad c:\Collect.txt
goto :eof

:Sub
pushd "%*"
if exist *.txt (
echo. >> c:\Collect.txt
echo Folder=%* >> C:\Collect.txt
echo ==================== >> c:\Collect.txt
for %%b in (*.txt) do (
echo %%b >> c:\Collect.txt
type "%%b" >> c:\Collect.txt
)
)
popd

JornyO wrote:
> I tried the code you suggested by copying and pasting it into a text file and
> then changing the extension to .bat. I tried running it twice, once by
> double-clicking on the Batch file icon, and once from Command Prompt. Both
> times I got the same result: a 1KB file called Collect.txt in C:\ with a
> single line of text that says: "Snapshot taken on 03/15/2007 at 9:00" That
> batch file was in the parent folder whose subfolders contain the text files I
> want copied into a single file.
>
> Did I miss something? Perhaps my limited knowledge of coding and scripting
> is making blind to something that ought to be obvious.
>
>
>
> "Pegasus (MVP)" wrote:
>
> @echo off
> set HomeFolder=c:\temp
>
> Echo Snapshot taken on %date% at %time:~0,5% > c:\Collect.txt
> call :Sub %HomeFolder%
> for /F "tokens=*" %%* in ('dir /s /b /ad') do call :Sub %%*
> notepad c:\Collect.txt
> goto :eof
>
> :Sub
> pushd "%*"
> if exist *.txt (
> echo. >> c:\Collect.txt
> echo Folder=%* >> C:\Collect.txt
> echo ==================== >> c:\Collect.txt
> for %%b in (*.txt) do (
> echo %%b >> c:\Collect.txt
> type "%%b" >> c:\Collect.txt
> )
> )
> popd
>

While you're waiting for Pegasus to explain the esoterica of
command-line programming, try editing the second line of your batch file
to read:

set HomeFolder=c:\Data

(assuming that C:\Data is parent folder whose subfolders contain the
text files you want copied into a single file; otherwise, use the
correct folder name)

--
Lem MS MVP -- Networking

To the moon and back with 64 Kbits of RAM and 512 Kbits of ROM.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Guidance_Computer

On Mar 14, 8:39 pm, JornyO <Jor...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:
> What I wrote earlier basically was an example of what I am trying to do. In
> the folder C:\Data there are multiple sub-folders (\010101, \010102, \010103,
> etc...) that each contain several text files. I can't copy all of the text
> files from these subfolders into a single folder (in order to use "copy" in
> command prompt) because there are files in the different subfolders with the
> same name. What I was trying to do with the xcopy command was copy all of
> the contents of the .txt files in the subfolders into a single .txt file
> located in C:\.
>
> The command I tried was: xcopy *.txt C:\file.txt /s
>
> This command did in fact copy each text file from the subfolders, but rather
> than appending them all into the same file, it just overwrote C:\file.txt
> each time it copied one of the text files from one of the subfolders. For
> some reason, using the simple command "copy *.txt file.txt" works fine if all
> of the source text files are in the same folder. But as I said, I want to
> get text files from the subfolders and have them all combined into a single
> text file. Thanks for your time so far! The help is greatly appreciated.
>
> "Pegasus (MVP)" wrote:
>
> > "JornyO" <Jor...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> >news:C9E39C43-2C4D-44D5-B182-(E-Mail Removed)...
> > > I want to copy multiple text files into a single text file without having
> > to
> > > have all of the text files in one folder. The problem is that many of the
> > > text files have the same name, so I want them to remain in separate
> > > sub-folders. If the text files are all in the same folder, I know I can
> > just
> > > use the DOS command: copy *.txt file.txt.
>
> > > I tried using xcopy *.txt C:\file.txt /s, hoping that all the text files
> > in
> > > the subfolders of my working directory would all get copied into file
> > > C:\file.txt. But instead, it just overwrote file.txt a couple of thousand
> > > times rather than combining all the files into one big text file.
>
> > > Any advice?
>
> > I think an example would go a long way towards describing
> > your exact requirements accurately.

Check out the following utility -

http://bluefive.pair.com/txtcollector.htm

I cannot offer any further advice unless you post ***your***
version of the batch file.


"JornyO" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:6AEC930B-7C3D-442B-ADA2-(E-Mail Removed)...
> I tried the code you suggested by copying and pasting it into a text file
and
> then changing the extension to .bat. I tried running it twice, once by
> double-clicking on the Batch file icon, and once from Command Prompt.
Both
> times I got the same result: a 1KB file called Collect.txt in C:\ with a
> single line of text that says: "Snapshot taken on 03/15/2007 at 9:00"
That
> batch file was in the parent folder whose subfolders contain the text
files I
> want copied into a single file.
>
> Did I miss something? Perhaps my limited knowledge of coding and
scripting
> is making blind to something that ought to be obvious.
>
>
>
> "Pegasus (MVP)" wrote:
>
> @echo off
> set HomeFolder=c:\temp
>
> Echo Snapshot taken on %date% at %time:~0,5% > c:\Collect.txt
> call :Sub %HomeFolder%
> for /F "tokens=*" %%* in ('dir /s /b /ad') do call :Sub %%*
> notepad c:\Collect.txt
> goto :eof
>
> :Sub
> pushd "%*"
> if exist *.txt (
> echo. >> c:\Collect.txt
> echo Folder=%* >> C:\Collect.txt
> echo ==================== >> c:\Collect.txt
> for %%b in (*.txt) do (
> echo %%b >> c:\Collect.txt
> type "%%b" >> c:\Collect.txt
> )
> )
> popd
>