Backup files but not their folders

[nikostzar]

Hello and thank you for this great software,

Is it possible to backup files like this? (copy all files without copying the folders they are in)

from:
folderA/subfolderA1/fileA1
folderA/subfolderA2/fileA2
folderA/subfolderA3/fileA3


to:
folderB/fileA1
folderB/fileA2
folderB/fileA3

[Plerry]

This should be possible, but only
* when using the "update" sync method, not the "two way" or "mirror" method
your from->to descriptio suggests this might be the case
* if there is no duplication of filenames in the different subfolders
your fileA1, fileA2 and fileA3 suggests so, as there e.g. are no two fileA2's

You can then simply define:
1st folder pair left location: folderA/subfolderA1; right location: folderB
2nd folder pair left location: folderA/subfolderA2; right location: folderB
3rd folder pair left location: folderA/subfolderA3; right location: folderB
and choose "update" as sync method.
However, using "update" means that files deleted from any of the subfolderAx (x=1,2,3)
locations will continue to exist in folderB.

Be aware that if any of the subfolderAx subfolders contain further subfolders, that folder structure will still be duplicated (incl. files in these subfolders) in folderB.

[nikostzar]

Hello Plerry and thank you for the reply.
I am afraid I made my case less clear by providing this example...

I am actually trying to find a way to have a folder collect all the autosave files that Microsoft Word creates (*.asd files).
The problem is that Word creates those files inside subfolders and deletes them (the asd files and the folders they are in) after you close Word.

So I created a filter that includes *.asd and selected "Update" as you suggested.
I then created a service from these rules that runs on startup.

Everything worked fine and I was just asking for the cherry on top:
If it was possible I would like folderB to have just the asd files in it (so I can browse through them easier, sort them by date, etc...).

Hope this is more clear and thank you again for your reply!
Nikos

[nikostzar]

So this is a no?
(sorry for the bump...)

[drghughes]

I had a similar problem where I wanted to copy podcasts from the individual podcast folders that iTunes creates to a single folder that I used as a playlist.

I used the for command line command - see https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc754900%28v=ws.10%29.aspx

So, in the batch file, I first moved to the directory with the podcast files in their separate folders, i.e. using cd.

Then I used

for /r %%d in (*) do copy "%%d" "E:\target folder"


From memory I found the basic procedure on StackOverflow, so if you search there you will probably find a better explanation.

Hope that helps.

[nikostzar]

Hello Dom and thank you for your reply.
So, if I get this right, you are suggesting a solution outside FreeFileSync: To create a .bat file that will copy all the files out of their subfolders, right?
I guess this will work just fine, thanks again!

[shaggy79]

Hi there,
Did you get this to work as I'm after the same sort of thing but I have no idea how to do it....
viewtopic.php?t=457&p=1810#p1810
Someone mentioned "batch files" could someone explain how I do this too?
cheers,
Paul.

[drghughes]

Hello Dom and thank you for your reply.
So, if I get this right, you are suggesting a solution outside FreeFileSync: To create a .bat file that will copy all the files out of their subfolders, right?
I guess this will work just fine, thanks again!

Yes, you'll need to set this up outside FreeFileSync.

[drghughes]

Hi there,
Did you get this to work as I'm after the same sort of thing but I have no idea how to do it....
viewtopic.php?t=457&p=1810#p1810
Someone mentioned "batch files" could someone explain how I do this too?
cheers,
Paul.

Just to be sure, you want to do something similar to the situation in the opening post, i.e.

from:
folderA/subfolderA1/fileA1
folderA/subfolderA2/fileA2
folderA/subfolderA3/fileA3
 
to:
folderB/fileA1
folderB/fileA2
folderB/fileA3


for .jpg files?

In this case, something like

for /r %%d in (*.jpg) do copy "%%d" "E:\target folder"


should do what you want.

A batch file is just a file that you create with a text editor, e.g. Notepad, with a .bat extension. http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Batch-File might help.

Try your batch file out on some test data first, or make sure that you back up your live data because if you haven't done this before something is likely to go wrong on your first attempt. If you put the command

pause


on the last line of the batch file, this will allow you to see what has happened, rather than the window disappearing when all the commands have run. Pressing any key will continue. Once you're satisfied that the batch file is doing what you want, you can remove the

pause


and the window will close automatically when the commands have run.