A file editing routine in Win7 or a program to deal with bulk files

loninappleton · 09 Jul 2015

I used to see file editors back in the early days and never was able to handle them due to arcane
help files, TMI and other problems associated with pedantry in lingo.

Soon I will need to edit my HD of duplicates and no longer- needed items.

Please don't mention the "ability" to hold down the control key and make a box and delete what's inside.

No, what I need is something along the line of a wildcard delete such as delete myfile*.*

Is there anything like that in Win7 freeware? Something with a bit more control than
a screen full of highlighted things or the opposite: clicking each and every item, delete and confirm?

ignatzatsonic · 09 Jul 2015

Your title says "file editing". Your text refers to deleting.

Are you talking about identifying duplicate files and deleting the duplicates, so that you have only 1 version?

Are you referring only to files that have the same exact name, regardless of content? Or do you mean files with the same content, regardless of name?

Text files? Pictures? What file extensions generally?

You can do a lot from the command line using switches and wild cards.

There are good duplicate file finder applications. And the "Everything" search engine is great for finding files with identical names.

loninappleton · 09 Jul 2015

Thanks for answering.

Yes a list of command syntax would likely work for these deletions, as you specify. IOW not renaming
or anything else.

The trick is to see the list to make sure nothing gets lost that needs to be saved.

I just don't remember enough of DOS to do this effectively.

Could be I wind up doing it manually. I do not use cleaners as they are dangerous. But temp files,
other questionable file extensions should go. I will look under the systems program accessories to see if I can find that routine familiar from XP.

If you know of a safe cleaner, I have a backup to try that on. Any freeware I would test. Other sites warn against any cleaners because if they are not tuned to a PC's files you can lose things the cleaner thinks should be deleted.

The alternative is a reinstall with fresh program downloads and folder transfers.

ignatzatsonic · 09 Jul 2015

Still not clear on your intent.

Originally, I thought you were talking about your personal data files. For instance, finding out if you have 2 files named kitty.jpg and then deleting the duplicate.

Your second post refers to "cleaners" and "temp files", so maybe you are referring to system files of some type as opposed to personal data files?

You refer to "system program accessories". Not sure why. I'm not aware of any application provided with Windows that would help you find duplicate files--other than the command line.

I still don't know what file extensions you are talking about.

I may be able to help you with command line commands, but I need more clarity on your goals.

You refer to "a safe cleaner". Not sure what that means. An app that can find duplicate file names among your personal data files? An app that can compare 2 copies of a file named kitty.jpg, show you both pictures, and let you choose which one to delete? An app that will generally delete unnecessary files from Windows itself--cleaning up "clutter", while completely ignoring your duplicate personal data files?

Berton · 09 Jul 2015

Since DOS was mentioned one could try this:
in Windows Explorer right-click a Folder name while holding down the Shift key. Choose/click on Open command prompt here. Type dir /o/p or dir /o/s/p and press Enter. You will get a screen-full list of files for the first command or a screen-full list of Folders and files with the second command. The /p pauses the list instead of letting it scroll through the whole list. Using >dir.txt [without the /p] at the end of either command will create a list within that Folder that can be viewed in Notepad and/or printed. There is a space after dir.