Turning File Names Into a Text File (in OSX)

[Manfred Lopez]

HOW TO TURN A FOLDER’S FILE NAMES INTO A TEXT FILE (IN OSX):

I have just learned a great new trick that will save me thousands upon thousands of hairs and brain cells. This is especially helpful for when one is shooting a feature and ends up with folders with hundreds of files and then one needs to create a word document listing all that crap. So anyway, here’s Aunt Jemima's secret pie recipe for text-file heaven:


THE STEPS:

1. Open Terminal (From Utilities folder);
2. Type “pwd” to see the directory that you are in;
3. Type “ls” to see a list of that directory’s contents;
4. Then type “cd” and a space and the exact name of the folder you want to navigate into (case sensitive);
5. Repeat until you are in the folder whose file names you want to turn into a text file; and…
6. Finally type “ls -R > contents.txt” (This will create a text file in the same folder that you can then import into Word or Exel or whatever).


For more info on how to navigate around in the Terminal go here:

http://www.osxterminal.com/navigatingaround/

I am posting this here so I can later remind myself on how to do this, as I am sure to forget… oh, and of course also to share this with you all, he he

 

[Deanan]

If you want a non terminal way of doing the same thing, Automator is great for that.

 

[Manfred Lopez]

If you want a non terminal way of doing the same thing, Automator is great for that.

I didn't know that. I have never really used automator. So I guess now is a good time to start learning Thanks for the tip, Deanan.

 

[Deanan]

It's always good to know how to get around in terminal/shell anyway

 

[Manfred Lopez]

Yea, it gives one the sense of being an uber-evil hacker... plus it might impress the girls (not!)

 

[conrad gaunt]

Yea, it gives one the sense of being an uber-evil hacker... plus it might impress the girls (not!)

Yeah, I used to impress girls with my MSDOS skills, but if that failed I`d just ply them with drink and show them Mr.Wobbly (not! not! not!)

If you need to create a batch file in windows to automate something, but vista won`t let you rename a .txt file to .bat? ggrrr!!, or you like word processing in a minimalistic environment, heres how I do it:

1. Go to command prompt
2. type in: copy con <name of file ie, *.bat> <press enter>
3. Now type DOS command <press enter>
4. Repeat step 3, until all commands entered
5. Close file by Pressing F6 then <enter>
6. Cut paste batch file where its needed

btw, You just copied text from the console (CON), into a new file.

 

[David Didato]

You can also drag-drop the folder into the terminal and the text will auto-type itself with the full path name.

With some programs, like BBEdit,you can just select the files in the finder, hit copy and then paste into a new text file. The file names just paste right in.

 

[Michael Romano]

You can also just drop the folder into a blank Firefox window and then do a "save as" or "print". All are valid options but depend on what formatting you require of your text file. I mostly use the print to PDF function. I believe this also works in Internet Explorer on the PC. Safari might not do the trick but what the hell would you be using IE and Safari for anyways?

 

[MichaelP]

I use REDrushes to create an ALE or CSV file an open that up in Excel or Fikemaker Pro...

Michael

 

[Hans-Georg Daun]

Clipfinder (http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?t=18371) also supports the creation of clip lists. When you select clips in Clipfinder and paste into a text editor, Excel, Numbers, etc., the following information will be pasted
- short clip name
- full path name
- clip creation date and time
- clip dimensions (width / height)
- clip duration
- frame rate
- info (RSX file present, etc.)
- comments

 

[benjibrucker]

also, if you want more info about each folder and file you can do

"ls -alR > dir_and_sub_dir.txt"

this will give you info like:
Read/Write stuffs
Date/time created
size...

I usually use this when handing off files to an edit house.

Terminal is fun!

Peace.