Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with Folder

Help me batch print text files on the Mac

grumblebee — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:19:03 -0800

OS X: I want to batch print all the files in a source-code library. They are actionscript files, which means they are text files that all end in a .as extension. The files are in a complex directory structure (one root folder but files in multiple subfolders), and there are non .as files that I don't want printed. When the files print, I need some kind of separator ( spaces, asterisks, new page...) between each file. I can't seem to find a FILTERABLE batch printing app for OSX -- one that can print all files (of a certain type or naming scheme) in all folders and subfolders starting at a certain root.

I thought about opening Terminal and doing this:

find . -name "*.as" | xargs cat > outfile.txt

And then printing outfile.txt. That would be perfect except that I won't easily be able to tell where one file begins and another ends. I need

*****************

or some other delimiter between files.

If it matters, this is for OS X Leopard.

Please suggest a software to password protect and hide data on Windows 7.

libbrichus — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 01:08:02 -0800

How do I password protect a folder or partition in windows 7 and also not have its contents included in Windows index or Everything. I do not want encryption, only password protection, so please don't suggest Truecrypt. I was using a software called My Lockbox and it does the job well but its contents still get indexed by Windows and Everything. I can exclude its location but is there a software that just password protects the stuff and makes sure the files are not read by indexing softwares even while the folder is unlocked.

I am not looking to hide it from anyone seriously looking for anything who'll run software/Live CDs to access the data. Just want to hide the embarrassing stuff from casual family users.

Windows 7 User Folder

edbyford — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 07:44:32 -0800

I'm using Windows 7 RC. I usually move the entire 'My Documents' to another partition so that I can easily reinstall Windows. How do I do this in Windows 7? I've pre-ordered my Windows 7 upgrade disc, and I'm thinking about ways to preserve the My Documents folder. I've looked around at methods to change the location of my files, but while I've seen you can move some folders individually, I want my entire users folder on a different partition. Can anyone help, and does anyone have any other advice on what I should do before I install the final release version of Win 7?

It's too late for a witty title. Please forgive me and help fix this thing

theichibun — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 20:47:36 -0800

I have these two "folders" in my C drive that are just two of my external hard drives. I would either like them gone or to be given a really good reason to keep them. I tried Google, can't remember at all what I searched for to figure out how to make these things appear in the first place.

They're not shortcuts. Somehow I added fake folders that seem to be mirrors of these external hard drives.

I went to delete them and I got the "Are you sure you want to remove the folder and all it's contents?" message, which combined with the fact that the folders aren't there when the hard drive is unplugged makes me think that would be a very bad move.

There are two reasons I want them gone. The first is that XP sits for what seems like forever on the Windows Loading screen (like I start it up and then take a shower and when I get out it's still loading or at best it's just starting to load my profile slow). I unplugged the hard drives before I got in the shower this morning and XP loaded in what seemed like no time at all.

The second is that Ad-Aware goes through these like regular folders (which make up about 96% of my hard drive space) which makes me scan go from 33 gigs of space to almost 800. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with my drives be scanned. But if I can do it one drive at a time it would be so much easier.

So in short, I want these things gone and I'm feeling like a real idiot for not remembering how I got them there in the first place. I'm also accepting reasons for why I should keep them and/or add the other external hard drive to the C folder in the same way.

Help me back up my iTunes to my external hard drive

gwenlister — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 16:49:11 -0800

Help me back up my iTunes to my external hard drive. But only the new ones.... I feel like a tool for asking this because this is something I SHOULD know how to do but am drawing a blank and my google-fu has failed me.

Basically I keep my iTunes library on my laptop and occasionally (every month or so) do a backup of my entire iTunes library to my external harddrive in case my laptop dies (again). But the problem is I have a huge (~65 gigs) library and doing a full copy is about the stupidest idea I have ever had. All I want to do is have the files that aren't already there or that have changed somehow be pushed over.

and before you say "Just sort by 'date modified' and just copy those over", my library is organized by iTunes into folders so that doesn't work.

anyone know of a free app that will look at two folders and sync them?

Increasing the number of items in the "Move to folder" list in Outlook 2007

charlie7691 — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 03:30:50 -0800

How to increase the number of items in the "Move to folder" list in Outlook 2007? I regularly move my emails using the "Move to folder" button at the top of the window in Outlook 2007. However, the list has a maximum of 9 or so entries and I would like around 15. Any ideas how to increase the length of this list?

Thanks in advance!

Charlie

How can we automate an FTP action from a folder on our server?

GilloD — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 09:19:57 -0800

Question #1767346834 in our exhausting ERP integration process: Is there a way to automate an FTP process so that "Everytime file x lands in folder y, we send file x to ftp://whatever/import"? More inside. So, our unbearably expensive ERP lacks some common features. It has some pretty heinous import/export functionality which has made sending and receiving information a major struggle. But after an endless string of late-nights/all-nighters, we're getting somewhere!

New problem: The system is more than happy to export stuff. But it won't FTP it anywhere. Because we've got about 100+ files exporting a day, it's almost impossible to be doing this manually. The most it will do is reliably export it to the same folder on it's own server every time.

So we need to set up a process where anytime a file lands in that folder, it sends it along to our warehouse, which has it's own FTP.

Thoughts?

How can a writing workshop share their work online?

patnasty — Tue, 12 May 2009 09:32:24 -0800

What would be the best web-based file hosting service to use as a shared "Documents" folder for the various members of my writing workshop? I'm looking for a cheap (or even free!) way to set up a communal web storage folder so that the members of my writing workshop and I can make the latest drafts of our work available to one another in between workshop meetings.

Here are the tricky bits:

Many of my workshop-mates are fairly technophobic. If the login/uploading process is at all difficult-looking, they won't use it. Also, it would be probably be best that it not require the downloading of any sort of desktop client, unless the installation and configuration thereof would be simple enough for an 80 year old grandmother who was raised in a remote region of the Brazilian rainforest, by monkeys.

Finally, we'll be using several different document types. Some will be using regular docs, some will be using the screenwriting program Final Draft's proprietary format, and some will be using the format used by the open source screnwriting program, Celtx. It would probably be asking too much for the hosting service to automatically convert these various formats into PDF or something, so I'm pretty much resigned to having to go on and do some converting on my own... but it would be nice if, once I convert the document to PDF or HTML, for people to be able to just click on a document to read it.

Oh, and it'd be best if I could set up sub-folders for the various members of the group, so our stuff isn't all mixed up together.

So... any suggestions?

Move my archive of awesome to the cloud?

ooklala — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:09:45 -0800

How can I organize my archive of awesomeness which has mostly pictures? I have started an archive, much like Adam Savages creative projects archive, of awesome random stuff, like interesting images I find, or links or songs, etc. Currently this archive is a folder on my desktop ("archive of awesome"). To organize the items, I have been writing in the metadata (spotlight comments) about everything. I'D like to move this archive to the cloud, whilst keeping the process of adding things to the catalouge simple. What service can I use for this?

REQUIREMENTS:
currently, all pictures, mostly weird ones that I get to make points for friends and such. I plan on adding text clips and links.
I use a mac, and would like something ideally that combines a desktop software and a nice website.
It must be easy. If it takes more than a few seconds to add to it, it will probably end up being too cumbersome.

Save me from having to retype 2,600 file names.

joannemerriam — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 14:29:51 -0800

In Windows, is there a way to get a text listing of all of the files in a folder? I have a folder which contains about 50 subfolders comprising about 2,600 files. I'd like a text listing of the file names and what folder they're in (so I can make a html-ized listing of them all, for when they eventually get moved into a web directory). Is there any way to generate this automagically?

Can I recover My Documents from an XP Installation?

watercarrier — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 14:30:18 -0800

Will an installation of XP over 98 re-write over My Documents? Does XP not rename the old My Documents when it is installing itself and if not and the folder isn't given another name is it rewritten and the contents lost forever or is there some way to get the contents of that original MD back?

What is the best, most flexible way to organize recordings of Jewish liturgy?

likedoomsday — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 13:06:41 -0800

How can my synagogue organize a large and developing library of liturgical recordings? I'm interested in (inexpensive or free) specialized software or in suggestions on how to use more commonplace software for this purpose. SynagogueFilter: My shul is working on digitizing thousands of audio tapes' worth of cantorial recordings of the Torah, Haftarah, prayers, and other readings. We are also re-recording many of these. How can we best organize them?
My initial thought was to use a folder structure like this (we use the triennial system): Category > Book > Parsha > Triennial part > Aliyah (where, for example, we might have Torah > Devarim > V'zot Habracha > Triennial year 3 > Third aliyah). However, it occurs to me that it might be useful to navigate in other ways, such as by filtering down to a particular year of the triennial cycle earlier in the process, or by viewing all of the Devarim recordings at once.

Is there any good way to do this? Is there software that's intended for something like this? Is there a creative way to use iTunes or some similar software for this? Or should we pick a folder structure and live with its limitations?

Thanks!

How to compress a bunch of folders to their own zip file?

niwnfyc — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 09:22:47 -0800

Is there an automated script or program to create a separate zip file for each directory? I have around 100 folders within "C:\Projects", and I would like to take each of those folders, and compress them into their own zip file:

Example:

C:\Projects\Folder1\ -> C:\Projects\Folder1.zip

The folder's are all different names, so I can't make an easy loop script (i.e. loop from Folder1 to Folder100)

Is there an automated script, or program that I can just select the root directory (C:\Projects), and it will loop through and convert all the directories for me without me having to manually select or type out all the directory names?

Help me securely share folders across different networks

special-k — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 10:04:46 -0800

Help me share a folder across the internet without compromising my firewall I have a desktop at work with multiple hard drives and a large amount of data. Lately I have been working at several remote research sites and find the need to grab files from the desktop. So I shared some folders and restricted access to my username. The desktop has a static IP so the share works like so

\\ip.add.re.ss\share_name

so far so good. Zone alarm [on the desktop], however, denies access when I am on a different network. I've talked to the IT admins at a few of my research sites and entered those IP ranges into my trusted zone but it would be impossible for me to cover every single site (and the occasional coffee shop in the middle of nowhere). What can I do to get around this?

Sharing works perfectly when zone alarm is turned off. I could, for example, enter 1.1.1.1 to 255.255.255.255 as a trusted range but that would defeat the purpose of having the firewall. I'm stumped.

Both computers run XP

Is a folding bicycle right for a train commute in Chicago?

crios — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 16:46:50 -0800

This is actually a two part question. First, can anybody recommend a folding bicycle? I'm going to need to travel from a train to my work and it's about 2 miles. Would you recommend one of these bicycles for this kind of commute? How do they hold up in the rain and when it gets cold? Is there anything I can do about water flying up from the front and rear wheels? 2nd, does anybody know if you can buy a monthly Metra pass that will allow you to transfer between two Metra lines? Here is my situation. I recently took a job in the western suburbs of Chicago and I live in the northern tip of Chicago. I would need to take the Union Pacific Northern line downtown, switch to Union Station and then take the BNSF route out to the western suburbs. Then from there I would still have to trek 2 miles to my work from the station. My original idea was to buy an old clunker bicycle and leave it at the station to ride back and forth. It would sit there through rain and snow and meteor storms and all that. Now I'm wondering if I should invest in a folding bicycle. I know basically nothing about these bicyles. Does anybody have any recommendations? How easy are they to fold and unfold? How compact are they? Would people hate me on the Metra trains if I got on with one? How does it handle the wet (as well as some snow, I might be willing to ride it through light snow)? How is maintenance? Is there anything I can do about water flying up from the front and rear wheels so that I can keep my nice work clothes from getting all spattered?

As a second part to my question... does anybody know if you can buy monthly passes that will allow you to transfer from one line to another? I'm going to have to transfer from the Union Pacific North to the BNSF line. I can't find anything about this on the Metra site and if I try to buy a monthly pass online I can ONLY buy for one line. Will I have to buy two monthly passes each month?

How do I get rid of a directory when it "refers to a location that is unavailable?"

suimin — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 22:30:17 -0800

On my external hard drive there's this empty file folder that I can't delete. Every time I try to delete the folder, I get a message saying that it doesn't exist. I'm not very tech-savvy. What do I do? So I tried to extract a compressed file--I can't remember if it was a .zip or a .rar. Nor do I remember the program I used to extract it--it wasn't WinZip, it was something I found for free on download.com. (Don't look at me like that.)

The upshot is that the zipped file was messed up somehow, but the extractor went ahead and created a directory for the potentially unzipped file. But the extraction didn't work, so it left this ugly directory just lying there, indestructible and pointless.

I did all this on my external hard drive, so when I couldn't delete the directory with the hard drive attached to a computer running Windows XP, I tried it on a computer running Vista. I keep getting the same response, about how it "refers to a location that is unavailable."

I don't know a whole lot about the inner workings of Windows operating systems. The mature thing would be to just ignore the stupid superfluous directory, but it drives me crazy. Is there something I can do? (It's a FAT32 file system, whatever that means.) Some kind of clean-up--other than the disk cleanup/defragment options in the system tools? And could I maybe get very simple, step-by-step instructions, so that I don't ruin anything? (Just a heads-up: any mention of "algorithms" and I'm lost.)

How can I learn the proper way to deal with permissions on a Windows server when I am clearly a n00b?

bcwinters — Wed, 21 May 2008 12:19:57 -0800

File and folder permissions on Windows Small Business Server 2003: what's the right way to set up a shared folder so it can only be accessed by a particular group? So I'm having a devil of a time setting up permissions on our server at work. I'll try to boil it down to one question.

We have a server running Small Business Server 2003. It's nice and new and shiny.

On the server, we have a D: drive with a folder called "office" that is used for all of our shared files. I have apparently been hit with the Totally Incompetent Stick because I can't for the life of me figure out how to set up a couple of private folders within the share.

I've set up a security group called Personnel. I have added the people who should have access to personnel records to that security group. Now what's the RIGHT way to set a folder so only people in the Personnel group can access it? The way I did it the first time meant that people in that group could open the folder, but then they couldn't access any files or folders within it—and when I went back to the server to try and correct the mistake, my administrator account has been locked out of making changes to any of those files/folders as they no longer seem to have an owner.

Various attempts at reclaiming ownership and resetting permissions have left everything in a confusing state. So I guess what I'm looking for is how to reset a tree of files/folders to a pristine "just the ordinary inherited permissions from above please, kthx" state; how to then properly set their permissions to allow only access from one security group; and how to keep myself from getting into this mess by reading The Most Awesome Book or Website on "How to Grok Windows Permissiony Things" Ever. Thank you.

(I have had a look through this previous post but something about the explanation is just not getting through my thick skull; I may have the admin password but that doesn't make me a real admin.)

Importing custom Xootr Swift Folder cycle into the UK

ajp — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 05:14:20 -0800

I'm planning on importing a Xootr Swift from the USA to the UK. I'd like a few custom components. Anyone have any experience of how best to do this, and what parts will work best? I'll be contacting both Xootr and Peter Reich, the guy who builds the Swift Folder, directly, but I'd be very interested in thoughts from anyone in the UK who has a Swift. Especially if you've customised it. I'm also trawling various bike forums out there on the webs.

So some sub-questions in here, hope this doesn't bend the rules too much :-O

First, has anyone imported a Swift Folder to the UK? Pertinent details: how did you go about doing this; did it all go according to plan; did you have to return it; etc. Any stories welcome.

Second, how should I customise the bike? This is the complicated part. Should I buy just a frame and fit the parts myself? This would all be new to me, but I'm happy to buy a book or two and slog away. Should I ask Peter/Xootr to fit the parts? I'd like to save money here, so fitting parts myself would seem the best way -- but I don't want to end up with items that don't fit the frame, or work with its folding mechanism. I am trawling cycle forums for modded Swift's but most seem to deal with fixed-gear mods, which I'm not interested in.

For details freaks and cycle geeks, I'm thinking of Rei Ergotech handlebars; possibly some sort of seat-stem shock absorber; possibly folding pedals; hub gears (these are low maintenance, right?). Oh and I'd like the gear shift lever mounted on the left handlebar, not right. Any tips for parts that play well with a Xootr Swift Folder much appreciated.

My main goal is to get a hawt folding ride for London, UK, and spending minimal cash for maximum end-result.

Many thanks, Swift-ites.

MP3 CD Woes

snap_dragon — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 07:25:51 -0800

How to burn Mp3 random mixes (not entire albums) into several folders on Macintosh for easy navigation in my car cd player...I used to be able to make mp3 discs of whatever songs i wanted and then place them into folders on my desktop, then burn them to disc. It seems that Itunes only allows some form of folder separation (if any at all) by sorting things only by each group's album. This is not helpful if you want several folders with random songs in each folder...for example...I want one folder with songs by rock groups..another that is jazz...whatever. On the new imac, it does not seem to let me take the drag and dropped mp3s in folders on my desktop to a burn disc icon as it did in my older G4. Any suggestions on software or a simpler way around this? I appreciate your input. When it did work, it worked great and saved me from using a crummy fm transmitter on my ipod. The mp3 cds for me sound much better and are easily disposable if left in car.

Is it possible to disable the Windows XP Slideshow Folder View

lrodman — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 12:41:44 -0800

Is it possible to disable the Windows XP slideshow folder view, or at least set it to not be default? I want to do this without disabling custom folder views; I know I can set all folders to display a certain way (I like tiles), but I'd like to be able to give some folders their own custom view settings (i.e. I like showing my mp3 folder as detail view with custom columns)

Re-direct to another Domain?

SansPoint — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 19:25:37 -0800

How do I redirect all results to a directory on my website to a totally different domain? I used to host a friend's website in a directory on my site, but I eventually moved them to their own domain. Their old URL, because I run Wordpress, now goes to my main site. I'd like to have that URL forward to their new domain.

Sadly, my .ht_access-fu is non-existant. Help?

Where is the list of hidden folders kept?

jon4009 — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 14:24:22 -0800

Mac OS X filter: In terminal, if I go to / and ls, I see a bunch of folders that are hidden in Finder, for example /etc, /private, /sbin, and so on. How do I add a folder to that list? In the dark recesses of my memory I remember there being some kind of file somewhere that contains a list of the paths that the Finder should hide, but my Google-fu is failing me and I can only find people telling me how to turn ON the "show hidden files and folders" option, which isn't what I want at all!

If you care, it's because I have a /sw folder that Fink created, that I want to be hidden too. Any pointers greatly appreciated.

How do I share a folder between users on a single Mac?

sauril — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 19:16:19 -0800

Help a new OSX user love his Mac. How do I share my pictures folder with another user on the same computer? My wife and I share our new Macbook. Overall I'm really happy with it, but after using Windows machines for the last 10 years, there are a few things that are taking me time to figure out, and a couple that are driving me crazy.

I want my wife's account to be able to access my Pictures folder when she logs in, so we don't have to download all our pictures twice. I've already set the Ownership and Permissions to allow her access, but it doesn't seem to be working.

Recovering lost files on a mac deleted by overwriting a folder via finder.

JulianDay — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 14:07:53 -0800

Recovering lost files on a mac deleted by overwriting a folder via finder. My brother last night was moving a folder with sub folders full of word docs to his USB drive from his Documents folder. This is on a Mac w/ Panther.

The folders were like this:

Documents/2007Things/SubfolderA/(bunch of docs)
Documents/2007Things/SubfolderB/(bunch of docs)
Documents/2007Things/SubfolderC/(bunch of docs)

He draged 2007Things over to the USB drive, then dragged it back. When he went to look subfolders B & C were missing, both on the USB and in Documents. I'm guessing somehow only subfolder A was first dragged over to the USB, then back again, and wrote over the 2007things foldere w/ the fewer sub folders.

He has a not-so-fresh back up on an external drive but he's been working on the various docs in the 2 weeks since the backup.

Unfortunately, he needs the files in the next few days.

I tried DataRescue II, it "saw" a lot of .doc files so I bought it so I could try to recover them and see if they were the missing files.

I now have about 750 word files recovered, by clicking through them, I can see that many are old (2005) and many are most likely auto-saved, one after another of a very similar file w/ no real changes.

So I'm looking for advice on the following:

Any tips on running Data Rescue I may have missed, or any other tips about recovery in this situation of replacing one folder w/ another via the Finder. I did a Through Scan last night and I'm doing a Deleted Scan again right now. Is there anywhere else to look, he hasn't done anything else w/ the computer outside of running data rescue.

Is there a way to browse through all the recovered docs w/out opening them one at a time with Word X? I'd like to give him the option of doing something like just using an arrow key to move to the next file, none of the recovered files have useful names or dates, so he can't see from the outside what might be in them, and there are no previews when opening them via Word.

Thanks for any help.

Why do my outgoing emails often get spam-filtered?

jimmyjimjim — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 10:26:48 -0800

More than half my outgoing emails wind up in spam folders. I realize that it's inevitable this will happen sometimes, but how can I minimize it? I use gmail, and I do not, fwiw, use words like "mortgage", "refinance" or "penis" in my messages. I sometimes use a sig, but it's non-hypeish. I do often send links in the body of my emails. One solution is to follow up re: unreplied-to emails, but 1. if someone did receive my mail but hasn't had time to reply, I look pushy and 2. chances are that my follow-up will be spam filtered, too.