Printing a folder's contents

If we want to export file names within a Windows 10 file folder, along with their creation dates, it is easy to do so. And while I have posted on this topic before here, Windows 10 does not work in the same way as Windows 8.1 (see the Windows 8.1 article here), so I have updated the instructions.

Simply open File Explorer and navigate to the desired export folder. Click into the File Explorer address bar, and key "cmd".

Doing so opens a command window at the address of the folder you want to export from. Straight after our folder name, key dir > printit.txt, then key Enter (don't leave any spaces in the command line, by the way).

dir > printit.txt

A file named printit.txt will appear in the folder that we wanted to export the file names from. We can export this MS Excel if required, by copying the data from the text file (however, I usually stage the list into Word and change out all the spaces for tabs so that items copy into separate cells in Excel.

I hope this works for you.

Sam

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Export the file names in a folder

If for any reason, you want to export Windows file names within a file folder, along with their creation dates, it is surprisingly easy.

Open File Explorer and navigate to the folder you want the contents of. Simply right-click the folder, while holding down the Shift key.

That will pop you up an extended right-click menu. from this menu, select Open command window here.

This command opens a command window. directly after your folder name, key dir > printit.txt, then key Enter (that's without any spaces in the command line, by the way).

A file named printit.txt will appear in the folder that you wanted to export the file names from. you can export this MS Excel if required, by importing the data and settings the column widths.

As I keep an Excel spreadsheet of my research files, a periodic export of the file folder allows me to check whether I have the items in my spreadsheet that I have in the folder itself.

It allows a very easy and simple check.


Sam

• Reference: Spector, Lincoln (1 August 2013). Print all the files, or a list of all the files, in a folder. Retrieved 26 June 2016 from http://www.pcworld.com/article/2045298/print-all-the-files-or-a-list-of-all-the-files-in-a-folder.html

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