Merge Document Folders

Bob,

It's late here and I'm knackered. And the editing box keeps inserting unrequested vertical scrollbars in the middle while I writing.

Are you sure about the
Dir E:\Documents /b
results? No

My RoboForm Data

P2ATC Flight Plans

P2ATC Terps

Plan-G Files

Prepar3D v4 Add-ons

Prepar3D v4 Files

Prepar3D v5 Add-ons

Prepar3D v5 Files

Reflect

REX 5

SimToolkitPro

Sound recordings

TFDi Design

UVA

VoxKey

vPilot Files

VRC

entries?

Denis

Bob,

OK, I've checked it.

BobZ said:

None of those are in E:\Documents. The first, My RAoboformm data does appear in DocumentsOld.

OK, I have included checking for this within the batch file because I realised that was what I should have done in the first place.

BobZ said:

I havn't run the batch file yet.

I deleted the first version. You must have been quick to download it. Or I was slow to realise I'd attached it before I had finished.
Here it is after completion & checking BobRoboCopyBatchFile.bat

You can just run it by double-clicking on it.

It all runs at once but, merely for the purpose of explanation, it has 3 stages
1 It checks that every top-level folder exists within E:\Documents {this is just something that RoboCopy demands, any folder that is named in the command needs to exist already even though it is then happy to create all its subfolders without any answering back}.
2 It then RoboCopies E:\My documents to E:\Documents - it includes every subfolder as well as the files I saw you had at the E:\My documents level itself.
3 It then RoboCopies C:\Users\Owner\Documents to E:\Documents - it includes every subfolder as well as the files I saw you had at the C:\Users\Owner\Documents level itself.
- By doing this stage last, it effectively gives C:\Users\Owner\Documents priority so if there are any files with the same name the others will get overwritten by this one.
- I thought this was the appropriate thing to do because you have been using C:\Users\Owner\Documents so it will have the latest version.

When it runs, you can watch it and you will see RoboCopy working through each folder & file and pausing while it decides whether to copy any particular one over.

I realise that you will repeat those dir commands afterwards to check that everything has been done.

When it finishes, it sits there waiting for you to press a key. I included this so you would be able to look at it for any indications of errors.

Night, night,
Denis

BobZ said:

However, there were several folders in DocumentsOld that are not in E:\Documents now.

Which ones? [copy their paths from the File explorer address bar to avoid any misunderstandings]

Denis

Bob,

I omitted items with . in their name as I thought they were files. Perhaps they were folders after all.

There's nothing to stop you moving them across manually.

Once all this is done, you can delete the contents of
C:\Users\Owner\Documents
and
E:\DocumentsOld / E:\My documents
but leave these emptied folders themselves.

By the way, E:\DocumentsOld / E:\My documents has a history of which you are unaware. Something gave it that 'display name' My documents, it does not happen naturally.

Once this is done and your backing up is complete, you can just start using E:\Documents routinely.

You can also then consider the additional steps in post #11

Denis

BobZ said:

I shouldn't empty E:\My Documents should I, isn't that now my main Documents folder?

Do not empty E:\Documents - the one with the normal folder icon, the one you have been copying everything else into.
But do empty E:\My Documents, also called E:\DocumentsOld - the one with the document icon.

BobZ said:

Once all this is done, you can delete the contents of
C:\Users\Owner\Documents
and
E:\DocumentsOld / E:\My documents
but leave these emptied folders themselves.

E:\DocumentsOld, also called E:\My documents - the one with the document icon. That's not the one you will be using.
You will be using E:\Documents - the one with the normal folder icon, the one you have been copying everything else into.


Keep everything in the one highlighted in the diagram [taken from the one you posted earlier]. Empty the one below it that has the document icon.

Denis

PS
- I hate the existence of these 'apparent' / 'unadulterated' names for folders. They can lead to so much confusion like this.
- You do not need to know that the correct term for what is shown in the File explorer window is the 'Display name' for the folder so I won't confuse things by mentioning that because for all normal folders the 'Display name' is exactly the same as the real 'Folder name'.