Managing Files: Wildcards, Commands, and Operations

Posted on Apr 1, 2025 in Business Sciences

Understanding File Templates (Wildcards)

File templates, often using wildcards, help select multiple files:

  • *.exe: Selects all files with the .exe extension.
  • ?????.bat: Selects all files with a five-character name and the .bat extension.
  • *.??: Selects all files with any name and a two-character extension.
  • *.*: Selects all files.
  • ????????.???: Selects all files with names up to eight characters and extensions up to three characters (common in older systems).

Basic File Operations in Windows/Command Line

Viewing File Content

To view the contents of a file, you typically interact with its icon or use specific commands.

In Windows, viewing files often involves opening them with an associated application (like Notepad, WordPad, Paint, etc.). There are several ways to do this:

  1. Double-click: Double-click the file icon. It opens with the application assigned by the operating system (OS).
  2. Open With Application: Open the desired application first, then use its ‘Open’ function (usually found in the ‘File’ menu) to select and open the file.
  3. Drag and Drop: Drag the file icon onto the desired application’s icon or open window.

TYPE Command

Displays the contents of a text file to the standard output (stdout, usually the command prompt window). Only readable text files typically appear correctly. This command does not support wildcards (* or ?).

PRINT Command

This command sends the contents of a file to a printer. Its operation is similar to TYPE, but it allows printing multiple files at once using wildcards if needed.

Renaming Files

This process is similar to renaming folders or directories.

When viewing files in Windows Explorer, their extensions might be hidden by default. If extensions are hidden, you can only change the base name.

To show file extensions:

  1. Go to Control Panel > Folder Options (or File Explorer Options).
  2. Select the View tab.
  3. In Advanced Settings, uncheck the box labeled “Hide file extensions for known file types”.
  4. Click Apply/OK.

Renaming is done using the same methods as with folders (e.g., right-click > Rename, or select and press F2).

RENAME (or REN) Command

Renames one or more files. It supports wildcards. Ensure no other file in the directory already has the target name, as the command might fail or behave unexpectedly depending on the system.

Example: RENAME oldname.txt newname.txt

Copying and Moving Files

The operation is similar to moving and copying folders. We must consider:

  • The location of the file(s) to copy or move (source).
  • The destination location.

If using a file browser (like Windows Explorer), use the same methods as for folders (e.g., drag-and-drop, copy/paste commands).

COPY Command

Copies one or more files from a source location to a destination. It allows the use of wildcards.

Considerations when using the command:

  • Your current directory (if using relative paths).
  • The source file(s) path and name(s).
  • The destination path.
  • The desired name for the copied file(s) at the destination. You can specify a new name if copying a single file.

In command mode, if a file with the same name exists in the destination directory, COPY usually prompts for confirmation before overwriting (this behavior can sometimes be controlled with command switches like /Y).

The COPY command can also be used to concatenate (combine) multiple text files into one. It works with hidden or system files and supports wildcards.

Example: COPY source.txt C:\destination\ or COPY *.doc D:\backup\

MOVE Command

Moves one or more files from one directory to another. Unlike COPY, MOVE deletes the original file after successfully moving it, resulting in only one copy at the new location. COPY keeps both the original and the new copy.

Example: MOVE report.docx C:\archives\

XCOPY Command

Operates similarly to COPY but is more powerful. It can copy entire directory structures (folders and subfolders), not just files. It offers more options for selective copying.

Example: XCOPY C:\data D:\backup\data /E /I (copies all files and subdirectories, including empty ones, from C:\data to D:\backup\data, creating the destination directory if it doesn’t exist).

Deleting Files

DELETE (or DEL) / ERASE Commands

Deletes one or more files within the directory structure. These commands are often interchangeable (DEL is more common).

Example: DEL tempfile.tmp or DEL *.log

These commands typically cannot delete hidden or system files directly by default. You might need to first remove those attributes (e.g., using the ATTRIB command) and then delete the file normally, or use specific command switches if available (like /A:H to target hidden files).

Finding Files

Finding a file is easy if you know its exact location and name. The challenge arises when you only have partial information, such as parts of the name or the extension. Search tools built into the operating system (like Windows Search) or command-line tools (like DIR with wildcards or the FINDSTR command) can be helpful in these situations.

Example using DIR: DIR C:\Users\*report*.docx /S (searches the C:\Users directory and all subdirectories for Word files containing ‘report’ in their name).