scripting help

Killer_Rubber_Ducky · Dec 25, 2012

Hi guys,

I'm not familiar with scripting but I have a task and have found no program to accomplish the task.

I read alot of ebooks in different formats: epub, pdf, rtf, etc
I have different folders for the formats.
I have to move them from the Downloads folder to the respective folders which can be annoying and time consuming since there tend to be quite a few.

I need either a script or a program that can watch my Downloads folder and move the files to the folders.

The path for the downloads folder is /home/ian/Downloads
The path for the RTF folder is: /home/ian/Documents/Fanfiction/RTF
The path for the EPUB folder is: /home/ian/Documents/Fanficiton/EPUB
The path for the PDF folder is: /home/ian/Documents/Fanfiction/PDF
and the path for the HTML folder is: /home/ian/Documents/Fanfiction/HTML

There is a windows program that does this called QuickMove.

Mindweaver · Dec 26, 2012

Here is a batch file you can use.

Copy this into a text file and rename the text file to .bat

Code:

@echo off

color 9F
echo ### Mindweaver's File Mover
ECHO ---------------------------
ECHO -
ECHO -
ECHO Select a type of file to move.
ECHO 1. PDF
ECHO 2. RTF
ECHO 3. EPUB
ECHO 4. HTML
ECHO 5. ALL

set PDF=%USERPROFILE%\Downloads\*.pdf
set RTF=%USERPROFILE%\Downloads\*.rtf
set EPUB=%USERPROFILE%\Downloads\*.epub
set HTML=%USERPROFILE%\Downloads\*.html
set folder1=%USERPROFILE%\Documents\PDF
set folder2=%USERPROFILE%\Documents\RTF
set folder3=%USERPROFILE%\Documents\EPUB
set folder4=%USERPROFILE%\Documents\HTML
set Movecmd=Move /y

set /p userinp=choose a number(1-5):
set userinp=%userinp:~0,1%
if "%userinp%"=="1" goto 1
if "%userinp%"=="2" goto 2
if "%userinp%"=="3" goto 3
if "%userinp%"=="4" goto 4
if "%userinp%"=="5" goto 5


:1
CLS
echo ### Moving PDF's
%Movecmd% "%PDF%" "%folder1%"
GOTO EXIT

:2
CLS
echo ### Moving RTF's
%Movecmd% "%RTF%" "%folder2%"
GOTO EXIT

:3
CLS
echo ### Moving EPUB's
%Movecmd% "%EPUB%" "%folder3%"
GOTO EXIT

:4
CLS
echo ### Moving HTML's
%Movecmd% "%HTML%" "%folder4%"
GOTO EXIT

:5
CLS
echo ### Moving PDF's
%Movecmd% "%PDF%" "%folder4%"
echo 25% complete
%Movecmd% "%RTF%" "%folder2%"
echo 50% complete
%Movecmd% "%EPUB%" "%folder3%"
echo 75% complete
%Movecmd% "%HTML%" "%folder4%"
GOTO EXIT

:EXIT
echo Move Complete!
@pause

Killer_Rubber_Ducky · Dec 26, 2012

This will work in linux right? It looks very close to BASIC

Mindweaver · Dec 26, 2012

Killer_Rubber_Ducky said:
This will work in linux right? It looks very close to BASIC

Naw.. I quickly copied an old windows batch file I had and posted it for you.. I'm working on a Linux one now.. I have an old Unix one I use to use... Should still work :toast:

Sorry buddy and I moved this thread back to the Linux thread.

EDIT: I left the code here for Windows users.. Linux would be something like this for the move command.

Code:

#!/bin/bash
mv from to

You can use CASE instead of GOTO

Aquinus · Dec 26, 2012

Killer_Rubber_Ducky said:
This will work in linux right? It looks very close to BASIC

The BASH form would be pretty easy.

It would look something like this (I don't think a UI is necessary):

Code:

#!/bin/bash
pathfrom="/path/to/downloads/folder"
pathto="/path/to/store/files"

mv "$pathfrom/*.pdf" "$pathto/PDF"
mv "$pathfrom/*.rtf" "$pathto/RTF"
mv "$pathfrom/*.epub" "$pathto/EPUB"
mv "$pathfrom/*.html" "$pathto/HTML"

Basically is just moves everything it encounters when you run the script. This should work, but I haven't tested it.

Edit: If you wanted a UI, you could easily just add a SWITCH/CASE statement plus a little usage output.

@Mindweaver: Ewww, really? GOTO?

MT Alex · Dec 26, 2012

Just use Calibre and convert them into one file type, or keep them all in a single Calibre folder since Calibre will open them all, anyhow.

Killer_Rubber_Ducky · Dec 26, 2012

MT Alex said:
Just use Calibre and convert them into one file type, or keep them all in a single Calibre folder since Calibre will open them all, anyhow.

I actually use flagfic to handle it. Then fbreader for the reading. I tried calibre but every time it screws up the format. I like rtf and html but sometimes it looks and reads better through pdf or epub.

****Update****
Here is what I get when I run the script.

Code:

ian@ian-Lenovo-G570:~$ ./quickmove.sh
./quickmove.sh: line 2: pathfrom: command not found
./quickmove.sh: line 3: pathto: command not found
mv: cannot stat `/*.pdf': No such file or directory
mv: cannot stat `/*.rtf': No such file or directory
mv: cannot stat `/*.epub': No such file or directory
mv: cannot stat `/*.html': No such file or directory
ian@ian-Lenovo-G570:~$ ./quickmove.sh
./quickmove.sh: line 2: /home/ian/Downloads: Is a directory
./quickmove.sh: line 3: /home/ian/Documents/Fanfiction: Is a directory
mv: cannot stat `/*.pdf': No such file or directory
mv: cannot stat `/*.rtf': No such file or directory
mv: cannot stat `/*.epub': No such file or directory
mv: cannot stat `/*.html': No such file or directory
ian@ian-Lenovo-G570:~$

Here is the script:

Code:

#!/bin/bash
pathfrom= "/home/ian/Downloads"
pathto= "/home/ian/Documents/Fanfiction"

mv "$pathfrom/*.pdf" "$pathto/PDF"
mv "$pathfrom/*.rtf" "$pathto/RTF"
mv "$pathfrom/*.epub" "$pathto/EPUB"
mv "$pathfrom/*.html" "$pathto/HTML"

Mindweaver · Dec 27, 2012

Killer_Rubber_Ducky said:

I actually use flagfic to handle it. Then fbreader for the reading. I tried calibre but every time it screws up the format. I like rtf and html but sometimes it looks and reads better through pdf or epub.

****Update****
Here is what I get when I run the script.

Code:

ian@ian-Lenovo-G570:~$ ./quickmove.sh
./quickmove.sh: line 2: pathfrom: command not found
./quickmove.sh: line 3: pathto: command not found
mv: cannot stat `/*.pdf': No such file or directory
mv: cannot stat `/*.rtf': No such file or directory
mv: cannot stat `/*.epub': No such file or directory
mv: cannot stat `/*.html': No such file or directory
ian@ian-Lenovo-G570:~$ ./quickmove.sh
./quickmove.sh: line 2: /home/ian/Downloads: Is a directory
./quickmove.sh: line 3: /home/ian/Documents/Fanfiction: Is a directory
mv: cannot stat `/*.pdf': No such file or directory
mv: cannot stat `/*.rtf': No such file or directory
mv: cannot stat `/*.epub': No such file or directory
mv: cannot stat `/*.html': No such file or directory
ian@ian-Lenovo-G570:~$

Here is the script:

Code:

#!/bin/bash
pathfrom= "/home/ian/Downloads"
pathto= "/home/ian/Documents/Fanfiction"

mv "$pathfrom/*.pdf" "$pathto/PDF"
mv "$pathfrom/*.rtf" "$pathto/RTF"
mv "$pathfrom/*.epub" "$pathto/EPUB"
mv "$pathfrom/*.html" "$pathto/HTML"

Your paths are wrong. Try doing it with out declaring Variables. When you get the path correct then clean up your code and declare variables. :toast:

Code:

#!/bin/bash
mv /home/ian/Downloads /home/ian/Documents/Fanfiction/PDF
mv /home/ian/Downloads /home/ian/Documents/Fanfiction/RTF
mv /home/ian/Downloads /home/ian/Documents/Fanfiction/EPUB
mv /home/ian/Downloads /home/ian/Documents/Fanfiction/HTML

Killer_Rubber_Ducky · Dec 27, 2012

Aquinus said:
The BASH form would be pretty easy.

It would look something like this (I don't think a UI is necessary):

Code:

#!/bin/bash pathfrom="/path/to/downloads/folder" pathto="/path/to/store/files" mv "$pathfrom/*.pdf" "$pathto/PDF" mv "$pathfrom/*.rtf" "$pathto/RTF" mv "$pathfrom/*.epub" "$pathto/EPUB" mv "$pathfrom/*.html" "$pathto/HTML"

Basically is just moves everything it encounters when you run the script. This should work, but I haven't tested it.

Edit: If you wanted a UI, you could easily just add a SWITCH/CASE statement plus a little usage output.

@Mindweaver: Ewww, really? GOTO?

Mindweaver said:
Your paths are wrong. Try doing it with out declaring Variables. When you get the path correct then clean up your code and declare variables.

Code:

#!/bin/bash mv /home/ian/Downloads /home/ian/Documents/Fanfiction/PDF mv /home/ian/Downloads /home/ian/Documents/Fanfiction/RTF mv /home/ian/Downloads /home/ian/Documents/Fanfiction/EPUB mv /home/ian/Downloads /home/ian/Documents/Fanfiction/HTML

Thanks for clearing that up. I found a working solution on bashscripts.org.

Here is my code:

Code:

#!/bin/bash
#Ian's File Moving Script


shopt -s extglob
mv -f $HOME/Downloads/*.pdf $HOME/Documents/Fanfiction/PDF
mv -f $HOME/Downloads/*.rtf $HOME/Documents/Fanfiction/RTF
mv -f $HOME/Downloads/*.epub $HOME/Documents/Fanfiction/EPUB
mv -f $HOME/Downloads/*.html $HOME/Documents/Fanfiction/HTML/NewDownloads/December

The Only thing missing that i have yet to figure out is how to make it not post errors when the file type is not found. Maybe have it say " no .ext found" when there are no files of said extention. And "(x) .ext files moved" when files are moved. the (x) being the number of files under that extension.

Aquinus · Dec 27, 2012

Killer_Rubber_Ducky said:
The Only thing missing that i have yet to figure out is how to make it not post errors when the file type is not found. Maybe have it say " no .ext found" when there are no files of said extention. And "(x) .ext files moved" when files are moved. the (x) being the number of files under that extension.

add a stderr redirection

mv -f /x/y/z a/b/c 2> /dev/null

That will pipe stderr to nothing. If you want to make a log, then just replace /dev/null with the location of your log.

Mindweaver said:
Your paths are wrong. Try doing it with out declaring Variables. When you get the path correct then clean up your code and declare variables.

The variable didn't work because his syntax was wrong. No space between the variable name, equals, and the path string.

Code:

#correct: variablex="applepie"
#incorrect: variablex= "applepie"

If you use linux, I highly recommend learning BASH.

SIGSEGV · Dec 27, 2012

Aquinus said:
The variable didn't work because his syntax was wrong. No space between the variable name, equals, and the path string.

i don't think so, it's clear enough for me given by that error messages, bash cannot find program called pathto and pathfrom, you should remember that bash will evaluate every line and find the appropriate program to execute, except you put $ in front of variable.

Code:

#!/bin/bash
$pathfrom="/path/to/downloads/folder"
$pathto="/path/to/store/files"

mv "$pathfrom/*.pdf" "$pathto/PDF"
mv "$pathfrom/*.rtf" "$pathto/RTF"
mv "$pathfrom/*.epub" "$pathto/EPUB"
mv "$pathfrom/*.html" "$pathto/HTML"

fixed

Code:

#correct: $variablex="applepie"
#correct: $variablex= "applepie"

this code is allowed in bash and has same meaning

Aquinus · Dec 27, 2012

SIGSEGV said:
this code is allowed in bash and has same meaning

Someone doesn't know what they're talking about and should refrain from posting when that is the case. :banghead:

Sounds like the OP poster isn't the only person who needs to learn BASH...

Code:

jdoane@khan:~$ somevar1="someweirdstring"
jdoane@khan:~$ somevar2= "someweirdstring"
someweirdstring: command not found
jdoane@khan:~$ echo $somevar1
someweirdstring
jdoane@khan:~$ echo $somevar2

jdoane@khan:~$

You also only use the $ when you're referencing the variable, not when you're assigning it...

Code:

jdoane@khan:~$ $someothervar="applepie"
=applepie: command not found

Killer_Rubber_Ducky · Dec 27, 2012

Aquinus said:
add a stderr redirection That will pipe stderr to nothing. If you want to make a log, then just replace /dev/null with the location of your log.

The variable didn't work because his syntax was wrong. No space between the variable name, equals, and the path string.

Code:

#correct: variablex="applepie" #incorrect: variablex= "applepie"

If you use linux, I highly recommend learning BASH.

well, im in a networking degree program and this next semester we will be covering Linux Administration so I will be learning it. I am more familiar with BASICA/GWBASIC/QBASIC. I wrote Pacman in QBASIC.

Aquinus · Dec 27, 2012

Killer_Rubber_Ducky said:
well, im in a networking degree program and this next semester we will be covering Linux Administration so I will be learning it.

Right on. Get a head start, it's an administrator's best friend. :cool:

Killer_Rubber_Ducky said:
I wrote Pacman in QBASIC.

Nice! Back when I was in school I wrote a networked version of Backgammon using Java in my second year while I was working on my Computer Science degree. It's fun stuff, at least to me.

SIGSEGV · Dec 27, 2012

Aquinus said:
Someone doesn't know what they're talking about and should refrain from posting when that is the case.
Sounds like the OP poster isn't the only person who needs to learn BASH...

Code:

jdoane@khan:~$ somevar1="someweirdstring" jdoane@khan:~$ somevar2= "someweirdstring" someweirdstring: command not found jdoane@khan:~$ echo $somevar1 someweirdstring jdoane@khan:~$ echo $somevar2 jdoane@khan:~$

You also only use the $ when you're referencing the variable, not when you're assigning it...

Code:

jdoane@khan:~$ $someothervar="applepie" =applepie: command not found

i thougt it was the same syntax (and also rules) with php or another programming languages when you're assigning some value to any kind of variable.. . :laugh:

i found it funny..

thanks for your correction :toast:

Aquinus · Dec 27, 2012

SIGSEGV said:
i thougt it was the same syntax (and also rules) with php or another programming languages when you're assigning some value to any kind of variable.. .
i found it funny..

thanks for your correction

If I'm not sure, I always test it out. You can never assume that the syntax of different languages will be similar. It definitely is an odd one, that's for sure, but on the other hand BASH was developed with a lot of different things in mind as compared to PHP, Java, ruby, or any other programming language for that matter, considering BASH isn't a programming language, it's a command processor. You write scripts that get evaluated by the processor as input, unlike PHP which gets compiled at runtime (unless you're using an opcode cache.)

Mindweaver · Dec 27, 2012

Aquinus said:
The variable didn't work because his syntax was wrong. No space between the variable name, equals, and the path string.

I seen that, but I wanted him to see that as well.

I'd rather him start out not using variables until he understands bash better. :toast:

Call it bias of me, but I tend not to give the full answer as quickly to Linux users as I do Windows users. :shadedshu I know I shouldn't, but I do..

System Name	FumoffuFumoffu
Processor	Intel i7 4770K
Motherboard	Gigabyte Z87X -UD3H
Cooling	Corsair H100i
Memory	16GB DDR3 1600 Crucial Ballistix
Video Card(s)	Sapphire AMD Radeon HD 7970 OC
Storage	1- WD 500GB 1- Samsung F2 1.5TB 1- Crucial M4 128GB SSD 1-256GB ADATA XPG SX900 ASX900S3 SSD
Display(s)	Hanns-G HZ281HPB 27.5'' 3ms Full HD 1920x1200 WideScreen LCD Monitor
Case	Corsair Graphite Series 600T
Audio Device(s)	Creative Soundblaster X-Fi Titanium
Power Supply	Corsair HX 750W Gold
Software	Windows 7 Pro x64

System Name	Tower of Power / Sechs
Processor	i7 14700K / i7 5820k @ 4.5ghz
Motherboard	ASUS ROG Strix Z690-A Gaming WiFi D4 / X99S GAMING 7
Cooling	CM MasterLiquid ML360 Mirror ARGB Close-Loop AIO / CORSAIR Hydro Series H100i Extreme
Memory	CORSAIR Vengeance LPX 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4 3600 / G.Skill DDR4 2800 16GB 4x4GB
Video Card(s)	ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 Ti / ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3070 V2 OC Edition
Storage	4x Samsung 980 Pro 1TB M.2, 2x Crucial 1TB SSD / Samsung 870 PRO 500GB M.2
Display(s)	Samsung 32" Odyssy G5 Gaming 144hz 1440p, ViewSonic 32" 72hz 1440p / 2x ViewSonic 32" 72hz 1440p
Case	Phantek "400A" / Phanteks “Enthoo Pro series”
Audio Device(s)	Realtek ALC4080 / Azalia Realtek ALC1150
Power Supply	Corsair RM Series RM750 / Corsair CXM CX600M
Mouse	Glorious Gaming Model D Wireless / Razer DeathAdder Chroma
Keyboard	Glorious GMMK with box-white switches / Keychron K6 pro with blue swithes
VR HMD	Quest 3 (128gb) + Rift S + HTC Vive + DK1
Software	Windows 11 Pro x64 / Windows 10 Pro x64
Benchmark Scores	Yes

System Name	FumoffuFumoffu
Processor	Intel i7 4770K
Motherboard	Gigabyte Z87X -UD3H
Cooling	Corsair H100i
Memory	16GB DDR3 1600 Crucial Ballistix
Video Card(s)	Sapphire AMD Radeon HD 7970 OC
Storage	1- WD 500GB 1- Samsung F2 1.5TB 1- Crucial M4 128GB SSD 1-256GB ADATA XPG SX900 ASX900S3 SSD
Display(s)	Hanns-G HZ281HPB 27.5'' 3ms Full HD 1920x1200 WideScreen LCD Monitor
Case	Corsair Graphite Series 600T
Audio Device(s)	Creative Soundblaster X-Fi Titanium
Power Supply	Corsair HX 750W Gold
Software	Windows 7 Pro x64

System Name	Tower of Power / Sechs
Processor	i7 14700K / i7 5820k @ 4.5ghz
Motherboard	ASUS ROG Strix Z690-A Gaming WiFi D4 / X99S GAMING 7
Cooling	CM MasterLiquid ML360 Mirror ARGB Close-Loop AIO / CORSAIR Hydro Series H100i Extreme
Memory	CORSAIR Vengeance LPX 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4 3600 / G.Skill DDR4 2800 16GB 4x4GB
Video Card(s)	ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 Ti / ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3070 V2 OC Edition
Storage	4x Samsung 980 Pro 1TB M.2, 2x Crucial 1TB SSD / Samsung 870 PRO 500GB M.2
Display(s)	Samsung 32" Odyssy G5 Gaming 144hz 1440p, ViewSonic 32" 72hz 1440p / 2x ViewSonic 32" 72hz 1440p
Case	Phantek "400A" / Phanteks “Enthoo Pro series”
Audio Device(s)	Realtek ALC4080 / Azalia Realtek ALC1150
Power Supply	Corsair RM Series RM750 / Corsair CXM CX600M
Mouse	Glorious Gaming Model D Wireless / Razer DeathAdder Chroma
Keyboard	Glorious GMMK with box-white switches / Keychron K6 pro with blue swithes
VR HMD	Quest 3 (128gb) + Rift S + HTC Vive + DK1
Software	Windows 11 Pro x64 / Windows 10 Pro x64
Benchmark Scores	Yes

System Name	Apollo
Processor	Intel Core i9 9880H
Motherboard	Some proprietary Apple thing.
Memory	64GB DDR4-2667
Video Card(s)	AMD Radeon Pro 5600M, 8GB HBM2
Storage	1TB Apple NVMe, 4TB External
Display(s)	Laptop @ 3072x1920 + 2x LG 5k Ultrafine TB3 displays
Case	MacBook Pro (16", 2019)
Audio Device(s)	AirPods Pro, Sennheiser HD 380s w/ FIIO Alpen 2, or Logitech 2.1 Speakers
Power Supply	96w Power Adapter
Mouse	Logitech MX Master 3
Keyboard	Logitech G915, GL Clicky
Software	MacOS 12.1

scripting help

Killer_Rubber_Ducky

Mindweaver

Moderato®™

Killer_Rubber_Ducky

Mindweaver

Moderato®™

Aquinus

Resident Wat-man

MT Alex

Killer_Rubber_Ducky

Mindweaver

Moderato®™

Killer_Rubber_Ducky

Aquinus

Resident Wat-man

SIGSEGV

Aquinus

Resident Wat-man

Killer_Rubber_Ducky

Aquinus

Resident Wat-man

SIGSEGV

Aquinus

Resident Wat-man

Mindweaver

Moderato®™

System Name	SIGSEGV
Processor	INTEL i7-7700K \| AMD Ryzen 2700X
Motherboard	QUANTA \| ASUS Crosshair VII Hero
Cooling	Air cooling 4 heatpipes \| Corsair H115i \| Noctua NF-A14 IndustrialPPC Fan 3000RPM
Memory	Micron 16 Gb DDR4 2400 \| GSkill Ripjaws 32Gb DDR4 3200 3400(OC) 14-14-14-34 @1.38v
Video Card(s)	Nvidia 1060 6GB \| Gigabyte 1080Ti Aorus
Storage	1TB 7200/256 SSD PCIE \| ~ TB \| 970 Evo
Display(s)	15,5" / 27"
Case	Black & Grey \| Phanteks P400S
Audio Device(s)	Realtek
Power Supply	Li Battery \| Seasonic Focus Gold 750W
Mouse	g402
Keyboard	Leopold\|Ducky
Software	LinuxMint KDE \|UBUNTU \| Windows 10 PRO
Benchmark Scores	i dont care about scores

System Name	SIGSEGV
Processor	INTEL i7-7700K \| AMD Ryzen 2700X
Motherboard	QUANTA \| ASUS Crosshair VII Hero
Cooling	Air cooling 4 heatpipes \| Corsair H115i \| Noctua NF-A14 IndustrialPPC Fan 3000RPM
Memory	Micron 16 Gb DDR4 2400 \| GSkill Ripjaws 32Gb DDR4 3200 3400(OC) 14-14-14-34 @1.38v
Video Card(s)	Nvidia 1060 6GB \| Gigabyte 1080Ti Aorus
Storage	1TB 7200/256 SSD PCIE \| ~ TB \| 970 Evo
Display(s)	15,5" / 27"
Case	Black & Grey \| Phanteks P400S
Audio Device(s)	Realtek
Power Supply	Li Battery \| Seasonic Focus Gold 750W
Mouse	g402
Keyboard	Leopold\|Ducky
Software	LinuxMint KDE \|UBUNTU \| Windows 10 PRO
Benchmark Scores	i dont care about scores