Batchfile: If file exist move it to subdirectory

Question

I hardly work with batch files and I need a batchfile which moves PDF files to a new subdirectory "PDF" in the current context path.

For example my directory tree looks like this:

A/a.xml
A/b.xml
A/x.pdf
A/AA/a.xml
A/AA/y.pdf
B/z.pdf

Desired tree after batch processing:

A/a.xml
A/b.xml
A/PDF/x.pdf
A/AA/a.xml
A/AA/PDF/y.pdf
B/PDF/z.pdf

My first try looks like this:

@ECHO OFF
FOR /r %%a IN (*.pdf) DO (
    MKDIR "%%~pa"/pdf
    MOVE %%a "%%~pa"/pdf
)

But this creates a loop because the batch file also process all moved PDF files. Any help appreciated. Thank you!

Use dir in a for command `for /f %%A in ('dir /b /s') do echo %%A`. This lists the files before they are moved. See `for /?` and see how you can get parts of the filename eg `%%~dpA` if you just want the folder path. — , Feb 15 '16 at 11:15
You might be interested in [this thread](http://stackoverflow.com/q/31975093/5047996) which shows how `for` actually behaves in situations where the enumerated directory is changed during being processed... — aschipfl, Feb 15 '16 at 23:59

mailivres · Accepted Answer · 2016-02-15T13:57:04.510

1

bgaleas hint helped to prevent the loop:

for /f %%A in ('dir *.pdf /b /s') do [...]

edited Feb 15 '16 at 13:57

answered Feb 15 '16 at 12:58

mailivres

Please remember to mark this as your solution (once you can in 2 days) – tom redfern Feb 15 '16 at 16:34

1 Answers1