batch - find files in dir where filename contains a number

Question

I have a report that deposits files from a network (NTFS) folder into another specific network (NTFS) folder. Some of the files contain a random string of numbers in the file name (example filename: xxsample_export 2131.xml). I need to find and delete all files in the folder that contain numbers in the filename. I've tried using Findstr but no luck so far. :(

Edit: I've tried this, I'm incredibly new at findstr. Thanks for your assistance.

for /F %%F in (dir /A -D "%Path%\*.xml" | findstr  /R "[0-9]*.xml" do del %%F"

Please show us what you have tried! – aschipfl Jul 27 '16 at 13:10 — aschipfl, Jul 27 '16 at 13:10

Jean-François Fabre · Answer 1 · 2016-07-27T13:22:08.420

2

Lame but quick (I thought del yourdir\*[0-9].xml would work but nooooo), and only works if you need flat deletion, otherwise look at aschipfl's solution using dir /B and findstr.

In a .bat file (yourdir is the directory you want to delete files from):

for %%n in (1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0) do for %%a in (yourdir\*%%n.xml) do del "%%a" 2>NUL

edited Jul 27 '16 at 13:22

answered Jul 27 '16 at 13:05

Jean-François Fabre

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Good idea, +1! However, this might cause error messages since you are modifying the directory content while iterating through it by `for`, as `for` does not enumerate all matching items in advance; reference also [this post](http://stackoverflow.com/q/31975093)... – aschipfl Jul 27 '16 at 13:17
When I say it's lame I try to keep up my promises :) Edited to mask errors. Not optimal, I admit – Jean-François Fabre Jul 27 '16 at 13:21
Unfortunately, this is deleting every file in the folder and not just the files with numbers. – Wings Fan Jul 27 '16 at 14:28

aschipfl · Answer 2 · 2016-08-02T22:55:25.033

2

Here is a solution using findstr:

set "LOCATION=\path\to\files"
for /F "eol=| delims=" %%F in ('
    dir /B /A:-D "%LOCATION%\*.xml" ^
        ^| findstr /I /R "[0-9][0-9]*\.xml$"
') do (
    del "%LOCATION%\%%F"
)

This deletes all .xml files that contain numbers as the last part of their file names.

edited Aug 02 '16 at 22:55

answered Jul 27 '16 at 13:17

aschipfl

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This solution is the one to use when you need a recursive deletion – Jean-François Fabre Jul 27 '16 at 13:22
Ah, this is _not recursive_, this affects only one directory level; Or do I misunderstand you? – aschipfl Jul 27 '16 at 13:24
I thought it was recursive! sorry. but we don't know the real need from the question. – Jean-François Fabre Jul 27 '16 at 13:57
Unfortunately, this deletes every file not just files with numbers. – Wings Fan Jul 27 '16 at 14:27

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered May 11 '19 at 18:31

I know this question is old, but just in case someone googles this, here is what i ended up doing:

For every file in in the current directory:

for %%n in (1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0) do (
for %%f in (*) do (echo %%f|findstr /i /L "%%n">nul
if errorlevel 1 (echo skip) else ( del "%%f") ) )

For every folder:

for %%n in (1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0) do (
for /d %%f in (*) do (echo %%f|findstr /i /L "%%n">nul
if errorlevel 1 (echo skip) else ( rmdir "%%f" /s /q) ) )

For every file inside every folder in the current directory:

for %%n in (1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0) do (
for /d %%f in ("%cd%\"*) do ( cd "%%f" &  for %%f in (*) do (echo %%f|findstr /L "%%n">nul
if errorlevel 1 (echo skip) else ( del "%%f") ) ) )

batch - find files in dir where filename contains a number

3 Answers3