View the User Guide | Listing demo video | Name changing demo video |
What is FileLister?
FileLister is a handy and unique MS Excel based application that allows you to list your files and their attributes and change their names en masse.
The listing functionality allows you to select a directory on your PC and create a list of every file contained within that directory (and any subdirectories) in MS Excel. It will also extract up to 25 attributes of the files, including size & type of file, date information (created, modified, accessed etc.) for general files, Artist, album title, track length, bit rate etc. for music files and date taken, dimensions and camera used for picture files. Click here to view listing demo video
The name changing functionality allows you to quickly change filenames en masse, defining the new names in Excel with all of the possibilities that brings. No more labouriously changing filenames in Windows Explorer. Click here to view Name changing demo video
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Why do I need FileLister?
Many years ago, in my regular 9-5, the need arose for several hundred documents to be updated by a team of three people and these updates needed to be recorded to ensure that none were missed and there was no duplication of effort. I realised that Windows did not provide a facility to list files, making the creation of the progress log almost a project in itself. FileLister was born at this point. If you work with files then you need FileLister on your PC to streamline your processes.
Of greater day to day use for personal users is the name changing functionality. You'll note from the links bar at the top of my page that I take a lot of photos and this is an example of where the name changing functionality really comes into it's own. Imagine you're a wedding photographer and you're sat home preparing your clients photograph disc. You've got 800 photos on your memory card and you've whittled these down to the 120 that will be presented, but they're all named by default and are not sequential. DSCN_0745.jpg, DSCN_0764.jpg etc. It looks unprofessional, so you want to change the filenames to John and Janes Wedding 001.jpg, John and Janes Wedding 002.jpg etc. How tedious is that job in Windows explorer, amending one at a time? With FileLister you can extract the list of files to a spreadsheet in seconds, spend another 30 seconds on creating a simple formula and autofilling the spreadsheet with your new filenames and finally 5 seconds clicking the 'change names' menu item. What would have previously taken you maybe 20 minutes to half an hour can now be done in under a minute and that has to be worth the £7.50 cost of FileLister alone!
The full history of the development of FileLister can be read in the user guide.
Can I add anything bespoke onto FileLister?
As an example of further uses, you may have noticed from the links bar at the top of the screen that I share my photography and if I have been to an event or on an outing I will share the photos that I have taken on a webpage. Using FileLister as the foundation stone I have written a routine whereby I simply store my photographs to be published in the appropriate image directory for uploading to my domain and run the routine against that directory. This creates my webpage in under 20 seconds by writing all the code for me and saving as an HTML file. This was a job that previously took anything up to an hour so the efficiency savings of automation are easily quantifiable.
Bespoke code can be added to FileLister to amend, update or extract data from all files in a directory or from a selection of files of the users choosing. Whatever your bulk requirements, FileLister can be the base tool to efficiently meet them.
If you have a repetitive task carried out against large selections of files and would like to carry out this task in a far more efficient manner then please contact ian@iansapps.co.uk to discuss your requirements.
The FileLister code is not Open Source so you will not be able to add anything personally, but there is nothing to stop you using the data produced to run your own routines.
What are the system requirements?
FileLister will run on Windows 10, Windows 8/8.1, Windows 7 and Windows XP. You will also need a ribbon version of Microsoft Excel, i.e. from MS Office 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016 or 365.
If you wish to receive the app on a CD please select the CD option for UK or the Rest of the World as appropriate
Future updates
Future updates in the pipeline include:
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Additional file attributes
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Extract information for a specific file type (e.g. all Excel files, all Word files, all image files etc)
All customers will be provided with a FREE update when anything significant has been added. This will be automatically sent to the e-mail address used when making payment.
Listing functionality demonstration (click to view video)
Name changing functionality demonstration (click to view video)
