Defining Subfolders in Windows Explorer

**HB13DISH** · 22-07-2009

Just wondering if there is a simple way to define new subfolders in Windows Explorer, instead of going through the laborious
File > New > Folder
and then typing the subfolder name in the box.

An example:
Let's say I want to define subfolders for my favourite fruits, so I have a list like this:

Code:

Fruits

  Orange
  Apple
  Peaches
  Grapes
  Pear
  Banana

I want to use the already typed list above and use it to create the respective subfolders on my PC, in order to save me time and many clicks with the mouse.
This is just a simple list, but imagine it is for a much larger list in the hundreds.

Any ideas? Thanks.
O/S Windows XP Pro

**Topper** · 22-07-2009

Mmm tricky did initially think about old reliable, writing a batch file (anything.bat) and running in a dos window, however by the time it was written and tested I suspect it may have been possible to manually create them. On the other hand you have programming experience IIRC could it not be done with VB and a data container in which you could copy and paste your list and program just says goto next record, like using a spreadsheet as a database for a mailmerge. The only tricky bit would be creating the code for the action but again i think dos cammands will work

**mhku** · 22-07-2009

START > RUN > cmd

this will get the command prompt up

cd \

to get to the root folder. Then do a cd to the folder to create the subfolders in e.g.

cd c:\temp

mkdir fruits

cd fruits

mkdir Orange
mkdir Apple
mkdir Peaches
mkdir Grapes
mkdir Pear
mkdir Banana

I don't capitalise folder names but that's just me.

A quick and dirty method. Write a batch if you want to create lots of folders.

**HB13DISH** · 22-07-2009

Thanks Topper for the suggestion.

Good old DOS might give me a solution, but this is 2009 and this is a problem that I expect Windows programmers to solve for all their customers. Perhaps in Vista or latest Windows 7, if not in my O/S XP Pro.
Let's hope there is a simple solution for this.

**Topper** · 22-07-2009

Of course mhku is quite correct with his dirty method which could be shortened by using 'md' instead of 'mkdir'

**HB13DISH** · 22-07-2009

Originally Posted by mhku

START > RUN > cmd

this will get the command prompt up

cd \

to get to the root folder. Then do a cd to the folder to create the subfolders in e.g.

cd c:\temp

mkdir fruits

cd fruits

mkdir Orange
mkdir Apple
mkdir Peaches
mkdir Grapes
mkdir Pear
mkdir Banana

I don't capitalise folder names but that's just me.

A quick and dirty method. Write a batch if you want to create lots of folders.

Thanks mhku. Good idea

This can save me the initial setting up of the main folder, but it is the

mkdir Orange
mkdir Apple
mkdir Peaches
mkdir Grapes
mkdir Pear
mkdir Banana

that I am not happy with, unless you mean to make a batch file with all the subfolders, instead of one by one.

Edit: Sorry. You did mention the batch file creation. just did't read it at first.

***compufunk*** · 22-07-2009

Do you actually have a list of folders you want to create, or are you just asking?

If you have a list, it would be quite easy to write a quick batch file using something like Notepad++. You could run a find replace in the list which would insert "mkdir " before each name giving you the makings of a batch file.

**HB13DISH** · 22-07-2009

Originally Posted by compufunk

Do you actually have a list of folders you want to create, or are you just asking?

If you have a list, it would be quite easy to write a quick batch file using something like Notepad++. You could run a find replace in the list which would insert "mkdir " before each name giving you the makings of a batch file.

Yes. I have a list now.
I run into the same problem now and then, and I have always done it the hard way, but this time I would like to do it in a more subtle way.
The DOS batch file should work, but I am hoping for a Windows based solution.

***compufunk*** · 22-07-2009

Come to think of it, you don't even need to create a batch file.

Code:

mkdir Apple Peaches Grapes Pear Banana

or

Code:

md Apple Peaches Grapes Pear Banana

Will create all the folders in one go. Just paste your list into the command console.

Thats pretty simple

(no GUI though)

**HB13DISH** · 22-07-2009

Originally Posted by compufunk

Come to think of it, you don't even need to create a batch file.
Code:
mkdir Apple Peaches Grapes Pear Banana
or
Code:
md Apple Peaches Grapes Pear Banana
Will create all the folders in one go. Just paste your list into the command console.

Thats pretty simple (no GUI though)

Thanks compufunk.

This is clever, but the trouble with DOS is that if a subfolder is built of two words, for example Red Melon, and I use your idea, then I would be creating two different subfolders:
Red
Melon
or change it to Red_Melon, which I dislike.

***compufunk*** · 22-07-2009

Or use quotes....

Code:

md Apple "Red Melon" .......

**HB13DISH** · 22-07-2009

Thanks guys for your help.
Just done a small batch of about 50 subfolders and it worked like a charm.

The trick was to get a text file with all the " at the beginning and the end, so I used my favourite text editor TextPad in block mode, added the " when it was aligned left to each subfolder, then changed the alignment to right and pasted all the " into the end, then switched back to left alignment and put a space between each subfolder name and the next.
Ended up with a long line of text which I pasted into the cmd, with md at the beginning.
Quite happy with this solution.

**Topper** · 22-07-2009

Glad you got sorted to your satisfaction

**mhku** · 22-07-2009

A Windows way, rather than a DOS batch file, would have been to write a .vbs file. I've used DOS batch files and .vbs files to run automated tasks using Task Scheduler and SQL Agent.

computerperformance.co.uk/vbscript/vbscript_folder_create.htm

You could get it to read the folder names from a text file.

Homework?

**HB13DISH** · 23-07-2009

Thanks mhku for the suggestion.

Would be nice to do some homework. Maybe in winter when the brain isn't boiling so much like these days here.

***BombedOne*** · 23-07-2009

hm,

is MD command removed from windows already?

Code:

MKDIR [drive:]path
MD [drive:]path

If Command Extensions are enabled MKDIR changes as follows:

MKDIR creates any intermediate directories in the path, if needed.
For example, assume \a does not exist then:

    mkdir \a\b\c\d

is the same as:

    mkdir \a
    chdir \a
    mkdir b
    chdir b
    mkdir c
    chdir c
    mkdir d

which is what you would have to type if extensions were disabled.

**Topper** · 23-07-2009

Originally Posted by BombedOne

hm,

is MD command removed from windows already?

No it is still there as I mentioned in post 5, indeed I did test it on my XP Pro at the time otherwise would not have posted it. I no longer run Vista so could not test that

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