On the first day of my job, I was told to prepare a list of files located in a particular folder to excel.
The task was very simple. Indeed? All I need to do was copy the file names and paste into Excel File?
It sounds simple, but it was a huge waste of time. It took me around 4 hours to prepare the list of files into excel sheet.
But, this could have been done in a few seconds if I knew the right techniques. Hence, I am writing this post to share three easy hacks to export files names and save to your hard disk.
Don’t Worry, these techniques will not require any advance knowledge of Computer or Excel as well. Even a beginner can use these techniques to export file names to excel sheet.
Using Simple Right Click Method
As the name suggests, in this technique, you can simply paste the list of files into excel using right click. To prepare this list follows the steps given below.
- Select the source folder from left navigation menu of the Window Explorer.
- Select all files using Ctrl+A shortcut keys.
- Next, press and hold Shift Key and then right click on the selection.
- Select ‘Copy as Path’ from available options.
- Next, open your Excel Worksheet and press Ctrl+P to prepare the list.
Using cmd Method
The next technique involves the use ofCommand Prompt on your computer. In this technique, you need to run a couple of simple commands on your PC. These commands are shown in below image.
This will generate the list of files in your selected drive called ‘D’. Remember, to use this technique, you need to first navigate to a concerned folder using the command prompt. This technique will generate the list of the current directory only. In above example, it generates the list of files saved in ‘C’ drive.
You can replace the .CSV file format with whatever format you like. For example, if you want to export the list in a .txt file then you instead of using .CSV, you can use .txt in the above command.
Using Webpage Method
This is the longest but still easier to use the technique to export your files names into excel worksheet. To use this technique follows the steps given below.
1. Select your concerned folder.
2. Click on the address bar and copy the given path.
- Open your web browser and paste your copied path into it.
4. Right-click and use ‘Save as’ option to save the file into HTML format.
5. Open your saved HTML file and copy its path.
6. Open your Excel File.
7. Import your web file using ‘From Web‘ option available under ‘Data‘ menu.
8. Click on ‘Import‘ button and then hit ‘OK‘ to import the list.
Above all are the three hacks to export your files or folder names into an excel file for future reference.
Over to You
Your life will get easier if you know the right techniques. The above hack reduced my task from 4 hours to few minutes. Hence, I always suggest spending some time finding the right technique rather than doing the work without using the brain.
What do you think? Please do not forget to share your opinion/feedback with us. We will be happier to hear from you.
About Author
Hi, this side Kaustubh Patel from LoveUMarketing Blog. At LoveUMarketing, we write on Marketing Strategies, Online Money Making, Blogging, and other related topics.
