Question

How can I compare two folders with subfolders and move all equal files to an other folder/subfolder

Asked by: arf73

Hi, I have a lot of photos on my computer and some time ago it looked wise to put the RAW's in an other folder than the JPEG's. RAW's are in pics/RAW/subfolder (YYYY_MM_DD) and JPEG's in pics/JPEG/subfolder.
I have deleted a lot of JPEG's in the past years because the pics were not ok, but I never deleted the RAW's. Now my diskspace is running low and I would like to delete the RAW's that match the missing JPEG's. I have tried an automatorscript but that didn't work. (sorry, can't find the script anymore) Any ideas?

This Question has been solved and asker verified All Experts Exchange premium technology solutions are available to subscription members.

Subscribe now for full access to Experts Exchange and get

Instant Access to this Solution

  • Plus...
  • 30 Day FREE access, no risk, no obligation
  • Collaborate with the world's top tech experts
  • Unlimited access to our exclusive solution database
  • Never be left without tech help again

Subscribe Now

Asked On
2009-08-12 at 09:40:37ID24647079
Tags

Apple

,

applescript

,

automator

,

AppleScript

Topic

Apple Programming

Participating Experts
1
Points
500
Comments
8

Trusted by hundreds of thousands everyday for fast, accurate and reliable tech support.

  • "The time we save is the biggest benefit of Experts Exchange to Warner Bros. What could take multiple guys 2 hours or more each to find is accessed in around 15 minutes on Experts Exchange." Mike Kapnisakis, Warner Bros.
  • "Our team likes having a resource that is more secure than just using Google and most experts using this service really know their stuff. It's nice to look here first versus using Google." Dayna Sellner, Lockheed Martin
  • "Anytime that I've been stumped with a problem, 9 out of 10 times Experts Exchange has either the accepted solution or an open discussion of the potential solution to the problem." Kenny Red, eBay Inc.

See what Experts Exchange can do for you.

Got a question?

We've got the answer.

Experts Exchange has been collecting answers to technology questions since 1996…3 million and counting! If you have a question, chances are we already have your answer.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Need individual assistance?

Our experts are ready to help.

If you can't find the exact answer you're looking for, ask our exclusive community of 50,000 experts. You’ll get a personalized answer from a trusted professional.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Want to learn from the best?

Read articles from industry experts.

Thousands of free tech tips, tricks, how-to’s and tutorials are available in our peer reviewed articles section. See for yourself how smart our experts are, no login required.

Screenshot of an Article

Working on a long term project?

Store your work and research.

Save solutions to your questions, answers you’ve discovered through searching plus helpful articles in your personal knowledgebase for easy future access.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Access the answers to your technology questions today.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

What Makes Experts Exchange Unique?

Members of the expert community talk about why the experience at Experts Exchange is different than what you will find anywhere else.

Trusted by the world's most respected brands.

image of each brand's logo

Faithfully serving IT professionals since 1996.

Experts Exchange Logo

Try it out and discover for yourself.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

Related Solutions

  1. Subfolder
    Hi Experts. How can I make a filelist with all the files including the FILES in the subfolders.I dont't want to present the subfolders itself, just the files. Greatest Regards
  2. Autobatch folders and maintain subfolders structure
    Hi , I am using autobatch to resize a set of photos, I would like to use it for one big folder containing many subfolders and maintain the structure for the optimized folders , is it possible?? Thanks
  3. CHMODding all folders and subfolders
    I have a PHP photo gallery, where I want to upload via FTP. so, i need to change permission or owner. Is there a command that is equivalent to: "chmod 777 *.*" - meanind, to chmod all contents of a folder. In fact, I'm not looking to just change all permissions and...
  4. moving the contents of subfolders, but not the subfolders.
    I have a folder labeled "Pictures", Inside of the pictures folder I have subfolders of photographers, let's say, TOM, JIM, and BOB. TOM JIM and BOB have all made subfolders by date or contents, but all folders have either a .jpeg or .pdf extension. I need to move ...
  5. mod rewrite to subfolders
    I'm using an .htaccess mod rewrite to redirect some urls. Is there a way that I can set me .htaccess file so that it not only applies to anything in that folder, but also in any subfolders created inside of it? The mod rewrite looks like this:

Free Tech Articles

  1. WARNING: 5 Reasons why you should NEVER fix a computer for free.
    It is in our nature to love the puzzle. We are obsessed. The lot of us. We love puzzles. We love the challenge. We thrive on finding the answer. We hate disarray. It bothers us deep in our soul. W...
  2. SCCM OSD Basic troubleshooting
    SCCM 2007 OSD is a fantastic way to deploy operating systems, however, like most things SCCM issues can sometimes be difficult to resolve due to the sheer volume of logs to sift through and the dispe...
  3. Migrate Small Business Server 2003 to Exchange 2010 and Windows 2008 R2
    This guide is intended to provide step by step instructions on how to migrate from Small Business Server 2003 to Windows 2008 R2 with Exchange 2010. For this migration to work you will need the fo...
  4. Create a Win7 Gadget
    This article shows you how to create a simple "Gadget" -- a sort of mini-application supported by Windows 7 and Vista. Gadgets can be dropped anywhere on the desktop to provide instant information, ...
  5. Outlook continually prompting for username and password
    There have been a lot of questions recently regarding Outlook prompting for a username and password whilst using Exchange 2007. There are a few reasons why this would happen and I will try to cover t...
  6. Backup Exchange 2010 Information Store using Windows Backup
    There seems to be quite a lot of confusion around the ability to backup Exchange 2010 using the built in Windows Backup feature. This stems from the omission of this feature prior to Exchange 2007 s...

Cloud Class Webinars

  1. Avoiding Bugs in Microsoft Access
    Alison Balter takes and in-depth look at avoiding bugs in Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the immediate window to debug your applications, invoking the debugger, using breakpoints to troubleshoot, stepping through code, setting the next statement to execute, ...
  2. Top 10 Best New Features in Visio 2010
    Scott Helmers gives live demonstrations of the top 10 new features in Visio 2010. This webinar will teach you how to create compelling diagrams by adding shapes to the page with a single click, linking the shapes in a diagram to data in Excel (or SQL Server, or SharePoint), ...
  3. IT Consultant Business Secrets Revealed
    Michael Munger, Experts Exchange tech pro and IT consultant, pulls back the curtain on his very successful businesses and answers question on every IT consultant and business owner should know about. He shares secrets on what he did to solve the 5 most common problems in IT, ...
  4. Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity
    Quest CTO, Mike Billon, gives an overview of the steps involved in building a dunamic disaster recovery plan. Through case studies and an examination of software/hardware tooles for monitoring and testing, you'll gain a better understandin of where you are, where you want ...
  5. Organize Your Visio Diagrams with Containers and Lists
    Scott Helmers uses cross functional flowcharts, wireframe diagrams, data graphic legends and seating charts to teach you: how to ustilize all three new structured diagram components in Visio 2010, the best practices for organizeing shapes in previous version of Visio, how to organize ...
  6. How to Us Objects, Properties, Events and Methods in Microsoft Access
    Alison Dalter gives an in-depbth look at objects, properties, events and methods in Microsoft Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the object browser, referring to objects, working with properties and methods, working with object variables, understanding the ...

Join the Community

Give a Little. Get a Lot.

Join the community of experts here and help other tech pros by answering question in your area of expertise. You can earn FREE access to all Experts Exchange's premium features and resources.

Join the Community

Answers

 

by: eoinosullivanPosted on 2009-08-13 at 03:34:30ID: 25086827

Do the RAW & JPEG files have identical filenames excluding the file extension?

Araxis Merge is very powerful and FULLY functional for 30 days.  Long enough for you to perform the merge.
http://www.araxis.com/merge_mac/index.html

If you have the free Apple XCode tools installed you can use FileMerge
http://www.macworld.com/article/49584/2006/03/cmpfldr.html

Personally I do this type of thing a lot and rely on DeltaWalker as it is excellent for file and folder merging
http://www.deltopia.com/compare-merge-sync/macosx/

 

by: arf73Posted on 2009-08-13 at 12:26:54ID: 25091896

The RAW's an JPEG's have identical filenames. I'll try tomorrow (no time today, sorry), thanks!

 

by: arf73Posted on 2009-08-19 at 22:29:01ID: 25139564

Sorry again for my late reaction, very busy at work and no time to play. I just cant get it to work, araxis compares the folders but how do I let araxis ignore the extentions?

 

by: eoinosullivanPosted on 2009-08-19 at 23:30:38ID: 25139735

arf73

I don't have a copy of araxis Merge on my Mac to see where the settings are ...

I tracked down this Automator extension .. which compares folders .. and includes the option to IGNORE extensions .. should also do what you want.
http://automatoractions.com/files/comparefolders1.0.html

Just add a Get Specified Finder Items action above the Compare Folders action.

You can read more from other users and the author on the action here
http://www.completedigitalphotography.com/index.php?p=375

 

by: eoinosullivanPosted on 2009-08-19 at 23:32:19ID: 25139742

BTW.. the author of that action .... Ben Long has a few other interesting Automator actions you might find useful
http://automatoractions.com/show_author_script.php?a_id=16&scr_id=327

 

by: arf73Posted on 2009-08-23 at 06:58:53ID: 25162649

Sorry, eoinosullivan,

it doesn't work, I keep getting error messages about not selecting a folder (i did select a folder):

 

by: eoinosullivanPosted on 2009-08-23 at 08:26:25ID: 25162952

arf23 .. you're using the wrong folder action ... in Position one..
You should use one called .. Get Specified Finder Items

This is one where you must select the 2 folders in the Automator Action ... see attached image

 

by: arf73Posted on 2009-08-26 at 02:55:09ID: 25185795

Hi eoinosullivan,

Well, finally it worked. I set my system language to English to make it easier te find the right automator action. After saving the workflow I set my system language back to Dutch and I tried to run the workflow. Same error again: Sorry, I only work on folders....
Only with the system language set to English the workflow runs ok. I am running it at this very moment to separate the RAWs that should have been removed ages ago. Thank you for your patience!

20120131-EE-VQP-002

3 Ways to Join

30-Day Free Trial

The Experts

98% positive feedback on 31,087 answers since March 2000. angeliii is a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional for his work with MS SQL Server & Develoment.

He has also proven his knowledge of Visual Basic Programming, PHP Scripting and Oracle Databases.

The Experts

97% positive feedback on 10,752 answers since July 2000. lrmoore has more than 18 years experience in the networking industry.

The six-time Mircosoft MVPs specialties include firewalls, virtual private networking, and network management.

Testimonials

"...and excellent source for support... Kind of like having your very own IT dept." Electriciansnet

Testimonials

"I was apprehensive at signing up at first. However... it has already made my life as an IT administrator much easier." JaCrews

Testimonials

"WOW! You guys have great, active, and knowledgeable people on here." moore50

Business Clients

Business Clients

In the Press

"If you’ve got a question... Experts Exchange can supply an answer.”

In the Press

"...an invaluable aid for both IT professionals and those who require tech support."

In the Press

"where IT professionals provide quick answers on just about any topic"

Business Account Plans

Loading Advertisement...