batch-script to replace dots in foldernames with spaces

user_1798164 0
Viewed 974

a user of mine is having problems with syncing cloud to local workstation. he is having lots of folders in a deep (10+) folder structure pattern and every folder is containing at least three dots ("xy.asdf.qwer $generic descriptor").

so now there is big foobar. online everything works fine, new files can be created and edited as expected. but the synced files keeps crashing on windows 10 enterprise and explorer warns with "bad foldername" and stuff. so i allowed long folder names (260 chars max.... seriously?) via GPO for user and i thought "well done. problem solved" ... but no... synced local files are still having trouble... so i allowed same option via regedit. same same. explorer keeps complaining.

so i decided to change folder names and remove the dots and replace them with spaces. so folder "xy.asdf.qwer $generic descriptor" will be "xy asdf qwer $generic descriptor". user says it's fine so i wrote a batch to rename folders. sry, my powershell is really bad. but if u know a solution in powershell it is appreciated and fine as well.

@echo off
setlocal enabledelayedexpansion

set "leer= "
set "punkt=."

call :rekursion
goto :eof

:rekursion
for /D %%d in (*) do (
    set name=%%~nxd
    ren "%%d" "!name:%punkt%=%leer%!"
    cd %%d
    call :rekursion
    cd ..
)
exit /b

batch is working fine, but keeps throwing errors and telling me "not allowed" ... what is wrong with it? why is it working but complaining? what am i missing? all rights are set proper (full access...) [sry for bad English...]

directory-structure cmd batch-file naming replace
2 Answers

The order is the issue. You are renaming the folder BEFORE you try to change directories. It works because after you rename the folder, the loop will pick up the new folder name, but is much less efficient. I was seeing errors on the 'cd' line. This works for me and is a bit simpler:

@echo off
setlocal enabledelayedexpansion

set "leer= "
set "punkt=."

:rekursion
for /D %%d in (*) do (
    pushd %%d
    call :rekursion
    popd
    set name=%%~nxd
    ren "%%d" "!name:%punkt%=%leer%!"
)
user_8304860

This PowerShell script will do what you want. If you are on a supported Windows platform, PowerShell will be available.

I would not want SPACE characters in directory or file names, but that is your choice. When you are satisfied that the names would be changed correctly, remove the -WhatIf from the Rename-Item command.

#Requires -Version 3
$BaseDir = 'C:\src\t'
Get-ChildItem -Recurse -Directory -Path $BaseDir |
    Sort-Object -Descending -Property FullName |
    Where-Object { $_.Name -match '\.' } |
    ForEach-Object {
        $NewName = $_.Name -replace '\.',' '
        Rename-Item -Path $_.FullName -NewName $NewName -WhatIf
    }
user_4479010
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