How to: Automatically move files from one location to another using Task Scheduler 

Hello Josh, Not with the VBScript in this video but you could easily do it with Powershell. Something like this should work: Get-Childitem -Path "d:\source_folder" -Force | ?{$_.LastWriteTime -lt (Get-Date).AddDays(-365)} | Move-Item -Destination "e:\destination_folder" -Force This can be saved as a .ps1 file which in turn can be referenced via a Scheduled Task that can be run once every few months depending on your need. Give it a run and let me know if there are any issues. Cheers!

@@bitfragment that’s great. Thanks for the info and quick response it’s really appreciated.

@@joshhobson2340 No worries! Make sure to test it before running it on your main folders :D

@@bitfragment You can with batch. It's called Robocopy. with /minage, you can decide how old the file should be before it'll be transferred.

Thanks for watching :)

Glad to hear, thank you for stopping by :)

Thank you for your kind words and thanks for watching :)

Thanks Sheryl.

Do you happen to have a script that will overwrite the destination folder?

Depends, do you have powershell in your environment?

I don't believe I do.

What operating system are you running? Are you running this script between workstations or between two disks on the same computer?

Hello Rohit, If you want to search for a specific file and move only that file, you can modify the batch script as follows: With CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject") .MoveFile "\\yourlocation\drive$\source_folder eport.txt", "\\yourotherlocation\drive$\target_folder\" End With note that I've replaced *.* with report.txt in "\\yourlocation\drive$\source_folder eport.txt". You can type anything instead of report.txt depending on what file you want to move. Let me know if you need further help.

Hi Ravencraft, thanks for your reply.. Can we write a script which could search a specific file in a folder and move that particular file to the destination folder? Heaps of thanks if you could suggest me some way. thanks

Yes, this will work even if there are multiple files in the folder. Notice this part of the script - \\yourlocation\drive$\source_folder\* .* The * .* at the end basically means all files and all extension types. If you want to move only specific files, for example, text files, you could modify it to something like *.txt I hope this answers your question.

Something like this should do the trick: ' Build array of file types arrFileTypes = Split("PDF,XLS,ZIP,vbs,jpg", ",") Const sourceDrive = "C:" Const targetDrive = "P:" ' Make initial call to get subfolders Set objFSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject") ShowSubFolders objFSO.GetFolder("C:\test") ' * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ' Subroutine to enumerate folder, called recursively ' * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Sub ShowSubFolders(Folder) For Each Subfolder in Folder.SubFolders ' Get a list of the files in the folder Set objFolder = objFSO.GetFolder(Subfolder.Path) Set filesList = objFolder.Files ' Loop each file and see if it is on the D: For Each file In filesList sourceFile = objFolder.Path & "\" & file.Name targetFile = Replace(sourceFile, sourceDrive, targetDrive) ' Loop allowed extension types For Each extType In arrFileTypes ' Extension match AND it is already there If (UCase(Right(sourceFile, 3)) = UCase(extType)) And objFSO.FileExists(targetFile) Then WScript.Echo "The file already exists on the target " & sourceFile ' Extension match and it is NOT already there ElseIf (UCase(Right(sourceFile, 3)) = UCase(extType)) And objFSO.FolderExists(replace(objFolder.Path, sourceDrive, targetDrive)) Then WScript.Echo "I would move the file, it isn't on target " & sourceFile objFSO.MoveFile sourceFile, targetFile End If Next Next ShowSubFolders Subfolder Next End Sub

If the source folder is empty, nothing happens. The script runs but it produces no results, as expected. What additional logic are you looking to add?

​​@@bitfragment Hello....my source folder is empty ( files come under automatically at random) so when the script runs it shows runtime error file not found the task scheduler will work only if i acknowledge the error...is there a way to bypass this??

Hi, the file name doesn't matter, as long as you've set up your script like this: With CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject") .MoveFile "\\yoursource\drive$\source_folder\*.*", "\\yourotherlocation\drive$\target_folder\" End With The * .* before the comma is very important. It means every file/folder that has any name and any extension. If you have implemented this and it doesn't work you might want to check the scheduled task and ensure it is running properly.

I haven't got the chance to review your comment yet, however for this kind of behavior I think a powershell script will suit you best. I'll think of something if u still need it.

Never tested it, but I believe you'll have to use FileSystemObject.CopyFile For copying files I suggest using robocopy though. technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc733145(v=ws.11).aspx

Yep - PowerShell. I can script it for you :) what type of logs? .log or .txt?

ravencraft .xml

I want to automate this process through task scheduler. So if it possible , then let me know.

The way it is set up now, no. But you can browse to the scheduled task properties, go to the Triggers tab, and there's a checkbox there that says "Repeat task every X hours". Check it and enter 1 hour. You can also choose the duration, such as 1 day, or indefinitely.

The script in this video can move files with a certain extension (just change * . * to somethign like *.html), but based on date no. You'll need to rewrite the script. A good example can be found here stackoverflow.com/questions/22664911/vb-script-to-move-files-around-based-on-date-changed

Not with this script. But I can have something done for you if you still need it :)

Hello there!!! I would appreciate it greatly if you could show us how to do that too. And also, how do we write the script in a way that it skips some specific files that we'd like to allow to remain on the desktop? Thanks a bunch!!!

Hi Ravencraft can you please share trick with overwriting?

@@bitfragment I'd find a script like this very helpful. I collaborate on video editing projects and have a great need for being able to overwrite the files as the script gets run.

Hi all, apologies for not seeing this sooner, I've been hella busy lately. Would you still like to know how this is done?

You replace * .* with *.txt, like this: With CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject") .MoveFile "\\source\drive$\source_folder\*.txt", "\\destination\drive$\target_folder\" End With

The script in this video does not have that behavior built in. A powershell script would suit you best - I can create one for you if you still need it.

Yes, please!! Thank you

So, all of your files have the same name but different extensions? such as picture.jpeg, picture.png, picture.gif for example? Trying to understand what exactly you are trying to accomplish so I can write the proper script.

ravencraft yes, for example: test_1.pdf , test_2.png and folder name is test and other file xxx_1.pdf , xxx_2.png and the folder name is xxx.

$test_source = Test-Path D:\Source $test_destination = Test-Path C:\Destination $test_files = Get-ChildItem "D:\Source\file.*" $x_files = Get-ChildItem "D:\Source\x.*" $destination_test = "C:\Destination\test_files" $destination_x = "C:\Destination\x_files" if ($test_source -and $test_destination -eq $true) { Write-Host "Paths are valid. Proceeding with moving the files..." -ForegroundColor Green if ($test_files -ne $null) { $test_files | Move-Item -Destination $destination_test -Verbose } else { Write-Host "There are no test files in the Source folder. Nothing to move." -ForegroundColor Blue } if ($x_files -ne $null) { $x_files | Move-Item -Destination $destination_x -Verbose } else { Write-Host "There are no X files in the Source folder. Nothing to move." -ForegroundColor Blue } } else { Write-Host "Paths are invalid. Please check Source and Destination folders." -ForegroundColor Red }

Thanks for the feedback.

@Raven - I would need an answer/reply asap, please.

Hi Raj, no problem man, thanks for watching. Without going into many technical details and completely changing the approach (there are better ways to accomplish this) I am thinking you should actually set up TWO scheduled tasks: Task 1: Start: Every day at X hours With CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject") .MoveFile "\\192.168.6.X\drive$\source_folder\*.*", "\\192.168.6.Y\drive$\target_folder\" End With You will need to monitor it in order to determine how much time it takes to complete When you got the timings down, you can create a second task that runs soon after the first one completes like so: Task 2: Start: Every day, after Task 1 completes With CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject") .MoveFile "\\192.168.6.Y\drive$\source_folder\*.*", "\\192.168.6.Z\drive$\target_folder\" End With

I tried with the following batch script w.r.t Task 1, but did not work. Please check & advice. With CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject") .MoveFile "E:\source_folder\*.bak*", "B:\target_folder\" End With Where E:\ is the local server's drive, .bak is the type of file to be moved & B: is one of the target folder mapped as the network drive in the source server. I would need only the recent files to b moved.

It errored out at this line: .MoveFile "\\sourcepath\*.*","\\destinationpath", char 57 starts at "\\sourcepath..." Please write it exactly like this, on 3 lines of code: With CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject") .MoveFile "\\yourlocation\drive$\source_folder\*.*", "\\yourotherlocation\drive$\target_folder\" End With

Try this instead, more advanced: ' Build array of file types arrFileTypes = Split("PDF,XLS,ZIP,vbs,jpg", ",") Const sourceDrive = "C:" Const targetDrive = "P:" ' Make initial call to get subfolders Set objFSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject") ShowSubFolders objFSO.GetFolder("C:\test") ' * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ' Subroutine to enumerate folder, called recursively ' * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Sub ShowSubFolders(Folder) For Each Subfolder in Folder.SubFolders ' Get a list of the files in the folder Set objFolder = objFSO.GetFolder(Subfolder.Path) Set filesList = objFolder.Files ' Loop each file and see if it is on the D: For Each file In filesList sourceFile = objFolder.Path & "\" & file.Name targetFile = Replace(sourceFile, sourceDrive, targetDrive) ' Loop allowed extension types For Each extType In arrFileTypes ' Extension match AND it is already there If (UCase(Right(sourceFile, 3)) = UCase(extType)) And objFSO.FileExists(targetFile) Then WScript.Echo "The file already exists on the target " & sourceFile ' Extension match and it is NOT already there ElseIf (UCase(Right(sourceFile, 3)) = UCase(extType)) And objFSO.FolderExists(replace(objFolder.Path, sourceDrive, targetDrive)) Then WScript.Echo "I would move the file, it isn't on target " & sourceFile objFSO.MoveFile sourceFile, targetFile End If Next Next ShowSubFolders Subfolder Next End Sub

With CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject") .MoveFile "\\yourlocation\drive$\source_folder\filename.extension", "\\yourotherlocation\drive$\target_folder\" End With For example: With CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject") .MoveFile "\\yourlocation\drive$\source_folder\worddoc.docx", "\\yourotherlocation\drive$\target_folder\" End With

Hi, see the description for which command you can use. Basically, * . * (star.star) means every file, every extension. So, when you put a * (star) it covers all file names.

ravencraft but I want only selected files by name can it is possible

Yes, you can include the file name and the extension in the script like this: With CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject") .MoveFile "\\yourlocation\drive$\source_folder\filename.txt", "\\yourotherlocation\drive$\target_folder\" End With As per above, you can replace the * with your file names and their respective file extensions.

If you want to have a scheduled task doing that it will have to run permanently and trigger when it finds a file/folder in the specific location.

@@bitfragment hi, i have a similar use case. How do i have the task triggered when it finds a file/folder in the source location?

You can create a static root folder. For example Schedules. This folder can contain all those ever-changing folders. This way, no matter what the name of the folders are, they will still be moved to the desired location.

Hi Mohd, Unfortunately, the VBScript MoveFile method works only when the target file does not exist. This is very limited and I do not encourage you to use it, this video was more to show how to use something different than what you would do normally, to get the job done. I would encourage you to try powershell instead. Create a powershell script with this command and run it with the scheduled task instead of the VBScript: Move-Item -Path \\10.10.10.10\c$\test\*.* -Destination \\10.20.20.20\c$\test2\ -Force Replace the -Path IP address with your SOURCE server and -Destination with your destination server. Using the -Force switch at the end will overwrite files if they already exist. Hope this helps! Vlad

Hi, yes you can. You'll just have to use the shared drive path instead of a folder. Something like this would work: \\SERVERNAME\sharename For example, here's a scenario. I have a server named SERVER01 that has two drives, drive C and drive D. I want to share the D drive and move all files to another network location on SERVER02. To do this, I would follow the below procedure: 1) share the D drive - give it a share name, you can leave it D, but it's usually best to name it after the purpose it will serve. To avoid going into more detail, I will simply use the defaults and share mine with the default name which will be D. Now, I have a network shared drive which can be accessed by this path: \\SERVER01\D 2) implement the script like so: With CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject") .MoveFile "\\SERVER01\D\*.*", "\\SERVER02\target_folder\" End With

Hi thank god. Am working at customer place.. But its not working.can you assist..

I have updated my answer with a more in depth description. Have a look.

No its not working..

With CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject") .MoveFile "\\Cctv\2017\*.*", "\\10.10.10.144\cctv ew directory\" End With

Instead of .MoveFile you declare .CopyFile, like this: With CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject") .CopyFile "\\yourlocation\drive$\source_folder\*.*", "\\yourotherlocation\drive$\target_folder\" End With

It is possible but not with this VBS. We'll have to look into powershell for that.

ravencraft Thank you for the response! I Would really like to know the powershell script that gets the job done. Much appreciated!

Hi Chen, so if you are only looking to move text files, you can try using the Select-String function as per below: Get-ChildItem C:\yoursourcelocation\ -Filter *.txt -Recurse | Select-String -List -Pattern "secret" | move -Destination c:\yourdestinationlocation\ Let me know if that works for you.