Copy specific file types from one location to another

Question

Hi guys im currently working in a school and Ive created a script to scan all student folders for sepcific file types, I was wondering if there was a way I could have it make a copy of the specific file type before deleting it? I couldnt think of a way to do it as both xcopy and robocopy require a source address within the syntax. Here is my script

@echo off
net use X: \\LOCATION FOR STUDENT FOLDERS
net use Y: \\LOCATION FOR COPIED FILES
net use Z: \\LOCATION FOR .TXT FILE OF DELETED FILES
X:
cls
Echo Deleting bat files please wait...
del /s *.bat > Z:\DeletedFiles.txt 2>&1
Echo Deleting CMD files please wait...
del /s *.cmd >> Z:\DeletedFiles.txt 2>&1
Echo Deleting VBS files please wait...
del /s *.vbs >> Z:\DeletedFiles.txt 2>&1
Echo Deleting Executable files please wait...
del /s *.exe >> Z:\DeletedFiles.txt 2>&1
mountvol X:\ /D
mountvol Y:\ /D
mountvol Z:\ /D
cls
Echo Process Completed. Drives Unmounted
set /p=Press Any Key To Close

Im assuming it isnt as easy (let alone even possible) as entering in something like below?

xcopy *.bat Y:\

By the way powershell scripts arent at my disposal as I dont have rights to run them (silly education department) but if there is a powershell alternative please post that too as it would be good for me to learn.

Answer 1

Using FORFILES

This way might be even easier to digest:

forfiles /P C:\Windows /S /M *.dll /C "cmd /c @echo @path"

This is an example you can run from the command line without hurting anything.

Here's how you might use it in your script:

forfiles /P X:\ /S /M *.bat /C "cmd /c @copy @path Y:\"

Using FOR

FOR /R X:\ %%B IN (*.bat) DO (
    copy "%%~fB" Y:\
    REM you could do the delete in here too, 
    REM but it's probably faster the way you have it
)

How this works:

The FOR command with the /R switch looks recursively through the provided directory (in this case X:\ for the pattern defined in the IN section. Here we're giving it the pattern *.bat. For each file found, it runs the statement after DO. The file that is found will be put into the %%B variable (you could choose any letter).

By using (...) after the DO we allow for running multiple commands on each iteration of the loop.

%%~fB is a special way of treating the value of %%B. The ~ begins all such special formatters and by itself removes quotation marks if they exist. f formats the value as a full path name, in case it's being used as relative.

Running for /? at the command line gives a very detailed account of FOR's capabilities and the formatting flags that can be used.

Note

We're using %%B instead of %B as the help would show you because it's inside a batch file. Here are some samples of FOR that you can run directly at the command line:

FOR /R C:\Windows %Q IN (*.ttf) DO @echo I am a font: "%Q"
FOR /R C:\Windows %Q IN (*.dll) DO @echo Full path to DLL: %~fQ

If those were in a batch file you'd need to use double percent signs.

About PowerShell

I also wanted to point out that you don't require any special permissions to run powershell scripts.

If you're getting an error about execution policy, this is just a safety measure, and within powershell (not in the script) you can run:

Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass

You should read more about execution policy to get a full grasp of the possible settings.

If you are running a powershell script through a scheduled task, you can change the execution policy when you invoke it, like this:

powershell.exe -ExecutionPolicy Bypass

A full invocation from a scheduled task might look like this:

powershell.exe -NoProfile -NonInteractive -NoLogo -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File C:\Scripts\script.ps1

Answer 2

Use FOR loops:

SETLOCAL EnableExtensions
For /R "X:\" %%I IN (*.bat) do (
    xcopy /i "%%I" "Y:\%%~nxI"
    del "%%I"
)

So your script could be:

@echo off
SETLOCAL EnableExtensions
net use X: \\LOCATION FOR STUDENT FOLDERS
net use Y: \\LOCATION FOR COPIED FILES
net use Z: \\LOCATION FOR .TXT FILE OF DELETED FILES
X:
cls
Echo Deleting bat, cmd, vbs, and exe files please wait...
For /R "X:\" %%I IN (*.*) do (
    set "isTrue="
    if (%%~xI == ".bat") set isTrue=1
    if (%%~xI == ".cmd") set isTrue=1
    if (%%~xI == ".vbs") set isTrue=1
    if (%%~xI == ".exe") set isTrue=1
    if defined isTrue (
        xcopy "%%I" "Y:\%%~nxI"
        del /s "%%I" > "Z:\DeletedFiles.txt" 2>&1
    )
)
mountvol X:\ /D
mountvol Y:\ /D
mountvol Z:\ /D
cls
Echo Process Completed. Drives Unmounted
set /p=Press Any Key To Close