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Background: I have a large .mp3 & .flac music library.
I need to search for files & directories in groups of 1300 in order to copy them to individual USB drives i.e., group #1 files 1 thru 1300; group #2 files 1301 to 2600, etc.
Why? Because the mp5 media player in my vehicles has a song randomize limit of 1300 files. Although 1300 is a large number, I'd like to have numbered USB drives containing more groups of files for variety or for listening to categories such as Christmas songs during the holiday.
Objective:
I have accomplished this task in the past in an inefficient and awkward way: Using file explorer, I initiate the search and the result window fills to a particular number, say 100 files. I select the top file, scroll until the screen fills again, multiplying the each screen set by the number of windows displayed, until I reach 1300 and then <shift> click the final file to select the group and copy to the USB drive. It is an error-prone and time consuming method; a mispositioned cursor deselects the entire group requiring a restart. Imagine the frustration if you're working on group #3 and the selection limit for the previous group is lost; the entire process has to be started again from scratch.
A great solution would be the file search results were accompanied by a number to the left of the file name. I could then select specific numbered files, but file explorer does not have that functionality.
I've been scouring the Internet for a better file manager or search/select strategy. Do you have a more efficient solution?
I need to search for files & directories in groups of 1300 in order to copy them to individual USB drives i.e., group #1 files 1 thru 1300; group #2 files 1301 to 2600, etc.
Why? Because the mp5 media player in my vehicles has a song randomize limit of 1300 files. Although 1300 is a large number, I'd like to have numbered USB drives containing more groups of files for variety or for listening to categories such as Christmas songs during the holiday.
Objective:
I have accomplished this task in the past in an inefficient and awkward way: Using file explorer, I initiate the search and the result window fills to a particular number, say 100 files. I select the top file, scroll until the screen fills again, multiplying the each screen set by the number of windows displayed, until I reach 1300 and then <shift> click the final file to select the group and copy to the USB drive. It is an error-prone and time consuming method; a mispositioned cursor deselects the entire group requiring a restart. Imagine the frustration if you're working on group #3 and the selection limit for the previous group is lost; the entire process has to be started again from scratch.
A great solution would be the file search results were accompanied by a number to the left of the file name. I could then select specific numbered files, but file explorer does not have that functionality.
I've been scouring the Internet for a better file manager or search/select strategy. Do you have a more efficient solution?
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- Mar 14, 2023
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- 101,672
Hi geno11x11,
Yes — there is a much better way than selecting files manually in File Explorer.
The script below avoids that by preserving the original folder structure inside each group.
You might end up with:
That creates a CSV you can open in Excel and see the exact numbering.
The logic is slightly different because it groups by folder/album rather than by individual tracks.
If you want, I can post a second script that does either of these:
Yes — there is a much better way than selecting files manually in File Explorer.
Best solution
Use PowerShell to:- Scan your music library for
.mp3and.flacfiles. - Sort them in a fixed order.
- Split them automatically into folders of 1300 files each.
- Copy those grouped folders wherever you want.
Group_001Group_002Group_003
Why this is better
- No manual counting
- No accidental deselection
- Repeatable
- Works on very large libraries
- Keeps your original files untouched
Important note first
If you have duplicate filenames in different folders, a flat copy can overwrite files.The script below avoids that by preserving the original folder structure inside each group.
Steps
1. Create a destination folder
For example:D:\Music_Groups2. Open PowerShell
PressWin + X and choose Windows PowerShell or Terminal.3. Edit and run this script
Change the$Source and $Destination paths first.
Code:
$Source = "D:\Music"
$Destination = "D:\Music_Groups"
$BatchSize = 1300
$files = Get-ChildItem -Path $Source -Recurse -File |
Where-Object { $_.Extension -in ".mp3", ".flac" } |
Sort-Object FullName
if (!(Test-Path $Destination)) {
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $Destination | Out-Null
}
for ($i = 0; $i -lt $files.Count; $i++) {
$groupNumber = [math]::Floor($i / $BatchSize) + 1
$groupFolder = Join-Path $Destination ("Group_{0:D3}" -f $groupNumber)
$relativePath = $files[$i].DirectoryName.Substring($Source.Length).TrimStart('\')
$targetFolder = if ($relativePath) {
Join-Path $groupFolder $relativePath
} else {
$groupFolder
}
if (!(Test-Path $targetFolder)) {
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $targetFolder -Force | Out-Null
}
Copy-Item -LiteralPath $files[$i].FullName -Destination $targetFolder
}
Write-Host "Done. Total files processed: $($files.Count)"
Write-Host "Total groups created: $([math]::Ceiling($files.Count / $BatchSize))"What this does
- Finds all
.mp3and.flacfiles under your music folder - Sorts them by full path
- Puts files
1-1300intoGroup_001 - Puts files
1301-2600intoGroup_002 - Continues until finished
Example result
If your source is:D:\MusicYou might end up with:
D:\Music_Groups\Group_001\...D:\Music_Groups\Group_002\...D:\Music_Groups\Group_003\...
Group_001 to USB #1, Group_002 to USB #2, and so on.If you want a numbered file list first
If you want to see exactly which file is number 1, 1300, 1301, etc., run this first:
Code:
$Source = "D:\Music"
$files = Get-ChildItem -Path $Source -Recurse -File |
Where-Object { $_.Extension -in ".mp3", ".flac" } |
Sort-Object FullName
$numbered = for ($i = 0; $i -lt $files.Count; $i++) {
[PSCustomObject]@{
Number = $i + 1
FullName = $files[$i].FullName
}
}
$numbered | Export-Csv "D:\Music_File_List.csv" -NoTypeInformationSafer test first
Before running it on the full library:- Make a small test folder with 20 to 30 music files.
- Change
$Sourceto that folder. - Change
$BatchSizeto something small like5. - Confirm the grouping looks right.
- Then run it on the full library.
One more thing to consider
If you want to keep albums together instead of splitting purely by file count, that is also possible.The logic is slightly different because it groups by folder/album rather than by individual tracks.
If you want, I can post a second script that does either of these:
- Split by individual song count
- Keep album folders together as much as possible
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