Powershell - Move files with certain date, extension and keep atleast one file - list

Question

So I need to create Powershell script where the script first checks that the file suffix is correct. In example it could be just ".txt", then it does check that the first two letter in file name is correct (in example AA and BB). After that it checks if the file is older than one month, if so, the file moves from A to B, but if there is only one file in the directory with the first two letters (BB) it will stay untouched and if there is let's say 20 files (CC) that are all older than one month it will move all except 1 and it needs to be the newest file.
I truly have no idea how this type of script should be done.. I have only done a very simple scripts.
Thanks for you help in advance.

Answer 1

Assuming source and destination folder exist, you can do:
$source = "C:\temp\location1"
$destination = "C:\temp\location2"
$filter = "AA*.txt"
Get-ChildItem -Filter $filter $source `
| Sort-Object -Property LastWriteTime `
| Where-Object { MonthDifference $(Get-Date).DateTime $_.LastWriteTime.DateTime -gt 1 } `
| Select-Object -Skip 1 `
| ForEach-Object { Move-Item $_.FullName $destination }
function MonthDifference([System.DateTime] $dateLeft, [System.DateTime] $dateRight)
{
return ($dateLeft.Month - $dateRight.Month) + 12 * ($dateLeft.Year - $dateRight.Year)
}

Answer 2

Derloopkat gave you a good approach. Yet, since you said...
'I truly have no idea how this type of script should be done...'
... this would mean you need to spend the needed time ramp-up of PowerShell (because you may not fully grasp what respondents will provide, thus engendering more questions.) and learning to step-thru needed logic. So, as I said, you are showing at minimum 7 steps to clear before any of the optimizations which 'derloopkat' is showing, then this. I am using a simplified date selection vs the function 'derlookat' provided. You need to decide which works for your use case/goal.
In any case, not knowing how to check yourself before you execute any code is paramount. Never run anyone's code, especially destructive code (New. Create, Update, Modify, Delete, Move...); as you can destroy your environment if you don't have a backup; unless you fully understand what it's is doing, or be willing to accept the consequences of using it. This is why the -WhatIf parameter, for the command that supports it, exists.
<#
1 - the script first checks that the file suffix is correct.
In example it could be just ".txt",
#>
Get-ChildItem -Path 'D:\Temp' -Filter '*.txt'
# Results
<#
Directory: D:\Temp
Mode LastWriteTime Length Name
---- ------------- ------ ----
-a---- 10-Jan-20 17:59 0 awél.txt
-a---- 15-Oct-20 14:47 1074 Book- Copy (2).txt
-a---- 14-Oct-20 16:45 71 book1 - Copy - Copy.txt
...
...
#>
<#
2 - then it does check that the first two letter in file name is correct (in example AA and BB).
#>
Get-ChildItem -Path 'D:\Temp' -Filter '*.txt' |
ForEach-Object {
If ($PSItem.Name -Like 'Da*' -or $PSItem.Name -Like 'bo*')
{$PSItem}
}
# Results
<#
Directory: D:\Temp
Mode LastWriteTime Length Name
---- ------------- ------ ----
-a---- 15-Oct-20 14:47 1074 Book- Copy (2).txt
-a---- 14-Oct-20 16:45 71 book1 - Copy - Copy.txt
-a---- 14-Oct-20 16:45 71 book1 - Copy.txt
-a---- 14-Oct-20 16:45 71 book1.txt
-a---- 20-Feb-20 16:01 644 Book2 - Copy.txt
-a---- 20-Feb-20 16:01 644 Book2.txt
-a---- 20-Feb-20 16:01 644 Books1.txt
-a---- 15-Oct-20 14:47 1074 DataFile - Copy - Copy.txt
-a---- 15-Oct-20 14:47 1074 DataFile - Copy.txt
-a---- 15-Oct-20 14:47 1074 DataFile.txt
-a---- 20-Feb-20 16:01 644 DateData - Copy - Copy.txt
-a---- 20-Feb-20 16:01 644 DateData - Copy.txt
-a---- 20-Feb-20 16:01 644 DateData.txt
#>
<#
3 - After that it checks if the file is older than one month,
#>
Get-ChildItem -Path 'D:\Temp' -Filter '*.txt' |
ForEach-Object {
If ($PSItem.Name -Like 'Da*' -or $PSItem.Name -Like 'bo*')
{
$PSItem |
Where-Object -Property LastWriteTime -LT (Get-Date).AddMonths(-1)
# Or
# Where-Object -Property LastWriteTime -LT (Get-Date).AddDays(-30) or whatever formula you'd want to use.
}
}
# Results
<#
Directory: D:\Temp
Mode LastWriteTime Length Name
---- ------------- ------ ----
-a---- 20-Feb-20 16:01 644 Book2 - Copy.txt
-a---- 20-Feb-20 16:01 644 Book2.txt
-a---- 20-Feb-20 16:01 644 Books1.txt
-a---- 20-Feb-20 16:01 644 DateData - Copy - Copy.txt
-a---- 20-Feb-20 16:01 644 DateData - Copy.txt
-a---- 20-Feb-20 16:01 644 DateData.txt
#>
<#
if so,
4 - the file moves from A to B,
#>
Get-ChildItem -Path 'D:\Temp' -Filter '*.txt' |
ForEach-Object {
If ($PSItem.Name -Like 'Da*' -or $PSItem.Name -Like 'bo*')
{
$PSItem |
Where-Object -Property LastWriteTime -LT (Get-Date).AddMonths(-1) |
Move-Item -Destination D:\Temp1 -WhatIf
}
}
# Results
<#
What if: Performing the operation "Move File" on target "Item: D:\Temp\Book2 - Copy.txt Destination: D:\Temp1\Book2 - Copy.txt".
What if: Performing the operation "Move File" on target "Item: D:\Temp\Book2.txt Destination: D:\Temp1\Book2.txt".
What if: Performing the operation "Move File" on target "Item: D:\Temp\Books1.txt Destination: D:\Temp1\Books1.txt".
What if: Performing the operation "Move File" on target "Item: D:\Temp\DateData - Copy - Copy.txt Destination: D:\Temp1\DateData - Copy - Copy.txt".
What if: Performing the operation "Move File" on target "Item: D:\Temp\DateData - Copy.txt Destination: D:\Temp1\DateData - Copy.txt".
What if: Performing the operation "Move File" on target "Item: D:\Temp\DateData.txt Destination: D:\Temp1\DateData.txt".
#>
<#
5 - but if there is only one file in the directory with the first two letters (BB) it will stay untouched
#>
Get-ChildItem -Path 'D:\Temp' -Filter '*.txt' |
Sort-Object -Property LastWriteTIme, Name |
ForEach-Object {
If ($PSItem.Name -Like 'Da*' -or $PSItem.Name -Like 'bo*')
{
$PSItem |
Where-Object -Property LastWriteTime -LT (Get-Date).AddMonths(-1) |
Select-Object -Skip 1
}
}
# Results
<#
Directory: D:\Temp
Mode LastWriteTime Length Name
---- ------------- ------ ----
-a---- 20-Feb-20 16:01 644 Book2 - Copy.txt
-a---- 20-Feb-20 16:01 644 Book2.txt
-a---- 20-Feb-20 16:01 644 Books1.txt
-a---- 20-Feb-20 16:01 644 DateData - Copy - Copy.txt
-a---- 20-Feb-20 16:01 644 DateData - Copy.txt
-a---- 20-Feb-20 16:01 644 DateData.txt
#>
<#
6 - and if there is let's say 20 files (CC) that are all older than one month
it will move all except 1 and it needs to be the newest file.
#>
# Assuming source and destination folder exist, you can do:
$source = 'D:\temp'
$destination = 'D:\temp1'
$filter = 'Da*', 'bo*', 'Em*'
Get-ChildItem -Filter $filter $source `
| Sort-Object -Property LastWriteTime `
| Where-Object { MonthDifference $(Get-Date).DateTime $PSitem.LastWriteTime.DateTime -gt 1 } `
| Select-Object -Skip 1 `
| ForEach-Object { Move-Item $PSitem.FullName $destination -WhatIf}
function MonthDifference([System.DateTime] $dateLeft, [System.DateTime] $dateRight)
{return ($dateLeft.Month - $dateRight.Month) + 12 * ($dateLeft.Year - $dateRight.Year)}
# then step thru to see how to get to your final use case
Clear-Host
$FileSource = 'D:\temp'
$FileDestination = 'D:\temp1'
($MoveFileTargets = 'Da*', 'bo*', 'Em*' |
ForEach {
Get-ChildItem -Path 'D:\Temp' -Filter "$PSItem.txt" |
Sort-Object -Property LastWriteTime |
Where-Object -Property LastWriteTime -LT (Get-Date).AddMonths(-1)
})
"Total Files: $($MoveFileTargets.Count)"
# Results
<#
Directory: D:\Temp
Mode LastWriteTime Length Name
---- ------------- ------ ----
-a---- 20-Feb-20 16:01 644 DateData - Copy - Copy.txt
-a---- 20-Feb-20 16:01 644 DateData - Copy.txt
-a---- 20-Feb-20 16:01 644 DateData.txt
-a---- 20-Feb-20 16:01 644 Book2 - Copy.txt
-a---- 20-Feb-20 16:01 644 Book2.txt
-a---- 20-Feb-20 16:01 644 Books1.txt
-a---- 04-May-20 14:54 566 EmailData - Copy - Copy.txt
-a---- 04-May-20 14:54 566 EmailData - Copy.txt
-a---- 04-May-20 14:54 566 EmailData.txt
Total Files: 9
#>
Clear-Host
$FileSource = 'D:\temp'
$FileDestination = 'D:\temp1'
($MoveFileTargets = 'Da*', 'bo*', 'Em*' |
ForEach {
Get-ChildItem -Path $FileSource -Filter "$PSItem.txt" |
Sort-Object -Property LastWriteTime |
Where-Object -Property LastWriteTime -LT (Get-Date).AddMonths(-1) |
Select-Object -Skip 1
})
"Move Files: $($MoveFileTargets.Count)"
# Results
<#
Directory: D:\Temp
Mode LastWriteTime Length Name
---- ------------- ------ ----
-a---- 20-Feb-20 16:01 644 DateData - Copy.txt
-a---- 20-Feb-20 16:01 644 DateData.txt
-a---- 20-Feb-20 16:01 644 Book2.txt
-a---- 20-Feb-20 16:01 644 Books1.txt
-a---- 04-May-20 14:54 566 EmailData - Copy.txt
-a---- 04-May-20 14:54 566 EmailData.txt
Move Files: 6
#>
Clear-Host
$FileSource = 'D:\temp'
$FileDestination = 'D:\temp1'
($MoveFileTargets = 'Da*', 'bo*', 'Em*' |
ForEach {
Get-ChildItem -Path $FileSource -Filter "$PSItem.txt" |
Sort-Object -Property LastWriteTime |
Where-Object -Property LastWriteTime -LT (Get-Date).AddMonths(-1) |
Select-Object -Skip 1 |
Move-Item -Destination $FileDestination -WhatIf
})
# Results
<#
What if: Performing the operation "Move File" on target "Item: D:\temp\DateData - Copy.txt Destination: D:\temp1\DateData - Copy.txt".
What if: Performing the operation "Move File" on target "Item: D:\temp\DateData.txt Destination: D:\temp1\DateData.txt".
What if: Performing the operation "Move File" on target "Item: D:\temp\Book2.txt Destination: D:\temp1\Book2.txt".
What if: Performing the operation "Move File" on target "Item: D:\temp\Books1.txt Destination: D:\temp1\Books1.txt".
What if: Performing the operation "Move File" on target "Item: D:\temp\EmailData - Copy.txt Destination: D:\temp1\EmailData - Copy.txt".
What if: Performing the operation "Move File" on target "Item: D:\temp\EmailData.txt Destination: D:\temp1\EmailData.txt".
#>
So, all the steps are really just this:
Get a list of all files by a 2 char prefix sorted ascending by the prefix and
latest date.
Exclude the most recent file by date of the list for each 2 char prefix
Move the legacy files to another folder.

Answer 3

First get list of all files starting with let's say AA
$time=(get-date).adddays(-30)
$AA=#(Get-ChildItem AA*.txt | Where-Object {$_LastWriteTime -lt $time})
If there was no files within the last 30 days then get the newest file and set variable $AA to the newest file
if ($AA.length -eq 0) {
$AA=Get-ChildItem AA*.txt | sort $_LastWriteTime | select -first 1
}
The last step is moving files to the destination folder
foreach ($aa_file in $AA){move-item -path $aa_file -destination C:\test_des}