Search for pdf with specific title and move to a different location on my PC with matlab

Hello,

I have a folder, let's say 'C:\directory', with a large number of PDF files in it. This folder also houses my matlab code that I am working on. Some of them have the same first few letters, let's say 'abcd' in their titles, while others don't. I want to locate the PDF files with the repeated text in their titles and move them to a new folder, let's say 'C:\directory2'. How can I do this easily, preferably using some combination of ifs and loops? Also, the repeated text will only be at the very beginning of the PDF's titles, not somewhere in the middle if that makes it any easier.

[Guillaume]

You seem to be using name and title interchangeably. I understand name as the file name and title as some sort of text within the pdf file.

The former (file name) is easy to do and it's not clear what problem you have.

The latter (identifying some text in a pdf) is harder, potentially extremely hard depending on how the pdf has been generated.

[Nathaniel Werner]

Hi, sorry, I corrected that so that title is the only term used. The word title here means the file name of the PDF. I'm looking to identify and relocate individual PDF files based on a few characters in their title.

Answer 1

[Guillaume]

The word title here means the file name of the PDF. I'm looking to identify and relocate individual PDF files based on a few characters in their title.

In that case, isn't it just:

files = dir(fullfile('c:\somepath\', '*abc*.pdf'));
arrayfun(@(file) movefile(fullfile(file.folder, file.name), fullfile('c:\someotherpath', file.name)), files);

[Nathaniel Werner]

Thanks, let me check this when I get into the office I'll let you know

[Nathaniel Werner]

I think there is some confusion. I have no need to build up file names, so fullfile is of no use to me. I just need to search for specific files. I've tried using the movefile tool separately but I'm running into some other problems now.

[Guillaume]

The code I wrote does not build file names. it searches for pdf files that contain abc in their name, in the folder c:\somepath. It then moves these files into the folder c:\someotherpath.

If it's not what you asked for then, yes, I'm confused.

[Nathaniel Werner]

it could be that I am confused about what you wrote. I looked up fullfolder in help and it said it built up file names from different pieces. Either way, I found a round-about way of getting what I needed done efficiently.

[Stephen23]

"I found a round-about way of getting what I needed done efficiently."

Guillaume's answer is quite efficient. A "round-about way" is unlikely to be efficient.

[Guillaume]

fullfile is used to build paths from various components. If you're not using fullfile for anything that involve files then you're using an unreliable method: either relying on the current folder, using cd, or building paths by string manipulation.

In my answer, I use fullfile to prepend the folder name to the pattern abc.pdf, then pass that to dir which searches for all files that conform to the pattern in the required folder.

And as Stephen says, if your roundabout way is more than the two lines I've written, then it's clearly not as efficient.