Usually, at the end of the semester, my Download folder is full of files. The files are useful. I don’t want to waste them, but trying to organize them is a pain. Luckily, I know Python! So, I decided to build a semi-automatic file organizer. I think this would be useful not just for download folder, but also to another messy folder such as Desktop, etc.
How it works: 1) User choose directory to organize 2) User choose What to do - Rearrange or Rename 2) The program will do the rest!
Program Breakdown
I divide the program into two parts:
- GUI - Mainly for interaction. I do not want to open a terminal to organize files. So, having GUI make it easier and more intuitive
- Main Process - Where all the processing happens.
Step by step: 1) User select directory 2) User choose menu - Rearrange or Rename 3) User’s choices are processed 4) Send Done! to indicate a successful process
As stated in step 2, the user can choose two process
- Rearrange: To group file according to file extension
- Rename: Renaming batch of files
Program code
main driver function
if __name__ == '__main__':
values, process_chosen = run_gui()
if(process_chosen != -1):
err = access_dir(values, process_chosen)
if(err != 0):
sg.popup("Process error")
else:
sg.popup("Done All!")
For simplifying GU creation, I use PySimpleGUI. Read official tutorial
In gui.py
def run_gui():
sg.ChangeLookAndFeel('Reddit')
layout = [
[sg.Text('File Organizer', size=(35, 1), justification='center',
font=("Arial", 20), relief=sg.RELIEF_GROOVE)],
[sg.Text('_' * 80)],
[sg.Text('Choose Options', size=(20, 1), justification='left',
font=("Arial", 15))],
[sg.Checkbox('Rearrange', size=(10,1), key='_0_')],
[sg.Checkbox('Rename', size=(10,1), key='_1_'),
sg.InputText('New_Filename', key='_newName_')],
[sg.Text('_' * 80)],
[sg.InputText('Choose A Folder', key='_folder_'), sg.FolderBrowse()],
[sg.Submit(tooltip='Click to submit this window'), sg.Cancel()]
]
path = Path('.').parent.absolute()
path = os.path.join(path, 'dist', 'icon.ico')
window = sg.Window(
'File Organizer', layout, default_element_size=(40, 1),
grab_anywhere=False, icon=path
)
event, values = window.read()
chosen = check_options_chosen(values)
if(chosen == -1):
return values, chosen
return values, chosen
def check_options_chosen(values):
options_chosen = False
if(values['_0_'] == True):
return 0
if(values['_1_'] == True):
return 1
if(options_chosen == False):
return -1
Tweaking the layout function will change the appearance of GUI. sg.Window will create a window based on layout settings. window.read() will read event that is happening such as clicks, box tick, text fill, etc.
As seen from driver function main(), the GUI should return the chosen process and values for it.
Main Processes
I set every option as a class so that it’s easy for me to change/add features in the future.
Arrange files:
class Arrange:
def __init__(self, allFile=[], dirToAccess=""):
logger.info('=== Initializing class: Arrange ===')
self.allFile = allFile
self.dirToAccess = dirToAccess
# Create folder based on file extension and move all file into folder
def process_file(self):
logger.info('=== Start process_file ===')
for file in self.allFile:
dir = os.path.join(self.dirToAccess, file)
filename, file_extension = os.path.splitext(dir)
if(file_extension != ""):
file_extension = file_extension.strip('.')
new_fname = ("%s_file" %file_extension)
new_fpath = os.path.join(self.dirToAccess, new_fname)
try:
os.mkdir(new_fpath)
except FileExistsError:
pass
new_fpath = os.path.join(new_fpath, file)
os.rename(dir, new_fpath)
This class organizes files according to its extension. It started by stripping all files in the current directory to obtain their extension. Then, a new folder will be created, such as file_extension_file. After that, the program will try to create a new directory by using the new folder and will pass if it already exists.
After os.mkdir, the old directory will be renamed to the new or existing directory. Applying this process to every file will rearrange all of them.
Rename Files:
Before going to process class, it has to pass through an error checking function. It is to make sure that every new file name that was specified by the user does not contains Windows filename forbidden characters.
# Check if string entered containing forbidden characters on windows
def check_rename_newname(str):
logger.info('=== Start check_rename_newname ===')
regex = re.compile('[<>:"/\|?*]')
if(regex.search(str) == None):
return 0
else:
return -1
Using regex search will return None if no position in the string matches the specified pattern. I want the return value to be None, which indicates no characters used. Other than that, the function will return -1 to show errors.
class Rename:
def __init__(self, allFile=[], dirToAccess=""):
logger.info('=== Initializing class: Rename ===')
self.allFile = allFile
self.dirToAccess = dirToAccess
# Renaming files
def rename_files(self, new_name):
logger.info('=== Start rename_files ===')
i = 1;
dir = self.dirToAccess + "/"
for file in self.allFile:
filename, file_extension = os.path.splitext(file)
file = os.path.join(dir, file)
new_path = dir + str('{}_{}'.format(new_name, i)) + file_extension
os.rename(file, new_path)
logger.info('=== os.rename: {} -> {}'.format(file, new_path))
i += 1
The renaming process is almost the same as rearranging, except the function has argument new_name, which is required. Users can choose to fill up the GUI text box for renaming options. If not, default placeholder New_Filename will be used as the new name.
Compilation
I want to create an executable file, so I don’t have to open the terminal to use this program. To do so, I use the PyInstaller package. Official docs
pyinstaller.exe –onefile –windowed –icon=dist/icon.ico gui.py -n Filorg
Explanation:
- –onefile: Since the entry point is gui.py, I only need to specify a file.
- –windowed: Making sure the program will not start console window when the application is running
- –icon: Program icon
- -n: Executable file name. For this program, I named it Filorg
When the compilation is done, the executable file can be found in the dist/ folder. I may add more file organizing features in the future. So, the code may change.
You can view full code here