Deleting folders that have serialized names in Powershell

My problem maymay not be complicated but I have been scratching my head and searching for a way to do this but so far have not come up with much.

I have a folder structure like so:

C:

└───ParentFolder

    ├───ChildFolder1

    │   ├───SubFolderA_1

    │   ├───SubFolderA_2

    │   ├───SubFolderA_3

    │   ├───SubFolderA_4

    │   ├───SubFolderB_1

    │   ├───SubFolderB_2

    │   ├───SubFolderB_3

    │   └───SubFolderB_4

    └───ChildFolder2

        ├───SubFolderA_1

        ├───SubFolderA_2

        ├───SubFolderA_3

        ├───SubFolderA_4

        ├───SubFolderB_1

        ├───SubFolderB_2

        ├───SubFolderB_3

        └───SubFolderB_4

What I'm looking for is a PowerShell script that would utilize the serialized nature of the "SubFolders" names to delete older versions, leaving only the most recent SubFolders in place.

Using the example above, this would mean the script would delete SubFolderA_1 to SubFolderA_3 and SubFolderB_1 to SubFolderB_3, leaving only SubFolderA_4 and SubfolderB_4 in the ChildFolders.

Would anyone know a way of doing this? I was thinking about Object Sorting + The Recursive Function + pattern matching, but I don't seem to get anywhere with it. I'm a PS noob by the way.

Your help would be much appreciated.

edited Jan 2 at 14:09

LotPings

19.9k61633

asked Jan 2 at 13:00

Dustree

Hello, it's nice that You have Joined StackOverflow community. When asking questions - please follow instructions from below link so that we can help You effectively. Please let us know what dud You try so far, and we will help You build on that. stackoverflow.com/help/how-to-ask

– Tomek
Jan 4 at 8:34

add a comment |

My problem maymay not be complicated but I have been scratching my head and searching for a way to do this but so far have not come up with much.

I have a folder structure like so:

C:

└───ParentFolder

    ├───ChildFolder1

    │   ├───SubFolderA_1

    │   ├───SubFolderA_2

    │   ├───SubFolderA_3

    │   ├───SubFolderA_4

    │   ├───SubFolderB_1

    │   ├───SubFolderB_2

    │   ├───SubFolderB_3

    │   └───SubFolderB_4

    └───ChildFolder2

        ├───SubFolderA_1

        ├───SubFolderA_2

        ├───SubFolderA_3

        ├───SubFolderA_4

        ├───SubFolderB_1

        ├───SubFolderB_2

        ├───SubFolderB_3

        └───SubFolderB_4

What I'm looking for is a PowerShell script that would utilize the serialized nature of the "SubFolders" names to delete older versions, leaving only the most recent SubFolders in place.

Using the example above, this would mean the script would delete SubFolderA_1 to SubFolderA_3 and SubFolderB_1 to SubFolderB_3, leaving only SubFolderA_4 and SubfolderB_4 in the ChildFolders.

Would anyone know a way of doing this? I was thinking about Object Sorting + The Recursive Function + pattern matching, but I don't seem to get anywhere with it. I'm a PS noob by the way.

Your help would be much appreciated.

edited Jan 2 at 14:09

LotPings

19.9k61633

asked Jan 2 at 13:00

Dustree

Hello, it's nice that You have Joined StackOverflow community. When asking questions - please follow instructions from below link so that we can help You effectively. Please let us know what dud You try so far, and we will help You build on that. stackoverflow.com/help/how-to-ask

– Tomek
Jan 4 at 8:34

add a comment |

My problem maymay not be complicated but I have been scratching my head and searching for a way to do this but so far have not come up with much.

I have a folder structure like so:

C:

└───ParentFolder

    ├───ChildFolder1

    │   ├───SubFolderA_1

    │   ├───SubFolderA_2

    │   ├───SubFolderA_3

    │   ├───SubFolderA_4

    │   ├───SubFolderB_1

    │   ├───SubFolderB_2

    │   ├───SubFolderB_3

    │   └───SubFolderB_4

    └───ChildFolder2

        ├───SubFolderA_1

        ├───SubFolderA_2

        ├───SubFolderA_3

        ├───SubFolderA_4

        ├───SubFolderB_1

        ├───SubFolderB_2

        ├───SubFolderB_3

        └───SubFolderB_4

What I'm looking for is a PowerShell script that would utilize the serialized nature of the "SubFolders" names to delete older versions, leaving only the most recent SubFolders in place.

Using the example above, this would mean the script would delete SubFolderA_1 to SubFolderA_3 and SubFolderB_1 to SubFolderB_3, leaving only SubFolderA_4 and SubfolderB_4 in the ChildFolders.

Would anyone know a way of doing this? I was thinking about Object Sorting + The Recursive Function + pattern matching, but I don't seem to get anywhere with it. I'm a PS noob by the way.

Your help would be much appreciated.

edited Jan 2 at 14:09

LotPings

19.9k61633

asked Jan 2 at 13:00

Dustree

My problem maymay not be complicated but I have been scratching my head and searching for a way to do this but so far have not come up with much.

I have a folder structure like so:

C:

└───ParentFolder

    ├───ChildFolder1

    │   ├───SubFolderA_1

    │   ├───SubFolderA_2

    │   ├───SubFolderA_3

    │   ├───SubFolderA_4

    │   ├───SubFolderB_1

    │   ├───SubFolderB_2

    │   ├───SubFolderB_3

    │   └───SubFolderB_4

    └───ChildFolder2

        ├───SubFolderA_1

        ├───SubFolderA_2

        ├───SubFolderA_3

        ├───SubFolderA_4

        ├───SubFolderB_1

        ├───SubFolderB_2

        ├───SubFolderB_3

        └───SubFolderB_4

What I'm looking for is a PowerShell script that would utilize the serialized nature of the "SubFolders" names to delete older versions, leaving only the most recent SubFolders in place.

Using the example above, this would mean the script would delete SubFolderA_1 to SubFolderA_3 and SubFolderB_1 to SubFolderB_3, leaving only SubFolderA_4 and SubfolderB_4 in the ChildFolders.

Would anyone know a way of doing this? I was thinking about Object Sorting + The Recursive Function + pattern matching, but I don't seem to get anywhere with it. I'm a PS noob by the way.

Your help would be much appreciated.

windows powershell

edited Jan 2 at 14:09

LotPings

19.9k61633

asked Jan 2 at 13:00

Dustree

edited Jan 2 at 14:09

LotPings

19.9k61633

asked Jan 2 at 13:00

Dustree

edited Jan 2 at 14:09

LotPings

19.9k61633

edited Jan 2 at 14:09

LotPings

19.9k61633

edited Jan 2 at 14:09

LotPings

19.9k61633

asked Jan 2 at 13:00

Dustree

asked Jan 2 at 13:00

Dustree

asked Jan 2 at 13:00

Dustree

Hello, it's nice that You have Joined StackOverflow community. When asking questions - please follow instructions from below link so that we can help You effectively. Please let us know what dud You try so far, and we will help You build on that. stackoverflow.com/help/how-to-ask

– Tomek
Jan 4 at 8:34

add a comment |

Hello, it's nice that You have Joined StackOverflow community. When asking questions - please follow instructions from below link so that we can help You effectively. Please let us know what dud You try so far, and we will help You build on that. stackoverflow.com/help/how-to-ask

– Tomek
Jan 4 at 8:34

Hello, it's nice that You have Joined StackOverflow community. When asking questions - please follow instructions from below link so that we can help You effectively. Please let us know what dud You try so far, and we will help You build on that. stackoverflow.com/help/how-to-ask

– Tomek
Jan 4 at 8:34

add a comment |

2 Answers
2

active

oldest

votes

Provided there is only one underscore,

list folders with multiple wildcards

split the fullname at the underscore and

Group by the first part,

iterate the groups,

sort descending (if there may be diversing places convert to an int or use $ToNatural) and

skip the first

remove remaining folders.

This is quite similar to Lee_Daileys script but will sort with all numbers padded left with zeros to a unique width.

## $ToNatural from Roman Kuzmin source https://stackoverflow.com/a/5429048/6811411

$ToNatural = { [regex]::Replace($_, 'd+', { $args[0].Value.PadLeft(20,"0") }) }



Get-ChildItem C:ParentFolderChildFolder*Subfolder* | 

  Group-Object @{e={$_.fullname.split('_')[0]}} | ForEach-Object {

    $_.Group | Sort $ToNatural -Descending | Select -Skip 1 | Remove-Item -WhatIf

  }

If the output looks OK, remove the trailing -WhatIf

edited Jan 2 at 16:17

answered Jan 2 at 14:20

LotPings

19.9k61633

1

Much appreciated LotPings, this works extremely well. I just needed to add "-recurse -force -confirm:$false" to the Remove-Item function to get around the constantly presented prompt "The item at <Directory Path> has children and the Recurse parameter was not specified. If you continue, all children will be removed with the item. Are you sure you want to continue? [Y] Yes [A] Yes to All [N] No [L] No to All [S] Suspend [?] Help (default is "Y"):"

– Dustree
Jan 2 at 16:18

add a comment |

here's one way to do it. [grin] the heart of it is the Group-Object cmdlet. one thing often overlooked about it is the ability to use a calculated property much as can be done with the Select-Object cmdlet.

# fake reading in a list of directories

#    in real life, use Get-ChildItem -Directory

$DirList = @(

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderA_1'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderA_2'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderA_3'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderA_4'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderB_1'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderB_2'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderB_3'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderB_4'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderA_1'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderA_2'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderA_3'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderA_4'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderB_11'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderB_22'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderB_3'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderB_44'

)



$GroupedDirList = $DirList |

    # changed from sorting by the FullName to sorting by the trailing number

    #    thanks to LotPings for pointing out the glitch with multi-digit numbers

    Sort-Object {[int]$_.FullName.Split('_')[1]} |

    Group-Object {$_.FullName.Split('_')[0]}



foreach ($GDL_Item in $GroupedDirList)

    {

    $GDL_Item.Group |

        Select-Object -SkipLast 1 |

        ForEach-Object {

            # remove the quotes, the Write-Host, and the "$()" when you do this for real

            # can't use the "-WhatIf" parameter here since the dirs don't actually exist on my system

            Write-Host "Remove-Item -LiteralPath $($_.FullName) -Recurse -WhatIf"

            }



    '=' * 20

    }

output ...

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderA_1 -Recurse -WhatIf

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderA_2 -Recurse -WhatIf

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderA_3 -Recurse -WhatIf

====================

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderB_1 -Recurse -WhatIf

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderB_2 -Recurse -WhatIf

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderB_3 -Recurse -WhatIf

====================

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderA_1 -Recurse -WhatIf

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderA_2 -Recurse -WhatIf

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderA_3 -Recurse -WhatIf

====================

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderB_3 -Recurse -WhatIf

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderB_11 -Recurse -WhatIf

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderB_22 -Recurse -WhatIf

====================

edited Jan 2 at 14:21

answered Jan 2 at 14:03

Lee_Dailey

2,4861811

1

Nice one(+1) was about to post a similar script. But what happens if the trailing count exceeds 9/one place ?

– LotPings
Jan 2 at 14:08

@LotPings - hah! very good point ... i forgot that Sort-Object would be doing a string sort without any awareness of numbers. [blush] i'm off to fix that ...

– Lee_Dailey
Jan 2 at 14:19

1

Many thanks Lee_Dailey. I have also tried your script and this works perfectly with the addition of "-recurse -force -confirm:$false". to remove Item. Thanks again.

– Dustree
Jan 2 at 17:17

@Dustree - you are most welcome! glad to have helped a little ... [grin]

– Lee_Dailey
Jan 2 at 17:44

add a comment |

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2 Answers
2

active

oldest

votes

2 Answers
2

active

oldest

votes

Provided there is only one underscore,

list folders with multiple wildcards

split the fullname at the underscore and

Group by the first part,

iterate the groups,

sort descending (if there may be diversing places convert to an int or use $ToNatural) and

skip the first

remove remaining folders.

This is quite similar to Lee_Daileys script but will sort with all numbers padded left with zeros to a unique width.

## $ToNatural from Roman Kuzmin source https://stackoverflow.com/a/5429048/6811411

$ToNatural = { [regex]::Replace($_, 'd+', { $args[0].Value.PadLeft(20,"0") }) }



Get-ChildItem C:ParentFolderChildFolder*Subfolder* | 

  Group-Object @{e={$_.fullname.split('_')[0]}} | ForEach-Object {

    $_.Group | Sort $ToNatural -Descending | Select -Skip 1 | Remove-Item -WhatIf

  }

If the output looks OK, remove the trailing -WhatIf

edited Jan 2 at 16:17

answered Jan 2 at 14:20

LotPings

19.9k61633

1

Much appreciated LotPings, this works extremely well. I just needed to add "-recurse -force -confirm:$false" to the Remove-Item function to get around the constantly presented prompt "The item at <Directory Path> has children and the Recurse parameter was not specified. If you continue, all children will be removed with the item. Are you sure you want to continue? [Y] Yes [A] Yes to All [N] No [L] No to All [S] Suspend [?] Help (default is "Y"):"

– Dustree
Jan 2 at 16:18

add a comment |

Provided there is only one underscore,

list folders with multiple wildcards

split the fullname at the underscore and

Group by the first part,

iterate the groups,

sort descending (if there may be diversing places convert to an int or use $ToNatural) and

skip the first

remove remaining folders.

This is quite similar to Lee_Daileys script but will sort with all numbers padded left with zeros to a unique width.

## $ToNatural from Roman Kuzmin source https://stackoverflow.com/a/5429048/6811411

$ToNatural = { [regex]::Replace($_, 'd+', { $args[0].Value.PadLeft(20,"0") }) }



Get-ChildItem C:ParentFolderChildFolder*Subfolder* | 

  Group-Object @{e={$_.fullname.split('_')[0]}} | ForEach-Object {

    $_.Group | Sort $ToNatural -Descending | Select -Skip 1 | Remove-Item -WhatIf

  }

If the output looks OK, remove the trailing -WhatIf

edited Jan 2 at 16:17

answered Jan 2 at 14:20

LotPings

19.9k61633

1

Much appreciated LotPings, this works extremely well. I just needed to add "-recurse -force -confirm:$false" to the Remove-Item function to get around the constantly presented prompt "The item at <Directory Path> has children and the Recurse parameter was not specified. If you continue, all children will be removed with the item. Are you sure you want to continue? [Y] Yes [A] Yes to All [N] No [L] No to All [S] Suspend [?] Help (default is "Y"):"

– Dustree
Jan 2 at 16:18

add a comment |

Provided there is only one underscore,

list folders with multiple wildcards

split the fullname at the underscore and

Group by the first part,

iterate the groups,

sort descending (if there may be diversing places convert to an int or use $ToNatural) and

skip the first

remove remaining folders.

This is quite similar to Lee_Daileys script but will sort with all numbers padded left with zeros to a unique width.

## $ToNatural from Roman Kuzmin source https://stackoverflow.com/a/5429048/6811411

$ToNatural = { [regex]::Replace($_, 'd+', { $args[0].Value.PadLeft(20,"0") }) }



Get-ChildItem C:ParentFolderChildFolder*Subfolder* | 

  Group-Object @{e={$_.fullname.split('_')[0]}} | ForEach-Object {

    $_.Group | Sort $ToNatural -Descending | Select -Skip 1 | Remove-Item -WhatIf

  }

If the output looks OK, remove the trailing -WhatIf

edited Jan 2 at 16:17

answered Jan 2 at 14:20

LotPings

19.9k61633

Provided there is only one underscore,

list folders with multiple wildcards

split the fullname at the underscore and

Group by the first part,

iterate the groups,

sort descending (if there may be diversing places convert to an int or use $ToNatural) and

skip the first

remove remaining folders.

This is quite similar to Lee_Daileys script but will sort with all numbers padded left with zeros to a unique width.

## $ToNatural from Roman Kuzmin source https://stackoverflow.com/a/5429048/6811411

$ToNatural = { [regex]::Replace($_, 'd+', { $args[0].Value.PadLeft(20,"0") }) }



Get-ChildItem C:ParentFolderChildFolder*Subfolder* | 

  Group-Object @{e={$_.fullname.split('_')[0]}} | ForEach-Object {

    $_.Group | Sort $ToNatural -Descending | Select -Skip 1 | Remove-Item -WhatIf

  }

If the output looks OK, remove the trailing -WhatIf

edited Jan 2 at 16:17

answered Jan 2 at 14:20

LotPings

19.9k61633

edited Jan 2 at 16:17

answered Jan 2 at 14:20

LotPings

19.9k61633

answered Jan 2 at 14:20

LotPings

19.9k61633

answered Jan 2 at 14:20

LotPings

19.9k61633

1

Much appreciated LotPings, this works extremely well. I just needed to add "-recurse -force -confirm:$false" to the Remove-Item function to get around the constantly presented prompt "The item at <Directory Path> has children and the Recurse parameter was not specified. If you continue, all children will be removed with the item. Are you sure you want to continue? [Y] Yes [A] Yes to All [N] No [L] No to All [S] Suspend [?] Help (default is "Y"):"

– Dustree
Jan 2 at 16:18

add a comment |

1

Much appreciated LotPings, this works extremely well. I just needed to add "-recurse -force -confirm:$false" to the Remove-Item function to get around the constantly presented prompt "The item at <Directory Path> has children and the Recurse parameter was not specified. If you continue, all children will be removed with the item. Are you sure you want to continue? [Y] Yes [A] Yes to All [N] No [L] No to All [S] Suspend [?] Help (default is "Y"):"

– Dustree
Jan 2 at 16:18

Much appreciated LotPings, this works extremely well. I just needed to add "-recurse -force -confirm:$false" to the Remove-Item function to get around the constantly presented prompt "The item at <Directory Path> has children and the Recurse parameter was not specified. If you continue, all children will be removed with the item. Are you sure you want to continue? [Y] Yes [A] Yes to All [N] No [L] No to All [S] Suspend [?] Help (default is "Y"):"

– Dustree
Jan 2 at 16:18

add a comment |

# fake reading in a list of directories

#    in real life, use Get-ChildItem -Directory

$DirList = @(

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderA_1'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderA_2'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderA_3'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderA_4'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderB_1'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderB_2'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderB_3'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderB_4'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderA_1'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderA_2'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderA_3'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderA_4'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderB_11'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderB_22'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderB_3'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderB_44'

)



$GroupedDirList = $DirList |

    # changed from sorting by the FullName to sorting by the trailing number

    #    thanks to LotPings for pointing out the glitch with multi-digit numbers

    Sort-Object {[int]$_.FullName.Split('_')[1]} |

    Group-Object {$_.FullName.Split('_')[0]}



foreach ($GDL_Item in $GroupedDirList)

    {

    $GDL_Item.Group |

        Select-Object -SkipLast 1 |

        ForEach-Object {

            # remove the quotes, the Write-Host, and the "$()" when you do this for real

            # can't use the "-WhatIf" parameter here since the dirs don't actually exist on my system

            Write-Host "Remove-Item -LiteralPath $($_.FullName) -Recurse -WhatIf"

            }



    '=' * 20

    }

output ...

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderA_1 -Recurse -WhatIf

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderA_2 -Recurse -WhatIf

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderA_3 -Recurse -WhatIf

====================

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderB_1 -Recurse -WhatIf

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderB_2 -Recurse -WhatIf

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderB_3 -Recurse -WhatIf

====================

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderA_1 -Recurse -WhatIf

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderA_2 -Recurse -WhatIf

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderA_3 -Recurse -WhatIf

====================

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderB_3 -Recurse -WhatIf

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderB_11 -Recurse -WhatIf

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderB_22 -Recurse -WhatIf

====================

edited Jan 2 at 14:21

answered Jan 2 at 14:03

Lee_Dailey

2,4861811

1

Nice one(+1) was about to post a similar script. But what happens if the trailing count exceeds 9/one place ?

– LotPings
Jan 2 at 14:08

@LotPings - hah! very good point ... i forgot that Sort-Object would be doing a string sort without any awareness of numbers. [blush] i'm off to fix that ...

– Lee_Dailey
Jan 2 at 14:19

1

Many thanks Lee_Dailey. I have also tried your script and this works perfectly with the addition of "-recurse -force -confirm:$false". to remove Item. Thanks again.

– Dustree
Jan 2 at 17:17

@Dustree - you are most welcome! glad to have helped a little ... [grin]

– Lee_Dailey
Jan 2 at 17:44

add a comment |

# fake reading in a list of directories

#    in real life, use Get-ChildItem -Directory

$DirList = @(

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderA_1'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderA_2'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderA_3'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderA_4'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderB_1'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderB_2'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderB_3'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderB_4'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderA_1'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderA_2'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderA_3'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderA_4'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderB_11'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderB_22'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderB_3'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderB_44'

)



$GroupedDirList = $DirList |

    # changed from sorting by the FullName to sorting by the trailing number

    #    thanks to LotPings for pointing out the glitch with multi-digit numbers

    Sort-Object {[int]$_.FullName.Split('_')[1]} |

    Group-Object {$_.FullName.Split('_')[0]}



foreach ($GDL_Item in $GroupedDirList)

    {

    $GDL_Item.Group |

        Select-Object -SkipLast 1 |

        ForEach-Object {

            # remove the quotes, the Write-Host, and the "$()" when you do this for real

            # can't use the "-WhatIf" parameter here since the dirs don't actually exist on my system

            Write-Host "Remove-Item -LiteralPath $($_.FullName) -Recurse -WhatIf"

            }



    '=' * 20

    }

output ...

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderA_1 -Recurse -WhatIf

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderA_2 -Recurse -WhatIf

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderA_3 -Recurse -WhatIf

====================

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderB_1 -Recurse -WhatIf

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderB_2 -Recurse -WhatIf

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderB_3 -Recurse -WhatIf

====================

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderA_1 -Recurse -WhatIf

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderA_2 -Recurse -WhatIf

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderA_3 -Recurse -WhatIf

====================

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderB_3 -Recurse -WhatIf

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderB_11 -Recurse -WhatIf

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderB_22 -Recurse -WhatIf

====================

edited Jan 2 at 14:21

answered Jan 2 at 14:03

Lee_Dailey

2,4861811

1

Nice one(+1) was about to post a similar script. But what happens if the trailing count exceeds 9/one place ?

– LotPings
Jan 2 at 14:08

@LotPings - hah! very good point ... i forgot that Sort-Object would be doing a string sort without any awareness of numbers. [blush] i'm off to fix that ...

– Lee_Dailey
Jan 2 at 14:19

1

Many thanks Lee_Dailey. I have also tried your script and this works perfectly with the addition of "-recurse -force -confirm:$false". to remove Item. Thanks again.

– Dustree
Jan 2 at 17:17

@Dustree - you are most welcome! glad to have helped a little ... [grin]

– Lee_Dailey
Jan 2 at 17:44

add a comment |

# fake reading in a list of directories

#    in real life, use Get-ChildItem -Directory

$DirList = @(

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderA_1'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderA_2'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderA_3'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderA_4'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderB_1'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderB_2'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderB_3'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderB_4'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderA_1'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderA_2'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderA_3'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderA_4'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderB_11'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderB_22'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderB_3'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderB_44'

)



$GroupedDirList = $DirList |

    # changed from sorting by the FullName to sorting by the trailing number

    #    thanks to LotPings for pointing out the glitch with multi-digit numbers

    Sort-Object {[int]$_.FullName.Split('_')[1]} |

    Group-Object {$_.FullName.Split('_')[0]}



foreach ($GDL_Item in $GroupedDirList)

    {

    $GDL_Item.Group |

        Select-Object -SkipLast 1 |

        ForEach-Object {

            # remove the quotes, the Write-Host, and the "$()" when you do this for real

            # can't use the "-WhatIf" parameter here since the dirs don't actually exist on my system

            Write-Host "Remove-Item -LiteralPath $($_.FullName) -Recurse -WhatIf"

            }



    '=' * 20

    }

output ...

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderA_1 -Recurse -WhatIf

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderA_2 -Recurse -WhatIf

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderA_3 -Recurse -WhatIf

====================

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderB_1 -Recurse -WhatIf

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderB_2 -Recurse -WhatIf

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderB_3 -Recurse -WhatIf

====================

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderA_1 -Recurse -WhatIf

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderA_2 -Recurse -WhatIf

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderA_3 -Recurse -WhatIf

====================

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderB_3 -Recurse -WhatIf

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderB_11 -Recurse -WhatIf

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderB_22 -Recurse -WhatIf

====================

edited Jan 2 at 14:21

answered Jan 2 at 14:03

Lee_Dailey

2,4861811

# fake reading in a list of directories

#    in real life, use Get-ChildItem -Directory

$DirList = @(

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderA_1'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderA_2'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderA_3'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderA_4'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderB_1'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderB_2'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderB_3'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderB_4'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderA_1'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderA_2'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderA_3'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderA_4'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderB_11'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderB_22'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderB_3'

    [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]'C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderB_44'

)



$GroupedDirList = $DirList |

    # changed from sorting by the FullName to sorting by the trailing number

    #    thanks to LotPings for pointing out the glitch with multi-digit numbers

    Sort-Object {[int]$_.FullName.Split('_')[1]} |

    Group-Object {$_.FullName.Split('_')[0]}



foreach ($GDL_Item in $GroupedDirList)

    {

    $GDL_Item.Group |

        Select-Object -SkipLast 1 |

        ForEach-Object {

            # remove the quotes, the Write-Host, and the "$()" when you do this for real

            # can't use the "-WhatIf" parameter here since the dirs don't actually exist on my system

            Write-Host "Remove-Item -LiteralPath $($_.FullName) -Recurse -WhatIf"

            }



    '=' * 20

    }

output ...

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderA_1 -Recurse -WhatIf

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderA_2 -Recurse -WhatIf

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderA_3 -Recurse -WhatIf

====================

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderB_1 -Recurse -WhatIf

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderB_2 -Recurse -WhatIf

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder1SubFolderB_3 -Recurse -WhatIf

====================

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderA_1 -Recurse -WhatIf

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderA_2 -Recurse -WhatIf

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderA_3 -Recurse -WhatIf

====================

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderB_3 -Recurse -WhatIf

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderB_11 -Recurse -WhatIf

Remove-Item -LiteralPath C:ParentFolderChildFolder2SubFolderB_22 -Recurse -WhatIf

====================

edited Jan 2 at 14:21

answered Jan 2 at 14:03

Lee_Dailey

2,4861811

edited Jan 2 at 14:21

answered Jan 2 at 14:03

Lee_Dailey

2,4861811

answered Jan 2 at 14:03

Lee_Dailey

2,4861811

answered Jan 2 at 14:03

Lee_Dailey

2,4861811

1

Nice one(+1) was about to post a similar script. But what happens if the trailing count exceeds 9/one place ?

– LotPings
Jan 2 at 14:08

@LotPings - hah! very good point ... i forgot that Sort-Object would be doing a string sort without any awareness of numbers. [blush] i'm off to fix that ...

– Lee_Dailey
Jan 2 at 14:19

1

Many thanks Lee_Dailey. I have also tried your script and this works perfectly with the addition of "-recurse -force -confirm:$false". to remove Item. Thanks again.

– Dustree
Jan 2 at 17:17

@Dustree - you are most welcome! glad to have helped a little ... [grin]

– Lee_Dailey
Jan 2 at 17:44

add a comment |

1

Nice one(+1) was about to post a similar script. But what happens if the trailing count exceeds 9/one place ?

– LotPings
Jan 2 at 14:08

@LotPings - hah! very good point ... i forgot that Sort-Object would be doing a string sort without any awareness of numbers. [blush] i'm off to fix that ...

– Lee_Dailey
Jan 2 at 14:19

1

Many thanks Lee_Dailey. I have also tried your script and this works perfectly with the addition of "-recurse -force -confirm:$false". to remove Item. Thanks again.

– Dustree
Jan 2 at 17:17

@Dustree - you are most welcome! glad to have helped a little ... [grin]

– Lee_Dailey
Jan 2 at 17:44

Nice one(+1) was about to post a similar script. But what happens if the trailing count exceeds 9/one place ?

– LotPings
Jan 2 at 14:08

@LotPings - hah! very good point ... i forgot that Sort-Object would be doing a string sort without any awareness of numbers. [blush] i'm off to fix that ...

– Lee_Dailey
Jan 2 at 14:19

Many thanks Lee_Dailey. I have also tried your script and this works perfectly with the addition of "-recurse -force -confirm:$false". to remove Item. Thanks again.

– Dustree
Jan 2 at 17:17

@Dustree - you are most welcome! glad to have helped a little ... [grin]

– Lee_Dailey
Jan 2 at 17:44

add a comment |

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