File System - Concatenate files

Declaration

<AMFILESYSTEM ACTIVITY="concatenate_files" FILEA="text" FILEB="text" CONCATENATEDFILE="text" ENCODING="text (options)" OVERWRITEFILE="YES/NO" SUBFOLDERS="YES/NO" EXCLUDE="text" RE="YES/NO" ISNEWERTHAN="%DateSerial+TimeSerial%" ISOLDERTHAN="%DateSerial+TimeSerial%" ATTRFILTER="+r+a+s+h-c-e" />

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Description

Concatenates the contents of two or more files and outputs the result onto a destination file. Specify more than one file name with the use of wildcard characters (for example, * or ?). To specify multiple files or wildcard masks, separate them with a pipe symbol (for example, c:\*).

Practical Usage

Generally used to quickly join a group of files (typically text-based files) together into a single file.

Parameters

General

Property Type Required Default Markup Description
File A Text Yes (Empty)
  • FILEA="c:\FolderA\FileA.txt"
  • FILEA="c:\FolderA\*.txt"
  • FILEA="c:\File.txt|c:\File.bak
 The path and file name of the first file to concatenate. This can be a fully qualified path and file name (preferred) or a single file (requires use of the File System - Change folder activity). Wildcard characters (for example, * or ?) may be used to specify all files matching a certain mask. Multiple files and/or file masks can be specified by separating each entry with a pipe character (|) (for example, c:\temp\*.txt|c:\backup\*.bak). See File Masks & Wildcards for more details.
NOTE: Since multiple files are supported, you can indicate all files you wish to concatenate within this parameter using the appropriate wildcards and skip the File B parameter altogether.
File B (optional) Text No (Empty)
  • FILEB="c:\FolderB\FileB.txt"
  • FILEB="c:\FolderB\*.txt"
  • FILEB="c:\File.txt|c:\File.bak
 The path and file name of the second file to concatenate. To specify multiple files with identical extensions, use basic wildcard characters (for example, *. txt). In this case, files will be concatenated in alphabetical order. To specify multiple files or wildcard masks, separate them with a pipe symbol (for example, c:\*).
NOTE: Since multiple files are supported, you can indicate all files you wish to concatenate in the File A parameter using the appropriate wildcards and skip this parameter altogether.
Concatenated file Text Yes (Empty) CONCATENATEDFILE="C:\Temp\FileB.txt" The path and file name of the output (concatenated) file. If this file does not exist, it will be created at runtime.
Overwrite if file exists Yes/No No No OVERWRITEFILE="YES" If selected, indicates that, if files with matching names already exists in the destination, they will be overwritten. If disabled, files with matching names will not be overwritten, however, an error will occur as a result. The default value is NO.
Encoding for concatenated file Text(Options) No Default
  • ENCODING="ANSI"
  • ENCODING="UNICODE"
  • ENCODING="UTF8"
  • ENCODING="ASCI"
 The encoding method set for the output (concatenated) file. The available options are:
  • ANSI - Encoding set to ANSI.
  • Unicode (default) - Encoding set to Unicode.
  • Unicode big endian - Encoding set to Unicode big endian.
  • UTF8 - Encoding set to UTF8.
  • ASCII - Encoding set to ASCII.
NOTE: Most of the time, using the default encoding scheme (Unicode) for the locale of the host operating system is good enough. However, this parameter is useful if you are working with files that originate from another source.

File Options

Property Type Required Default Markup Description
Include subfolders Yes/No No No SUBFOLDERS="YES" If selected, specifies that, if present, subfolders should be searched for files matching the mask specified in the File A and/or File B parameters. This parameter is disabled by default.
Exclude mask Text No (Empty)
  • EXCLUDE="*.txt"
  • EXCLUDE="*.txt|*.bak"
  • EXCLUDE="c:\foldename"
 Causes this activity to omit files matching the masks specified. Filenames or wildcard masks may be used. Multiple entries may be specified by separating them with a pipe symbol (|) (for example, *.txt|*.bak).
Regular expression Yes/No No No RE="yes" If selected, indicates that any value entered in the Exclude mask parameter will be interpreted as a regular expression. If disabled (default) the value will be interpreted as normal readable text.
Only if newer than Date No (Empty) ISNEWERTHAN="%DateSerial(2001,10,12) + TimeSerial(00,00,00)%" If enabled, causes this activity to only act on files that are newer than the date/time specified. If this parameter is left blank or disabled (default), file dates are ignored. Click the Custom button to select from a list of pre-defined date parameters. Enable the Expression option to allow entry of a date/time expression.
Only if older than Date No (Empty) ISOLDERTHAN="%DateSerial(2001,10,12) + TimeSerial(00,00,00)%" If enabled, causes this action to only act on files that are older than the date/time specified. If this parameter is left blank or disabled (default), file dates are ignored. Click the Custom button to select from a list of pre-defined date parameters. Enable the Expression option to allow entry of a date/time expression.

File Filter

Property Type Required Default Markup Description
Attributes Text (options) No Doesn't matter ATTRFILTER="+R+A-H" (compress read-only & archive files but not hidden files) Instructs the activity to filter which files to act on, based on whether the file's original attribute settings match the attribute settings specified in this parameter. In Task Builder's visual mode, drop-down boxes are provided within the activity's settings to assist in the selection of attribute settings. In Task Builder's AML mode, a text item must be entered that contains the original attribute mask of the files you wish to affect. For example, if Read-only attribute is set to Off (in visual mode) or -R (in AML mode) , only source files with the Read-only attribute turned off are affected. Source files with Read-only attribute turned on will be ignored. The available options are:
  • Read-only attribute is - Specifying On or +R includes files with this attribute turned on. Specifying Off or -R includes files with this attribute turned off. Specifying Doesn't matter (default) or excluding the letter ignores this attribute.
  • Archive attribute is - Specifying On or +A includes files with this attribute turned on. Specifying Off or -A includes files with this attribute turned off. Specifying Doesn't matter (default) or excluding the letter ignores this attribute.
  • System attribute is - Specifying On or +S includes files with this attribute turned on. Specifying Off or -S includes files with this attribute turned off. Specifying Doesn't matter (default) or excluding the letter ignores this attribute.
  • Hidden attribute is- Specifying On or +H includes files with this attribute turned on. Specifying Off or -H includes files with this attribute turned off. Specifying Doesn't matter (default) or excluding the letter ignores this attribute.
  • Compression attribute is - Specifying On or +C includes files with this attribute turned on. Specifying Off or -C includes files with this attribute turned off. Specifying Doesn't matter (default) or excluding the letter ignores this attribute.
  • Encrypted attribute is - Specifying On or +E includes files with this attribute turned on. Specifying Off or -E includes files with this attribute turned off. Specifying Doesn't matter (default) or excluding the letter ignores this attribute.
Property Type Required Default Markup Description
Attributes Text Options No (Empty) ATTRFILTER="+R+A-H" (compress read-only & archive files but not hidden files) This group of settings causes the action to filter which files are compressed based on the attribute settings of the source files. In visual mode, a group of controls are provided to assist in the selection of this parameter. In markup mode, a single text item must be specified that contains the attributes of the files you wish to compress. Available Options:
  • R—Read-only: Specifying "+R" causes files with this attribute turned on to be included, "-R" causes files with this attribute turned off to be included, not specifying the letter (default) causes this attribute to be ignored.
  • A—Archive: Specifying "+A" causes files with this attribute turned on to be included, "-A" causes files with this attribute turned off to be included, not specifying the letter (default) causes this attribute to be ignored.
  • S—System: Specifying "+S" causes files with this attribute turned on to be included, "-S" causes files with this attribute turned off to be included, not specifying the letter (default) causes this attribute to be ignored.
  • H—Hidden: Specifying "+R" causes files with this attribute turned on to be included, "-H" causes files with this attribute turned off to be included, not specifying the letter (default) causes this attribute to be ignored.
  • C—Compression: Specifying "+C" causes files with this attribute turned on to be included, "-C" causes files with this attribute turned off to be included, not specifying the letter (default) causes this attribute to be ignored.

Description

Error Causes

On Error

Example

NOTE:
  • The sample AML code below can be copied and pasted directly into the Steps Panel of the Task Builder.
  • Parameters containing user credentials, files, file paths, and/or other information specific to the task must be customized before the sample code can run successfully.

This sample task concatenates two separate files from separate folders into a single file in a new folder.

Copy 
<AMFILESYSTEM ACTIVITY="concatenate_files" FILEA="C:\FolderA\FileName1.DOC" FILEB="C:\FolderB\FileName2.doc" CONCATENATEDFILE="C:\Folder\NewConcatenatedFile " OVERWRITEFILE="YES" />