Enhancing Your Powershell Copy Script with a Progress Bar for Filtered Directories

Learn how to implement a `Progress Bar` in your Powershell script for copying filtered directories effectively.
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This video is based on the question https://stackoverflow.com/q/72170255/ asked by the user 'Paolo Rossi' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/2076123/ ) and on the answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/72170306/ provided by the user 'Mathias R. Jessen' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/712649/ ) at 'Stack Overflow' website. Thanks to these great users and Stackexchange community for their contributions.

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Implementing a Progress Bar in Your Powershell Copy Script

When working with file and directory management in Windows, Powershell provides a powerful means to automate tasks efficiently. A common requirement is to provide feedback to users during long operations, such as copying files and folders. This guide will guide you through enhancing your file-copying script by implementing a progress bar, especially for directories that meet specific criteria — namely, those containing a character "@ " at the beginning of their name.

The Problem: Implementing Progress in Copying Files

You have already created a script using Powershell that copies files and directories smoothly. However, you're looking to enhance your script by incorporating a visual progress indicator. Additionally, you want to filter the files being copied to include only those in subdirectories starting with the '@ ' character.

Here’s a condensed breakdown of your initial setup:

Directory structure: You have a hierarchy of directories and files that you want to filter during the copy process.

Current functionality: Your existing script copies files and directories without a progress update, which can leave the user in the dark about the operation's progression.

The Solution: Enhancing Your Script

1. Original Copy Function

You’ve implemented a function called Copy-WithProgress, which works well for copying items but does not currently include name filtering or a progress report tailored to the new criteria.

2. Adding the Progress Bar

To enhance your script with progress monitoring, you can use Write-Progress before the copy operation within a loop. Here’s how to modify your Copy-WithProgress function to include progress feedback:

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3. Filtering for '@ ' Character

To filter directories starting with '@ ' and their accompanying files, you can then utilize the modified Copy-WithProgress function. Here's how you do that:

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4. The Final Touch: Using ForEach-Object

If you prefer to keep it simple without altering the structure much, you can achieve progress tracking in line when dealing with filtered items using ForEach-Object as shown below:

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Conclusion

By following the steps above, you can significantly enhance your Powershell script's user experience by adding a progress bar to keep users informed during lengthy copy operations. This is especially useful when filtering specific directories by name, providing more control and clarity to the user.

With just a few modifications, you’ve transformed your simple copy script into a more user-friendly tool, paving the way for more complex file operations while keeping the interactive aspect intact.

Happy scripting!

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