Move n PDF Files from Multiple Folders in Ubuntu

Discover how to easily move multiple PDF files from separate folders into a single directory using simple commands in Ubuntu. Follow our step-by-step instructions to complete the task effortlessly.
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This video is based on the question https://stackoverflow.com/q/66678746/ asked by the user 'Yusuf Adel' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/14817073/ ) and on the answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/66679348/ provided by the user 'wxz' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/13020139/ ) at 'Stack Overflow' website. Thanks to these great users and Stackexchange community for their contributions.

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Moving n PDF Files from Multiple Folders in Ubuntu: A Step-by-Step Guide

Have you ever found yourself with multiple folders, each containing a single PDF file, and wished to consolidate them into one folder? If you're using Ubuntu, you're in luck! This command-line approach provides a quick way to accomplish just that. In this guide, we will walk you through the steps to move n PDF files from n folders into a single directory efficiently.

The Problem Statement

Imagine you have 126 directories, each named uniquely (like 5d843c63-2043-499b-abd6-6ea0bbde5f58), and every folder contains exactly one PDF file. You want to gather all these files into a new directory.

Here are the commands you may have tried, along with an error you faced:

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The command you provided ultimately returned an error:

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The Solution

Step 1: List the PDF Files

First, we will confirm that the locate command can effectively find the PDF files you need. If you're not familiar, the command locate will search through your system for files that match the given pattern, in this case, PDF files in your designated folder:

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This command should return a list of paths to all PDF files in those folders.

Step 2: Move the PDF Files

To move all PDF files from their individual folders into a single folder, use the mv command combined with backticks. Here’s the syntax you’ll want to use:

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Let’s break this down:

mv: This command is used to move files from one location to another.

`locate ~/Desktop/wps/*pdf`: The backticks execute the locate command first, getting the list of PDF files, and then substituting that output into the mv command.

/path_to/new_folder_to_store_pdfs: Replace this part with the actual path of the folder where you want to move your PDF files.

Example Command

If you want to move the PDF files to a folder called pdffff on your Desktop, the complete command would look like this:

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Step 3: Verify the Move

After executing the command, it’s important to check that all PDF files have been successfully moved to your destination folder:

Navigate to your pdffff directory using the file explorer or terminal.

List the files in that directory to ensure all PDFs are present.

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Conclusion

By utilizing the locate and mv commands together, you can efficiently consolidate multiple PDF files from various folders into one designated directory in Ubuntu. This method is quick, easy, and minimizes the need to handle each file individually.

If you encounter any issues, double-check the file paths and ensure that the folders and files exist as expected. Happy organizing your documents!

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