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Re-filing files

The project is to build a Linux Mint machine to have the identical functionality and ergonomics as the existing Windows 10 machine.

This stage relates to re-filing files.

Environment & required functionality

Re-filing needs to happen on the following machines:
  • The Linux Mint Xfce 18.3 laptop "Gandalf";
  • The Windows 10 laptop "Legolas".
The synchronisation agent is Google Drive in Windows 10, and grive2 in Linux Mint.

Alternatives

There is no useful alternative to filing.

Some hardcore IT bods file nothing, in the vague hope that they'll find it anyway.  This is the digital equivalent of the "heap" approach to paperwork.

In the real world, normal people tend to structure their paperwork - and e-paperwork - into some sort of order.  The most common method is typically to group documents with a common purpose into a single folder.

Software selection

Whilst there is a tonne of utilities for both Linux and Windows that rename files, there is no software that ultimately does what a user needs to do.

Installation experience

There is no additional software to install.

User experience

The solution is to build a spreadsheet that accepts:

  • the file's full filepath where it currently sits;
  • the user's preferred filename;
  • the user's preferred folder/directory.
The spreadsheet then calculates two commands for the user to copy-paste into the terminal:

  • to copy the file from the source to the destination, renaming it in the process;
  • to delete the file from the source.

This is by far the easiest solution, because it uses existing software and achieves the desired outcome in the quickest way possible, breaking the manual sub-tasks down into batch processes.

The method works in both Windows (using Excel and the Command Prompt) and Linux (using Calc and the Terminal).  The spreadsheets are different, to reflect each platform's different commands and syntaxes:

Linux Windows
cp copy
rm del
/ \

Where the destination is within the scope of Google Backup & Sync/Grive2, then files sync as normal.

Conclusion

Re-filing files can be done equally easy between Windows and Linux.  Basic - really core - data functionality is possible in both platforms using an identical method.

Completed Jul2018.

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