Print Music Filenames?

Infopackets Reader Chris L. writes:

" Dear Dennis,

I need your help please! I have all of my music files on in 1 folder, and I want to print all the file names for future reference. Do you know how I can do this? Thank you very much for your time and help. "

My response:

A simple DOS command (Disk Operating System) can capture the file names in a directory... which can be saved into a text file, and printed on paper.

This may not be the easiest method available, but it's certainly quick and dirty and won't take long to do.

1. Ensure that your Path is displayed in the Address bar in an Explorer Window. To do this: navigate to the folder which has all of your music, and Click View -> Folder Options (Win9x / ME) or Tools -> Folder Options (Win2k / XP) and then click the View tab. Make sure that "Display full path in address bar" has a checkmark beside it and click OK. This will display where your files are stored on the hard drive. Example: "C:\my documents\shared folder\music" is a "path" and will appear in the window which lists all your music files.
    
2. Go back to the folder which has your music files and note the Path which is located in the address bar of the Window. Highlight the path by left-clicking all the text with your mouse, and then Copy it into your clipboard using Edit -> Copy from the menu.
    
3. Keep the Music Folder open on your Desktop, and start an MS DOS session. To open up a DOS prompt: Click Start -> Programs -> MS DOS Prompt (Win9x / ME) ... or Click Start -> Program -> Accessories -> Command Prompt (Win2k / XP)
    
4. Once the DOS prompt appears, type in: cd "<<SHIFT + INSERT>>" Ensure that a space follows the CD command, and that you use quotes surround the path, or the trick won't work. Example: cd "C:\my documents\shared folder\music" Once the command has been entered, press Enter on your keyboard. If SHIFT + INSERT doesn't output anything, right-click on your mouse to Paste the path. If nothing appears (still), you may also need to copy the path into your clipboard again.
    
5. If the command was entered successfully, you won't get an error message. When you're ready for the next step, type in: dir /b >files.txt ... and press Enter on your keyboard. Again, if the command was done successfully, you won't get an error message. The above command will get a "bare" directory of your music files and place the output into a file called "files.txt".
    
6. Close the command prompt window and navigate to your music folder once more. Look for a new file called "files.txt" and open it up into Notepad and print the file.
    
7. If you want to save paper and print in two columns, consider using Microsoft Excel (which comes with MS Office) to paste your information accordingly.

Of course, there's probably an easier way to do this.

If you know of freeware software which can easily print music filenames (in more than 1 column), please drop me a line!

Update 2003/09/16: This article has been updated. Click here to read!