Files and folders are very useful work tools. Windows allows us to organize our files in specific folders through the explorer; However, if you want to copy a file to multiple folders, you may be wondering how to copy a file to multiple folders at once in Windows 10?
How to copy a file to multiple folders in one go in Windows 10?
Sometimes we have several folders and each one has a very large subfolder structure. In this case, copying a given file to all directories could take hours. Therefore, it is necessary to automate the process so that a simultaneous action is taken to achieve an effective result.
Here we explain everything you need to know about files and folders and a simple procedure to copy a file to multiple folders at once in Windows 10.
What is a file in Windows?
A file or file is an element that contains a collection of information. On a computer, files are viewed as documents, whether they are spreadsheets, images, texts, slides, songs, videos, among others.
Windows uses icons to represent these documents according to their extension. The extension of a file is very useful because it allows us to define its function. In this regard, Windows uses the operator (.) Followed by the extension, for example, .docx to reference the document in question.
What is a folder in Windows?
A folder, also called a directory, is a virtual location or container that stores any type of files and other folders that are commonly known as subdirectories.
Windows allows you to create a folder structure that can be organized according to the needs of users, a process that can be done in a conventional way, but at the same time you can also create directories from CMD .
The folders can be found anywhere in the operating system and can be accessed through the so-called Windows Explorer. There are system folders and user folders. The former house the essential Windows files, while the latter store files for text documents, music, videos and images.
Procedure to copy a file to multiple folders at once in Windows 10
You can copy a file to multiple folders by pressing the Ctrl key while dragging each file. However, if you have many folders, the process can be long and tedious. For this reason, it is convenient to create a batch file or script to execute the action in an automated way.
To achieve this, it is necessary that the folders where we are going to copy the file are in the same location on the disk, therefore, it will be necessary to copy the full path of the folder , otherwise, the batch script will not be able to be executed correctly .
Create a batch file
To create a batch file you must open the notepad and write the following commands, note that each point represents a line in the file:
- @echo off
- for / D %% a in (“PATH-OF-THE-FOLDERS \ *. *”) do xcopy / y / d PATH FOLDER \
- FILE.EXTENSION “%% a \”
PATH-OF-THE-FOLDERS refers to the disk path where the folders where we want to copy the file are located. The command \ *. * Must remain on the line. Whereas RUTAFICHERO refers to the real path of the file and FILE.EXTENSION must indicate its real name along with the extension.
It might sound complicated, but it’s just a matter of following this tutorial and the steps below. Still, remember that it is possible to forcibly delete files and folders from CMD and you can also do it the conventional way if you mess up.
Save and run the batch file
Once you have edited the commands, you must save the script with the extension .bat to proceed with executing it. When doing this process, the batch file will copy the file that we indicate in multiple locations of the folders that follow the same path.
If you follow this procedure with the notepad, you will have an automated copy process with which you can customize the name of the original file, its extension as well as the source and destination locations according to your requirements.
Similar to above, there are ways to copy a list of files from a folder with one click in Windows. Another very interesting option to work quickly and effectively.
