Managing a sample library with many subfolders. Want to move files into the parent folder quickly

[tdm71]

Anyone know a program for MAC that will condense all subfolders into the parent folder?

I get what most sample makers are doing by making everything into multi layered folders each containing several subfolders but it really drives me nuts. I want to be able to quickly scroll through a folder and move on not go through Folder A>B>C>D just to hear a clap with reverb. Is there any known program that will condense all the subfolders into the parent folder with the click of a few buttons? I have XO and Audio Finder so I'm not taking about auditioning the sounds but rather condensing the maze of categories into one big folder. It's driving me crazy because I'm doing this by hand and it's taking forever...

Thanks in advance

[BertKoor]

You could probably write a shell script for that. 'find . -type f' will give a list of all the files, that should be the list to work with for the mv command.

But for one single occasion I think just drag & drop till you're done is quicker.

[ReleaseCandidate]

You could probably write a shell script for that. 'find . -type f' will give a list of all the files, that should be the list to work with for the mv command.

find ./ -type f -exec mv {} PARENTFOLDER \;
but try it with
find ./ -type f -exec echo "moving {} to PARENTFOLDER" \;
first to check if it is working
Afterwards you have to delete all empty directories
find ./ -type d -empty -exec rmdir {} \;

[GaryG]

Are these just standalone samples? If they're part of a library or something then you could break whatever refers to them (sorry if stating the obvious).

Also are they named intelligently? I've seen many sample libraries where it's hard to identify a sample just by it's name. Moving files like this into one big folder could be a nightmare later.

[tdm71]

Thanks for the advice. I found a way to do this through Automator but it’s crazy to think that there’s not a program that does this. Also, I don’t get the hyper organized, Russian nesting doll when it come to these sample manufacturers.

[leeleema]

Thanks for the advice. I found a way to do this through Automator but it’s crazy to think that there’s not a program that does this. Also, I don’t get the hyper organized, Russian nesting doll when it come to these sample manufacturers.

Surely, for general needs, not your specific requirements, the nesting method of organising samples in a sample pack makes certain types of sample easier to find? Or am I missing something?

[andypryce]

Try to browse Splice samples from your Daws browser or finder instead of the app. You open up 10 folders and get. 1 closed hihat wav 

[Raddler1]

‘Command F’ search on the parent folder and do a search for .wav. It will then reveal all samples. Then drag them all into a new folder. Simple. No terminal needed.

[ReleaseCandidate]

‘Command F’ search on the parent folder and do a search for .wav. It will then reveal all samples. ...

... with the 'wav' suffix. Any other files you do not find like that so you have to search for aif, ogg, rex, ... files too.

[Raddler1]

‘Command F’ search on the parent folder and do a search for .wav. It will then reveal all samples. ...

... with the 'wav' suffix. Any other files you do not find like that so you have to search for aif, ogg, rex, ... files too.

True, but I usually only want to isolate the wav files. If I want the others I'll repeat the search process with the desired file type. Sometimes I even just want specific sounds, like hi hats. So I'll do a search for 'hat' and filter them all out and delete the rest. Works great for me.