Creating a list of files on MacBook Air

Question

Level 1

4 points

Creating a list of files on MacBook Air

I'd like to be able to create lists of files from folders but can't work out how to do it.

On my old Windows PC I'd open a Command prompt and run a command to list all the files in a folder and redirect the output to a text file, e.g. the following command would list all the files in the directory with just the file names ( the /b option gives 'bare' file names only and >file list.txt puts the list into a text file called file list.txt).

dir /b > filelist.txt

I can't find anything in Terminal commands that would replicate this

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 12.6

Posted on Nov 8, 2022 03:34 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Encryptor5000

Level 5

7,662 points

Nov 10, 2022 08:52 PM in response to jwhargreaves

Hi jwhargreaves,

Would this work?

ls > filelist.txt

(The "ls" command is the Mac/Linux equivalent of "dir".)

Reply

Answer 2

Bill_T1

Community Specialist

Nov 10, 2022 04:53 PM in response to jwhargreaves

Hi jwhargreaves,

A simple way to accomplish what you're seeking is to open the folder in Finder. Use Command+A or Edit - Select All from the menu to select all files. Once selected, use Command+C or Edit - Copy from the menu bar again. Then, open a text-only application such as TextEdit and use Command+V or Edit - Paste and your file names should show in a text list you can then name, save, share or work with as needed.

Regards.

Reply