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handy tool - txtcollector, and two questions
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Posted by jimspoon
Aug 29, 2019 at 04:22 PM
I just found a handy tool named Txtcollector, which merges multiple text files into one, with insertion of filenames and separator lines:
https://bluefive.pairsite.com/txtcollector.htm
I have folders of many small text files, and I need to go through them all and edit each one. This is made especially tedious by the limitations of the file managers I use. For each file I have to: (1) highlight the file in the file list pane; (2) load the file in a text editor (double-click or press F4); (3) edit the file; (4) save the file (Ctrl+S, or using mouse); (5) close the editor (Esc or other key); (6) move highlight to next file. Repeat for all files.
I would like to find a file manager with a viewer pane that is also an editor - anybody know of one? Ideally after highlighting the file in the file list pane, I could tab to the editor pane, make my edits, then tab back to the list pane, saving the edits automatically. Anybody know of any such a file manager?
Even better, it would be great I could find a text editor into which I could load many files at once, with all files appearing consecutively in a single window, with some kind of visual indication of the boundary between each file. Each file could then be edited by browsing through the single “virtual file” and making edits. When the “virtual file” is saved, the changes would be saved to each of the individual text files that makes up the “virtual file”. I seem to recall that the Sense editor had some kind of capability like this? Anybody know about this, or any other such editor?
I haven’t checked yet, but perhaps the author of Txtcollector has a companion utility to write a merged file made by Txtcollector back to separate files. If not I’ll suggest it.
Posted by Lothar Scholz
Aug 29, 2019 at 07:28 PM
You can try the Atom Editor (https://atom.io) or if you are on macOS i recommend XCode.
Programmer editors are pretty good for this because programming means working with lots of small files.
But if you aren’t a programmer, it might be a bit confusing to get started.
On Atom just start the program and then use “Add Project Directory” from the File menu.
Posted by Donovan
Aug 30, 2019 at 04:26 PM
ResophNotes?
Posted by washere
Aug 30, 2019 at 06:01 PM
1) Txt editor as you prescribed:
That text editor might not exist. Because you want multi files to be pulled in as a single file. Then changes for different sections saved to original multi files. The big new file is a temporary file, either not saved &/or saved as a new big file. That’s the problem.
You might try database viewers which have nice text editing Windows/panes with regular txt editing functions (usual editor goodies). Then dynamically link the txt files as fields. Or as cells in a spreadsheet that has the same editor niceties. But it’ll be quicker otherwise.
My route is there other way. I have large note files on the phone separated by lines made of any number of:
_______
or
——————
or
========
Then I use an app to cut the big file into multi files where the above line characters occur. Can sort groups of them into relevant subfolders.
What you want would need invisible placeholders to remember which paragraphs belong to what file. Doesn’t exist IMHO. It’ll need rule sets of how to behave too, boundaries might change in editing.
You can look into scripts that pipe text files into editors. But I don’t think they maintain live relationships from chunks to extremal files, again a new big file is created as temp and/or a new big saved file.
2) File manager as you specified:
For Which platform: Windows, Mac, Linux?
Posted by washere
Aug 30, 2019 at 06:07 PM
This is from my outliner bookmarks folder, haven’t tried it yet, don’t need it really.
https://sourceforge.net/projects/multitexteditor/
Keeps files separate though, not as you want merged yet not merged paradox!