Re: Print (or export to a spreadsheet) all the information displayed when Finder is looking at a folder (OS X 10.13 High Sierra)

On 4/30/24 3:56 PM, Jolly Roger wrote:

On 2024-04-30, Dudley Brooks <dbrooks@runforyourlife.org> wrote:
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On 4/30/24 8:56 AM, Jolly Roger wrote:
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On 2024-04-30, Jim Gibson <jimsgibson@gmail.com> wrote:
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On Apr 29, 2024 at 6:51:05 PM PDT, "Dudley Brooks"
<dbrooks@runforyourlife.org> wrote:
>

I want to print out all the File Names, their Creation Dates, and their
Modification Dates.  (Printing all the other info is fine too.)  If
possible, I would like to do it in a form that can be easily put into a

>
You can use the stat utility in a command-line shell in the Terminal
application to print out creation and modification times for any file.
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Use 'man stat' for details. Use the -f option to specifiy the content and
format for the fields to be displayed.
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You want the following format specifiers:
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      %SN  to display the file name
      %SB  to display the creation (birth) time
      %Sm  to display the modification time
      %t    to insert tab characters between fields
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So the following should give you what you want:
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      stat -f '%SN%t%SB%t%Sm' *
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Redirect the output to a file:
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      stat -f '%SN%t%SB%t%Sm' * > file_times.txt
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and you can import that into a spreadsheet specifying tab characters to
separate columns,

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Thanks!  That's EXACTLY what I'm looking for.
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Ironically, I had actually done "man stat" ... but I didn't see all
those formatting parameters.  I must have been looking way too late at
night ... when my brain turns into a pumpkin.
>

I would use comma characters for delimiters to make it a CSV file, then
open that in a spreadsheet program.

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I was just thinking about that.  Thanks!  (I think Excel can separate on
tabs as well, though.  But it's always good to have different options.
And maybe it saves you from having to do copy-and-paste.)
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One more thing, if either of you knows why this might be:
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If <filename> has not already been created, I get an error message.
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If I create <filename> first, there's no error message, and it seems to
be running fine ... except ... it doesn't seem to do anything -- nothing
gets written to <filename>!
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Any ideas?  Maybe it's another casualty of over-full HD?

 What is the command you are using,

Exactly what Jim Gibson suggested:
stat <flags, etc.> * > <file>

and what is the error output?

Today, when <file> doesn't exist, no error message.  Can't recreate error message from yesterday.  (Maybe because I cleared a lot of stuff off my HD?)
But <file> does not get created.
When <file> does already exist, then, just like yesterday, no error message.
But again, like yesterday, nothing gets written to <file>.
--
Dudley Brooks, Artistic Director
Run For Your Life! ... it's a dance company!
San Francisco