Seriously, you folks need to deal with shenanigans and efficiently organizing projects all the time.  Otherwise, your butts would be full of bites.

To my knowledge, all that effort and skill never gets talked about.

@BGM , @publicdomain and helpful community.

BGM, your idea is a good one.  Copy out, then copy back in.  Or rename.  Etc.

Trouble is, the file contents will change.

Here is the actual scenario:

I have 100 SAS datasets.  Each dataset is alone in its folder.  The folder name corresponds to the dataset filename, plus some extra:

Below are the first three folders, and the sole file inside:


I need to update -- add some additional columns -- to each and every dataset file.

The 'program' -- or more accurately, 'script' -- I am going to use to make the changes to each file expects the name of the file to be:

combined.sas7bdat

No prefix.

And the location of said file is set to be:

C:\SAS_1\

So, it appears that I'll have to use one of the two following approaches:

(first dragging each respective file one at a time to the 'work' folder for the running of the script)

1.  Change the 'script' file 100 times, to tailor for the specific prefix.

or

2.  Change the name of each file, temporarily.  x100.

Going #2 route, I was thinking of TEMPORARILY changing the filename:

aapl_combined.sas7bdat --> combined.sas7bdat

Then making changes to the dataset file with the existing script.

Then changing the filename back to what it was before:

combined.sas7bdat --> aapl_combined.sas7bdat

Then dragging the changed dataset file back to its proper, home folder.

This whole rigmarole is likely faced regularly by programmers.  There surely are ways and means of conducting things more efficiently.  If anyone wants to chime in their thoughts regarding a more orderly process, please speak up.

Thanks much!

Nicholas Kormanik

This one might be impossible as well.

Suppose we have a folder with a number of icons for files and folders.

We want those arranged in a very particular way.  Not merely the usual sort, by name, extension, etc.  But the exact placement within that folder.  Some icons are up, some down, some to the side.

We want to be able to take a 'snapshot' of this specific arrangement.

Take snapshot.  Then rearrange to that snapshot at a later point in time.

So, two additional 'buttons' (perhaps?) on Explorer ToolBar:

1. Take arrangement snapshot
2. Restore arrangement

Or via right-click context menu.

What do you think?  Possible or not?

Additional details would have to be considered, of course.  Like, where will the 'arrangement details' be kept?  Within the folder, maybe in a hidden file? 

Will the implied coordinates be relative to the window, say from upper-left corner of the window being 0,0?

Too, what if additional icons/files are moved to that folder, will that not affect the previous arrangement possibility?

Etc.

Windows does allow for the above in a temporary way.  If 'View; Auto arrange' and 'View; Align to grid' are both unchecked.  But the arrangement doesn't last.  Close window and reopen, icons are sorted.  Etc.

Thanks so much!

Nicholas Kormanik