List of files in a folder excel

Listing the files in a folder is one of the activities which cannot be achieved using normal Excel formulas.  I could tell you to turn to VBA macros or PowerQuery, but then any non-VBA and non-PowerQuery users would close this post instantly.  But wait!  Back away from the close button, there is another option.

For listing files in a folder we can also use a little-known feature from Excel version 4, which still works today, the FILES function.

If you search through the list of Excel functions, FILES is not listed.  The FILES function is based on an old Excel feature, which has to be applied in a special way.  The instructions below will show you step-by-step how to use it.

Create a named range for the FILES function

The first step is to create a named range, which contains the FILES function.  Within the Excel Ribbon click Formulas -> Define Name

Within the New Name window set the following criteria:

• Name: listFiles
  Can be any name you wish, but for our example we will be using listFiles.
• Refers to: =FILES(Sheet1!$A$1)
  Sheet1!$A$1 is the sheet and cell reference containing the name of the folder from which the files are to be listed.

Click OK to close the New Name window.

Apply the function to list files

The second step is to set-up the worksheet to use the named range.

In Cell A1 (or whichever cell reference used in the Refers to box) enter the folder path from which to list the files, followed by an Asterisk ( * ).  The Asterisk is the wildcard character to find any text, so it will list all the files in the folder.

Select the cell in which to start the list of files (Cell A3 in the screenshot below), enter the following formula.

=INDEX(listFiles,1)

The result of the function will be the name of the first file in the folder.

To retrieve the second file from the folder enter the following formula

=INDEX(listFiles,2)

It would be painful to change the file reference number within each formula individually, especially if there are hundreds of files.  The good news is, we can use another formula to calculate the reference number automatically.

=INDEX(listFiles,ROW()-ROW(A$2))

The ROW() function is used to retrieve the row number of a cell reference.  When used without a cell reference, it returns the row number of the cell in which the function is used.  When used with a cell reference it returns the row number of that cell.  Using the ROWS function, it is possible to create a sequential list of numbers starting at 1, and increasing by 1 for each cell the formula is copied into.

If the formula is copied down further than the number of files in the folder, it will return a #REF! error.

Finally, wrap the formula within an IFERROR function to return a blank cell, rather than an error.

=IFERROR(INDEX(listFiles,ROW()-ROW(A$2)),"")

Listing specific types of files

The FILES function does not just list Excel files; it lists all file types; pdf, csv, mp3, zip, any file type you can think of.  By extending the use of wildcards within the file path it is possible to restrict the list to specific file types, or to specific file names.

The screenshot below shows how to return only files with “pdf” as the last three characters of the file name.

The wildcards which can be applied are:

• Question mark ( ? ) – Can take the place of any single character.
• Asterisk ( * ) – Represents any number of characters
• Tilde ( ~ ) – Used as an escape character to search for an asterisk or question mark within the file name, rather than as a wildcard.

The screenshot below shows how to return only files with the name of “New York.“, followed by exactly three characters.

Advanced uses for the FILES named range

Below are some ideas of how else you could use the FILES function.

Count the number of files

The named range created works like any other named range.  However, rather than containing cells, it contains values.  Therefore, if you want to calculate the number of files within the folder, or which meet the wildcard pattern use the following formula:

=COUNTA(listFiles)

Create hyperlinks to the files

Wouldn’t it be great to click on the file name to open it automatically?  Well . . . just add in the HYPERLINK function and you can.

The formula in Cell A3 is:

=IFERROR(HYPERLINK(LEFT($A$1,LEN($A$1)-1)&INDEX(listFiles,ROW()-ROW(A$2)),
INDEX(listFiles,ROW()-ROW(A$2))),"")

Check if a specific file exists within a folder

It isn’t necessary to list all the files to find out if a file exists within the folder.  The MATCH function will return the position of the file within the folder.

The formula in cell B3 is:

=MATCH(A3,listFiles,0)

In our example, a file which contains the text “New Yor*” exists, as the 7th file, therefore a 7 is returned.  Cell B4 displays the #N/A error because “Seattle” does not exist in the folder.

Find the name of the next or previous file

The files returned are in alphabetical order, therefore it is possible to find the next or previous file using the INDEX / MATCH combination.

The next file after “Denver.xlsx” is “New York.pdf“. The formula in Cell B3 is:

=INDEX(listFiles,MATCH(A3,listFiles,0)+1)

Retrieve values from each file with INDIRECT

The INDIRECT function can construct a cell reference using text strings.  Having retrieved the list of files in a folder, it would be possible to obtain values from those files.

The formula in Cell B3 is:

=INDIRECT("'"&LEFT($A$1,LEN($A$1)-1)&"["&A3&"]Sheet1'!$A$1")

For INDIRECT to calculate correctly the file does need to be open, so this may be a significant flaw in this option.

Usage notes

When working with the FILES function there are a few things to be aware of:

• The file path and file name is not case sensitive
• Files are returned in alphabetical order
• Folders and hidden files are not returned by the function
• The workbook must be saved as a “.xlsm” file format

Further reading

There are variety of other Excel 4 functions available which still work in Excel. Check out this post to find out how to apply them and download the Excel 4 Macro functions reference guide.

If you decide to use a VBA method, check out this post.

You probably don’t need this every day: But once a file you might want to have a list of all files within a folder or directory in Excel. The good thing: There are many methods available. If you Google it, you will find a lot of different methods to create a file list in Excel. But unfortunately, all of them have advantages and disadvantages – which you usually only find out after trying them. That’s the reason for this article: You won’t only learn each method step by step: You will rather find an overview comparing all the advantages and disadvantages of each method. After seeing this, you don’t need to start extensive trials and errors. Much better: You can easily select the method that works best for you!

Summary

	Method 1: Copy & Paste on Mac	Method 2: Named function	Method 3: Internet browser	Method 4: PowerQuery	Method 5: Excel-Add-In	Method 6: Windows PowerShell	Method 7: VBA Macro
Short description	Copy and paste from the Mac Finder.	Use a function in a named range to insert a file list.	Open folder with a web browser and copy the file list.	Use PowerQuery to insert a directory.	Let an Excel add-in do the work for you.	Use the Windows built-in PowerShell feature.	Use a VBA Macro to insert a file list.
Ease of use
Operating system	Mac	Windows	Windows / Mac	Windows / Mac	Windows	Windows	Windows
Include subfolders and files	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	(Yes) (depends on the VBA macro)
File information available	File names	File names	File names, file links (not working properly), file size, date modified	Folder path, name extension, date accessed, date modified, date created More attributes: Content type, kind, size, ReadOnly, hidden, S system, directory, archive, device, normal, temporary, SparseFile, ReparsePoint, compressed, offline, NotContentIndexed, encrypted, ChangeTime, SymbolicLink, MountPoint	Links to files on the drive, file path, date and time last saved, date and time created, file size, file type	File name, file path, date and time last saved, file size	Depends on the VBA macro
Technology	Mac Finder	Named function in Excel	Internet browser	PowerQuery	Excel Add-In	PowerShell, Text Import Wizard	VBA
Comment	Fast but with limited options.	Only shows files, no folders.	File links not working in our test; not working with all internet browsers (tested with Google Chrome and working).	Elegant and uses built-in functions.	Convenient, fast and many options.	Results not good, difficult process; performs well on large file structures, though.	Modifying the macro rather for advanced users.
Link	Click here	Click here	Click here	Click here	Click here	Click here	Click here

Method 1: Simply copy and paste from Mac Finder to Excel

This first method works on a Mac only: Just select all files in a Finder window and press copy (Command + C on the keyboard). Next, switch to Excel and paste the list: Press Command + V on the keyboard.

The advantage of this method is that it’s very easy and fast. Unfortunately, you don’t have any further options than just pasting the file names. That means you can’t insert data of subfolders or file properties.

Recommendation: Use this if you need a quick file list on the Mac – without any further information.

Method 2: Insert a file list with built-in Excel functions using “Named Ranges”

The second method is actually quite elegant: Use built-in Excel functions to insert a file list in Excel. It is built on advanced functions, such as an Excel function within a named range. But following these steps should be quite straight-forward.

Set up the named range

1. Choose a cell in which you later write the folder path. In this case, it’s cell C4.
2. Click on “Defined Name” on the Formulas ribbon.
3. Give a name for the cell containing the folder path (here: “Folder_Path”)
4. In the “Refers to” field, type: =files(linktopathcell) (replace “linktopathcell” with your cell reference – in this case “Method_2!$C$4”).
5. Confirm with OK.

Use the named range in Excel functions

1. Go to the Windows Explorer and copy the folder path.

1. Paste the folder link into the folder path cell (the cell you have set as the named range in step 1 above). Add one of the following endings:
   • If you want to include all files – no matter which file type – in your list, add *
   • For listing only Excel files, add *.xls*
   • If you want to see all files ending on “.xlsx”, add *.xlsx
2. As the last step, enter an INDEX function for compiling the list (here in cell B7):
   =INDEX(Folder_Path,ROW(B1))
   Folder_Path should be the same name that you have given in step 3 above. The ROW function should refer to any cell in the first row (for example to B1). That means, this argument could also be A1, C1, etc.
   As the last step: Copy the INDEX function down until you see the first #REF error. #REF means in this case that there are no more files in your folder. If you like, you could wrap the IFERROR function around in order to mitigate the error.

Recommendation: Use this if you only need a list of files (no subfolders) that dynamically updates itself.

Method 3: Use an internet browser to quickly copy and paste a file list to Excel

I must say, I like this idea because it’s almost as fast as our method number 1 above: Open a folder in a webbrowser and then copy & paste the list to Excel.

1. Copy the folder path from the Windows Explorer like on the screenshot or Mac Finder (for Mac: open file Info (right-click on folder and then on “Get Info”. Select and copy link from “Where” section).

1. Open a browser, for example Google Chrome (should be working with most other browsers as well). Paste the previously copied link into the address field.
2. Copy the table of files.
3. Open Excel and paste the file list.

One comment to this methods: The links (which are also created) usually won’t work in Excel.

Recommendation: Use this if you quickly need a file list (without subfolders), including some file properties such as file size and date last saved.

Method 4: Create a file list with PowerQuery

The next method is also among my favorites: It uses PowerQuery and comes with the advantages that it doesn’t require any complex programming or third-party technologies. Also, it can be refreshed easily later on.

1. Go to the Data ribbon, click on “Get Data” on the left, and select “From Folder” in the “From File” sub-menu.
2. Select the Folder and click on “Open” (not in the screenshot on the right).
3. You can now see a preview. Click on “Transform Data”.

1. Remove the first column “Content” (right-click on the heading and click on “Remove”).
2. If you want to see more file attributes than shown already in the preview, click on the small arrows of the “Attributes” column and select the attributes.
3. Click on Close & Load.

Recommendation: Use this method if you to have lots of file properties. It can later on easily be refreshed.

The Excel add-in Professor Excel Tools offers a function to easily insert directories. It regards subfolders and can insert various file properties:

• Links to files on the drive
• File path
• Date and time last saved
• Date and time created
• File size
• File type

You can further specify, where the directory should be created.

Using the “Get Directory” function is very simple:

1. Click on the Directory button on the Professor Excel ribbon.
2. Select all the file properties you’d like to show and the location, where the directory table should be placed in your Excel file.
3. Click on “Select folder and start”. Then, choose the folder and proceed with ok.

That’s it. Please feel free to download Professor Excel Tools here.

Recommendation: Use this method if you accept third-party add-ins within Excel. If you do, it’s quite convenient and fast.

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This function is included in our Excel Add-In ‘Professor Excel Tools’

(No sign-up, download starts directly)

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As you can see in the following description, using PowerShell takes quite a lot of steps. It might be useful, though, if you have very large folder structures. Otherwise, try to use a different method.

Open PowerShell and write the directory into a text file

1. Navigate to the folder which you want to have the file list from. Hold down the Shift key on the keyboard and right-click on it (if you don’t hold down the Shift key, the option of “Open PowerShell window here” is not available).
2. Click on “Open PowerShell window here”.
3. Copy and paste the following code and press enter afterwards:

Get-ChildItem -Path $MyInvocation.MyCommand.Path -force -recurse > filelist.txt

Import text file into Excel

Open Microsoft Excel.

1. Open the Text Import Wizard: Go to the Data ribbon, click on “Get Data” on the left, then on “Legacy Wizards” and then on “From Text (Legacy)”. If this option is not available, you can activate it within the Excel settings (check this article for more information).
2. Select the file filelist.txt from your folder. In step 3 above it was created within your target folder.

Follow the import steps of the Text Import Wizard on the screen:

1. In the first step of three, make sure that “Fixed width” is selected. Click on Next.
2. In the lower part of the window, Excel shows a preview of your import. Check here, if the column separators are set correctly: You can move the vertical lines if necessary or add more by clicking on the respective number in the heading of the preview. Then click on Next and in the third step Next again. After that finish the Text Import Wizard by selecting the location where the file list should be placed.
3. As you can see in number 8, the file list is inserted, but has some disadvantages: Directory paths are cut, each subfolder has its own block, and so on.

In a nutshell: This method of creating file lists within Microsoft Excel via PowerShell is complex and the results aren’t as good as in the other methods.

Recommendation: Try to avoid this method.

Method 7: Let a VBA Macro loop through the files

The following VBA code creates a list of all files in a folder. The list will be placed on the currently active worksheet, starting from cell A1. Please make sure that you don’t override anything here.

Sub InsertFileList()

Dim objFileSystemObject As Object, objFolder As Object, objFile As Object, i As Integer

Set objFileSystemObject = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
Set objFolder = objFileSystemObject.GetFolder("Your folder path")

For Each objFile In objFolder.Files
    i = i + 1
    ActiveSheet.Cells(i, 1) = objFile.Name
Next

End Sub

Here is how to use the VBA-Code. If you need more help of how to use VBA macros, please refer to this article.

1. Copy the VBA code from above.
2. Open the VBA editor by pressing Alt + F11 on the keyboard.
3. Insert a new module: Right-click on the active workbook name on the left.
4. Go to “Insert” and click on “Module”.

1. Paste the code by pressing Ctrl + V on the keyboard.
2. Replace Your folder path with the path from your own folder.
3. Click on start in the VBA editor.

Download

Please feel free to download all examples from above in this comprehensive Excel workbook. Each method is located on a different worksheet. Just click here and the download starts.

Image by Pexels from Pixabay

Список файлов в папке

Иногда бывает необходимо заполучить на лист Excel список файлов в заданной папке и ее подпапках. В моей практике такое встречалось неоднократно, например:

• перечислить в приложении к договору на проведение тренинга список файлов из раздаточных материалов для особо щепетильных юристов в некоторых компаниях
• создать список файлов для ТЗ проекта
• сравнить содержимое папок (оригинал и бэкап, например)

Для реализации подобной задачи можно использовать несколько способов.

Способ 1. Скелет из шкафа — функция ФАЙЛЫ

Этот способ использует древнюю функцию ФАЙЛЫ (FILES), оставшуюся в Microsoft Excel с далеких девяностых. Вы не найдете эту функцию в общем списке функций, но для совместимости, она всё ещё остаётся внутри движка Excel, и мы вполне можем её использовать.

Механизм таков:

1. В любую ячейку листа (например, в А1) введём путь к папке, список файлов из которой мы хотим получить.

Обратите внимание, что путь должен оканчиваться шаблоном со звездочками:

• *.* — любые файлы
• *.xlsx — книги Excel (только с расширением xlsx)
• *.xl* — любые файлы Excel
• *отчет* — файлы, содержащие слово отчет в названии

и т.д.

2. Создадим именованный диапазон с помощью вкладки Формулы — далее кнопка Диспетчер имен — Создать (Formulas — Names Manger — Create). В открывшемся окне введем любое имя без пробелов (например Мои_файлы) и в поле диапазона выражение:

=ФАЙЛЫ(Лист1!$A$1)

После нажатия на ОК будет создан именованный диапазон с именем Мои_файлы, где хранится список всех файлов из указанной в А1 папки. Останется их оттуда только извлечь.

3. Чтобы извлечь имена отдельных файлов из созданной переменной, используем функцию ИНДЕКС (INDEX), которая в Excel вытаскивает данные из массива по их номеру:

Если лениво делать отдельный столбец с нумерацией, то можно воспользоваться костылем в виде функции СТРОКИ (ROWS), которая будет подсчитывать количество заполненных строк с начала списка автоматически:

=ИНДЕКС(Мои_файлы; ЧСТРОК($B$3:B3))

Ну, и скрыть ошибки #ССЫЛКА! в конце списка (если вы протягиваете формулу с запасом) можно стандартной функцией ЕСЛИОШИБКА (IFERROR):

=ЕСЛИОШИБКА(ИНДЕКС(Мои_файлы; ЧСТРОК($B$3:B3)); «»)

Важное примечание: формально функция ФАЙЛЫ относится к макро-функциям, поэтому необходимо будет сохранить ваш файл в формате с поддержкой макросов (xlsm или xlsb).

Способ 2. Готовый макрос для ленивых

Если вы знакомы с макросами (не в смысле их программирования, а в смысле копипастинга готовых кодов на VBA), то вам, возможно, отлично зайдёт небольшой макрос, добавляющий в текущую книгу новый пустой лист и выводящий на него список всех файлов с их параметрами из заданной пользователем папки.

Для добавления макроса в вашу книгу нажмите сочетание клавиш Alt+F11, или кнопку Visual Basic на вкладке Разработчик (Developer), в открывшемся окне редактора Visual Basic вставьте новый модуль через меню Insert — Module и скопируйте туда текст этого макроса:

Sub FileList()
    Dim V As String
    Dim BrowseFolder As String
    
    'открываем диалоговое окно выбора папки
    With Application.FileDialog(msoFileDialogFolderPicker)
        .Title = "Выберите папку или диск"
        .Show
        On Error Resume Next
        Err.Clear
        V = .SelectedItems(1)
        If Err.Number <> 0 Then
            MsgBox "Вы ничего не выбрали!"
            Exit Sub
        End If
    End With
    BrowseFolder = CStr(V)
    
    'добавляем лист и выводим на него шапку таблицы
    ActiveWorkbook.Sheets.Add
    With Range("A1:E1")
        .Font.Bold = True
        .Font.Size = 12
    End With
    Range("A1").Value = "Имя файла"
    Range("B1").Value = "Путь"
    Range("C1").Value = "Размер"
    Range("D1").Value = "Дата создания"
    Range("E1").Value = "Дата изменения"
    
    'вызываем процедуру вывода списка файлов
    'измените True на False, если не нужно выводить файлы из вложенных папок
    ListFilesInFolder BrowseFolder, True
End Sub


Private Sub ListFilesInFolder(ByVal SourceFolderName As String, ByVal IncludeSubfolders As Boolean)

    Dim FSO As Object
    Dim SourceFolder As Object
    Dim SubFolder As Object
    Dim FileItem As Object
    Dim r As Long

    Set FSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
    Set SourceFolder = FSO.getfolder(SourceFolderName)

    r = Range("A65536").End(xlUp).Row + 1   'находим первую пустую строку
    'выводим данные по файлу
    For Each FileItem In SourceFolder.Files
        Cells(r, 1).Formula = FileItem.Name
        Cells(r, 2).Formula = FileItem.Path
        Cells(r, 3).Formula = FileItem.Size
        Cells(r, 4).Formula = FileItem.DateCreated
        Cells(r, 5).Formula = FileItem.DateLastModified
        r = r + 1
        X = SourceFolder.Path
    Next FileItem
    
    'вызываем процедуру повторно для каждой вложенной папки
    If IncludeSubfolders Then
        For Each SubFolder In SourceFolder.SubFolders
            ListFilesInFolder SubFolder.Path, True
        Next SubFolder
    End If

    Columns("A:E").AutoFit

    Set FileItem = Nothing
    Set SourceFolder = Nothing
    Set FSO = Nothing

End Sub

Для запуска макроса нажмите сочетание клавиш Alt+F8,или кнопку Макросы (Macros) на вкладке Разработчик (Developer), выберите наш макрос FileList и нажмите кнопку Выполнить (Run). В диалоговом окне выберите любую папку или диск и — вуаля!

Если захотите, чтобы вместо пути к файлу в столбце B выводилась живая гиперссылка, то замените 52-ю строку

Cells(r, 2).Formula = FileItem.Path

на

Cells(r, 2).Formula = «=HYPERLINK(«»» & FileItem.Path & «»»)»

Способ 3. Мощь и красота — надстройка Power Query

Power Query — это очень мощная и при этом бесплатная надстройка для Excel от Microsoft, упрощающая множество задач по загрузке и трансформации данных. В нашей ситуации она тоже может здорово помочь.

Если у вас Excel 2016 или новее, то Power Query уже встроена в Excel по умолчанию, поэтому просто на вкладке Данные выберите команду Создать запрос / Получить данные — Из файла — Из папки (Create Query / Get Data — From file — From folder). Если у вас Excel 2010-2013, то Power Query нужно будет скачать с сайта Microsoft и установить как отдельную надстройку и она появится у вас в Excel в виде отдельной вкладки Power Query. На ней будет аналогичная кнопка Из файла — Из папки (From file — From folder).

В открывшемся окне нужно будет указать папку, содержимое которой мы хотим получить. После нажатия на ОК Power Query обшарит указанную папку и все вложенные подпапки и выдаст на экран окно с предварительным просмотром результатов:

Если внешний вид списка вас устраивает, то можно смело жать внизу кнопку Загрузить (Load), чтобы залить эти данные на новый лист. Если же хочется дополнительно обработать список (удалить лишние столбцы, отобрать только нужные файлы и т.п.), то нужно выбрать команду Изменить / Преобразовать данные (Edit / Transform Data).

Поверх окна Excel откроется окно редактора Power Query, где мы увидим список всех наших файлов в виде таблицы:

Дальше возможны несколько вариантов:

• Если нужны только файлы определенного типа, то их можно легко отобрать с помощью фильтра по столбцу Extension:

  

• Аналогичным образом фильтрами по столбцам Date accessed, Date modified или Date created можно отобрать файлы за нужный период (например, созданные только за последний месяц и т.п.):

  

• Если нужно получить данные не из всех папок, то фильтруем по столбцу Folder Path, чтобы оставить только те строки, где путь содержит/не содержит нужные имена папок:

  

• Там же можно выполнить сортировку файлов по любому столбцу, если требуется.

После того, как необходимые файлы отобраны, можно смело удалить ненужные столбцы, щелкнув по заголовку столбца правой кнопкой мыши и выбрав команду Удалить (Remove column). Это, кстати, уже никак не повлияет на фильтрацию или сортировку нашего списка:

Если в будущем планируется подсчитывать количество файлов в каждой папке (например, для контроля поступивших заявок или подсчета статистики по заявкам), то имеет смысл дополнительно сделать ещё пару действий:

• Щелкните правой кнопкой мыши по столбцу Folder Path и выберите команду Дублировать столбец (Duplicate Column).
• Выделите скопированный столбец и на вкладке Преобразование (Transform) выберите Разделить столбец — По разделителю (Split Column — By delimiter)

Мы получим рядом с нашими данными еще несколько столбцов, где будут продублированы имена вложенных папок — это пригодится нам чуть позже для подсчета статистики с помощью сводной таблицы:

Получившиеся столбцы можно переименовать (Диск, Папка1, Папка2 и т.д.), просто щёлкнув дважды по заголовку каждого.

И, наконец, когда список готов, то его можно выгрузить на лист с помощью команды Главная — Закрыть и загрузить — Закрыть и загрузить в… (Home — Close & Load — Close & Load to…):

Дополнительным бонусом можно сделать еще один столбец с функцией ГИПЕРССЫЛКА (HYPERLINK), которая создаст красивые стрелочки-ссылки для моментального перехода к каждому файлу:

Мелочь, а приятно

И вдвойне приятно, что в будущем, при изменении содержимого исходной папки, достаточно будет просто щелкнуть мышью по нашей таблице и выбрать команду Обновить (Refresh) — и Power Query выполнит всю цепочку запрограммированных нами единожды действий уже автоматически, отобразив все изменения в составе папки.

Ссылки по теме

• Что такое макрос, куда вставлять код макроса на Visual Basic
• Создание резервных копий ценных файлов
• Что такое Power Query и что можно делать с её помощью

There is a particular folder on my hard drive with several dozen files in it. I wish I had a list of those files so that I could email them, or create an exhibit list, etc.

The following routine will make Excel spit out all those filenames in a snap:

Step 1:  Select cell A1 in a new worksheet and go the Formulas Tab.  Select the button called Name Manager:

Under Name, type MyFiles.  The “Refers to” box should already contain “Sheet1!$A$1” if your cursor is in cell A1. Put this in parentheses and type =FILES in front of it, like so:

     Now hit OK.

Step 2:  Copy the folder address you want to index and paste it into cell A1.

Also, add * at the end of the file path:

MyFiles is now pointing to the file path in cell A1.

Step 3:  Put the following function in cell A3:

=INDEX(MyFiles,ROW()-2)

The INDEX formula tells Excel to pull filenames from MyFiles, which is the folder referenced in A1. The formula in A3 pulls the first value because the current row is 3, so ROW()-2 =1.

Step 4:  Copy the formula down several rows. Notice that the formula looks exactly the same in each row, but since the ROW() function evaluates the current row number, each new formula pulls the next filename.

The results will look like this:

Step 5: Copy the formula down about as many rows as there are files in the folder, until you begin to get error messages.  That will mean that you’ve reached the end of the files:

That’s it!  

Save the workbook with a snappy name like “Excel Esquire Directory Listing Miracle File.xlsx”

Here’s a few additional tips to make the most of this routine:

Tip 1: You can adjust the wildcard in cell A1 to pull only filenames with certain characteristics.  For example, putting *.doc* at the end would pull only the files with a .doc or .docx extension.

I want to pull the documents that have the word Park in them, so I adjust the wildcard to read *Park*, with the following results:

Tip 2: You can change the file path in cell A1 whenever you want and generate a new list of files.

Tip 3: This routine does not pull the filenames from subfolders in the target folder.  You would have to repeat this operation for each subfolder if you wanted to extract those files.

Tip 4: If you recoil at the sight of error messages, try wrapping the INDEX formula in the warm embrace of IFERROR to generate a friendlier message:

=IFERROR(INDEX(MyFiles,ROW()-2,”Congratulations! You’ve reached the end!”)

In a future post I’ll explain how to create a hyperlinked document list—in such a list you can click on the document name in a list, and the document will launch automatically.

Click the Follow button to stay tuned, and to learn about CLE-accredited Excel workshops!

This post will teach you how to get the list of file names in a given directory to a worksheet in Excel. You will learn that how to use Excel to view Files and Folders in your worksheet by get the list of file names with different ways, such as: Excel VBA Macro, or FILES function.

If you want to get the list of file names from a folder that contain hundreds of files in it. You may be think the simplest way is that selecting the file and copying its name, then paste the file name in a cell in your worksheet, then repeat the above steps. If you follow this way to do it, you will take a long time to complete it. So it is a simple way, but it is also a huge waste of time. Do we have some quick way to achieve the same result? Of course yes, the below will talk two ways to copy the list of file names from a folder into worksheet quickly.

Method 1: Using FILES function to get list of file names

You can use the FILES function to get the list of file names from a directory, and this function is only works in name Defined Names. And then you can use a combination of the IFERROR function, the INDEX function and the Row function to create an excel formula. Let’s see the below steps:

1# Assuming that you want to get the list of file names from a directory, such as: C:UsersdevopsTracingWPPMedia*, and enter this directory path into Cell B1.

2# On the FORMULAS Tab, click Define Name command under Defined Names group, then select Define Names… from the drop-down menu list.

3# the New Name window will appear. Set a name in the Name box, such as: FileNameList, type the following formula in the Refers to box.

=FILES(Sheet7!$B$1)

4# enter the following formula in the Cell B3, then drag the AutoFill Handle down to others cells to apply this formula.

=IFERROR(INDEX(FileNameList,ROW()-2)," ")

You will see that all file names from the specified folder are listed in your worksheet.

Method 2: Using File browser and web browser to get list of file names

If you want to use this method to get the list of file name from a directory, you need to install one web browser, such as: Firefox, Chrome or IE. Then do it follow steps:

1# Move to the destination folder or directory on the Windows File Explorer, then copy the path of that directory. Such as: C:UsersdevopsTracingWPPMedia

2# open any web browser installed in your computer and paste the copied path in the address bar, then press Enter key.

3# you will see that it will add prefix file:/// at the beginning of the path in the address bar. And the file name list will be shown in the web page.

4# press Ctrl + A shortcut to select all of file names in the web page and then press Ctrl +C to copy the selected content.

5# open your worksheet, then press Ctrl + V to paste all file names into your worksheet.

Or you can save the web page in the Step 3 as the offline copy. Just press Ctrl + S or right-click on the web page, and then select Save Page As to save that web page.

Open the saved web page from the web browser, and copy its web address. Then click From WEB command under Get External Data group on the DATA tab in your worksheet.

Paste the web address in Address box, then click Go button. Then click Import button. You will see that all files and folders details are imported to your worksheet.

Method 3: Using Excel VBA macro to get list of file names

You can write an excel VBA macro code to get the list of file names from a specified directory,

1# click on “Visual Basic” command under DEVELOPER Tab.

2# then the “Visual Basic Editor” window will appear.

3# click “Insert” ->”Module” to create a new module

4# paste the below VBA code into the code window. Then clicking “Save” button.

Option Explicit
Sub GetFileNames()
    Dim xRow As Long
    Dim xDirect$, xFname$, InitialFoldr$
    InitialFoldr$ = "C:"
    With Application.FileDialog(msoFileDialogFolderPicker)
        .InitialFileName = Application.DefaultFilePath & ""
        .Title = "Please select a folder to list Files from"
        .InitialFileName = InitialFoldr$
        .Show
        If .SelectedItems.Count <> 0 Then
            xDirect$ = .SelectedItems(1) & ""
            xFname$ = Dir(xDirect$, 7)
            Do While xFname$ <> ""
                ActiveCell.Offset(xRow) = xFname$
                xRow = xRow + 1
                xFname$ = Dir
            Loop
        End If
     End With
End Sub

5# back to the current worksheet, then run the above excel macro.

6# select a folder that you want to get all names, then click OK button.

• Excel IFERROR function
  The Excel IFERROR function returns an alternate value you specify if a formula results in an error, or returns the result of the formula.The syntax of the IFERROR function is as below:= IFERROR (value, value_if_error)…
• Excel INDEX function
  The Excel INDEX function returns a value from a table based on the index (row number and column number)The INDEX function is a build-in function in Microsoft Excel and it is categorized as a Lookup and Reference Function.The syntax of the INDEX function is as below:= INDEX (array, row_num,[column_num])…
• Excel ROW function
  The Excel ROW function returns the row number of a cell reference.The ROW function is a build-in function in Microsoft Excel and it is categorized as a Lookup and Reference Function.The syntax of the ROW function is as below:= ROW ([reference])….

Excel is awesome! But with so many people using Excel in large companies, the number of spreadsheets used can become quite massive. Keeping track of all these can become a job in itself.

I worked at a large insurance company and we were in the midst of a project to take inventory of all the spreadsheets used.

We created a VBA procedure that would take a folder path and spit out all the file names in that folder. Each department was responsible for using this to take inventory of all their files. Fortunately for me, my department used only a few folders and subfolders for our work otherwise I would have tried to modify the code to loop through all subfolders in a folder.

We were using Excel 2010 and installing the Power Query add-in was not an option due to IT security lock down. With Power Query this would have been a much less time consuming task and with no coding needed.

Create a From Folder Query

From any workbook that you want to create a file inventory in, you can create a From Folder query. Go to the Data tab in the ribbon and select Get Data from the Get & Transform section. Then choose the From File option in the menu and then the From Folder option in the submenu.

Select the Parent Folder to Query

Add the folder path of the parent folder which you want to query. You can copy and paste this from a windows file explorer address bar or you can use the Browse option to select the folder.

Edit the From Folder Query

A preview will show and you can check the output to make sure it’s the correct folder. Press the Edit button to edit the query. Editing is an optional step if you want more information on the files. Otherwise you can Load the query without editing.

Remove the Content Column

If all you’re looking for is the list of file names from the folders, then you don’t need this column. This column can be used to import data from multiple files in multiple folders.

To remove the Content column, right click on the column heading and select Remove from the menu.

I also like to move the Folder Path column over to the left most column. You can do this by dragging and dropping the column.

Expand the Attribute Column for More Information

Expanding the Attributes column will allow us to see more detailed information about the files. Otherwise we will only see the Folder Path, Name, Extension, Date accessed, Date modified and Date created which may well be all you want to see.

1. Left click on the filter icon on the Attributes column.
2. Select or unselect the different file attributes you want to see in the query results.
3. Uncheck Use original column name as prefix if you don’t want your new attribute columns to be prefixed (ie. Attributes.Kind)
4. Press the OK button.

You’ll now see the extra columns you chose in the query editor preview.

Close and Load the Query

From the Home tab, press the Close & Load button.

Query Results List All Files

The query will load and then you’ll have a table with information on all the files from your chosen folder and subsequent subfolders. You can then filter this table to look at particular folders or file types, or sort on dates to find the most recent version of a file.