2

I have the following robocopy command line:

robocopy $drv "B:\Blending Produções - Backup\Blending Produções - Tyrone Hirt - BC" /e /NJH /NDL /NC /BYTES /MT:4 /l /xd /A-:SH $IgnorarPastas /xf $IgnorarArquivos

This command will list all the files that must be copied following the established parameters.

The point is: I would like to find a way to count how many files will be copied.

For this I'm trying an approach of counting how many matches "T:" there are in the robocopy output, but I'm not getting the expected result...

This is my complete script:

$drv = "T:\"
$IgnorarPastas = "03. Proxy", "`$Recycle.Bin"
$IgnorarArquivos = "*.avi", "*.ini"

robocopy $drv "B:\Blending Produções - Backup\Blending Produções - Tyrone Hirt - BC" /e /NJH /NDL /NC /BYTES /MT:4 /l /xd /A-:SH $IgnorarPastas /xf $IgnorarArquivos
            
$robocopyCommand = "robocopy $drv ""B:\Blending Produções - Backup\Blending Produções - Tyrone Hirt - BC"" /e /NJH /NDL /NC /BYTES /MT:4 /l /xd /A-:SH $IgnorarPastas /xf $IgnorarArquivos"
$filesToCopy = Invoke-Expression $robocopyCommand
$numberOfFiles = ($filesToCopy | Select-String -Pattern "T:\\" -AllMatches).Matches.Count
            
write-host "`nNumber of files to be copied " -NoNewline -f White; write-host "$numberOfFiles" -NoNewline -f Green;

This is the output of the script in the console:

$drv = "T:\"
 $IgnorarPastas = "03. Proxy", "`$Recycle.Bin"
 $IgnorarArquivos = "*.avi", "*.ini"

robocopy $drv "B:\Blending Produções - Backup\Blending Produções - Tyrone Hirt - BC" /e /NJH /NDL /NC /BYTES /MT:4 /l /xd /A-:SH $IgnorarPastas /xf $IgnorarArquivos


$comandoRobocopy = "robocopy $drv ""B:\Blending Produções - Backup\Blending Produções - Tyrone Hirt - BC"" /e /NJH /NDL /NC /BYTES /MT:4 /l /xd /A-:SH $IgnorarPastas /xf $IgnorarArquivos"


$robocopyCommand = "robocopy $drv ""B:\Blending Produções - Backup\Blending Produções - Tyrone Hirt - BC"" /e /NJH /NDL /NC /BYTES /MT:4 /l /xd /A-:SH $IgnorarPastas /xf $IgnorarArquivos"
$filesToCopy = Invoke-Expression $robocopyCommand
$numberOfFiles = ($filesToCopy | Select-String -Pattern "T:\\" -AllMatches).Matches.Count

    
    write-host "`nNumber of files to be copied " -NoNewline -f White; write-host "$numberOfFiles" -NoNewline -f Green;

               12680    T:\_Ferramenta Backup\Backup Local\_\BP - Backup Script - Root of this device - Get Backup.ps1
100%  
            379568522   B:\Blending Produ‡äes - Backup\Blending Produ‡äes - Tyrone Hirt - BC\Blending Produ‡äes\02. Clientes\2023\Grupo Teste\Teste Car\_Imagens\Drone\DJI_0001.MOV
            2380021041  B:\Blending Produ‡äes - Backup\Blending Produ‡äes - Tyrone Hirt - BC\Blending Produ‡äes\02. Clientes\2023\Grupo Teste\Teste Car\_Imagens\Drone\DJI_0002.MOV
            43588300    B:\Blending Produ‡äes - Backup\Blending Produ‡äes - Tyrone Hirt - BC\Blending Produ‡äes\02. Clientes\2023\Grupo Teste\Teste Car\_Imagens\Drone\DJI_0003.MOV
            3335677673  B:\Blending Produ‡äes - Backup\Blending Produ‡äes - Tyrone Hirt - BC\Blending Produ‡äes\02. Clientes\2023\Grupo Teste\Teste Car\_Imagens\Drone\DJI_0004.MOV
            2325513829  B:\Blending Produ‡äes - Backup\Blending Produ‡äes - Tyrone Hirt - BC\Blending Produ‡äes\02. Clientes\2023\Grupo Teste\Teste Car\_Imagens\Drone\DJI_0005.MOV
            3245228768  B:\Blending Produ‡äes - Backup\Blending Produ‡äes - Tyrone Hirt - BC\Blending Produ‡äes\02. Clientes\2023\Grupo Teste\Teste Car\_Imagens\Drone\DJI_0006.MOV
             1392290    B:\Blending Produ‡äes - Backup\Blending Produ‡äes - Tyrone Hirt - BC\Blending Produ‡äes\02. Clientes\2023\Grupo Teste\Fenauto 2023\Geral\_Pr\Adobe Premiere Pro Auto-Save\Fenauto Geral 1--aa12bd8f-a378-c373-6d52-62bab88e86a6-2023-12-04_11-36-34.prproj
             1398658    B:\Blending Produ‡äes - Backup\Blending Produ‡äes - Tyrone Hirt - BC\Blending Produ‡äes\02. Clientes\2023\Grupo Teste\Fenauto 2023\Geral\_Pr\Adobe Premiere Pro Auto-Save\Fenauto Geral 1--aa12bd8f-a378-c373-6d52-62bab88e86a6-2023-12-04_12-12-44.prproj
            54138464    B:\Blending Produ‡äes - Backup\Blending Produ‡äes - Tyrone Hirt - BC\Blending Produ‡äes\02. Clientes\2023\Grupo Teste\Teste\11. Novembro\07. Teste I Fenauto Overview Final\01. Fluxo\01. Ae\07-12-2023 Teste I Fenauto Overview Final (converted
).aep
            84566896    B:\Blending Produ‡äes - Backup\Blending Produ‡äes - Tyrone Hirt - BC\Blending Produ‡äes\02. Clientes\2023\Grupo Teste\Teste\00. Identidade\01. Fluxo\01. Ae\Adobe After Effects Auto-Save\Teste I Identidade Audiovisual (converted) auto-
save 5.aep
            230815274   B:\Blending Produ‡äes - Backup\Blending Produ‡äes - Tyrone Hirt - BC\Blending Produ‡äes\02. Clientes\2023\Grupo Teste\Teste\11. Novembro\17. DLPL Cast - EP 15\05. Render\Vertical\DLPL Cast I EP 14 I Corte 1 I Vert I Financiamento I Final - v
01.mp4
            230450405   B:\Blending Produ‡äes - Backup\Blending Produ‡äes - Tyrone Hirt - BC\Blending Produ‡äes\02. Clientes\2023\Grupo Teste\Teste\11. Novembro\17. DLPL Cast - EP 15\05. Render\Vertical\DLPL Cast I EP 14 I Corte 2 I Vert I Consigna‡Æo I Final - v01
.mp4
               12200    B:\Blending Produ‡äes - Backup\Blending Produ‡äes - Tyrone Hirt - BC\Blending Produ‡äes\02. Clientes\2023\Grupo Teste\Teste Car\12. Dezembro\29. TesteCar I Carros e Repasse\01. Fluxo\01. Ae\02-01-2024 Nome.aep
           12200                  136490    B:\Blending Produ‡äes - Backup\Blending Produ‡äes - Tyrone Hirt - BC\Blending Produ‡äes\02. Clientes\2023\Grupo Teste\Teste Car\12. Dezembro\29. TesteCar I Carros e Repasse\01. Fluxo\02. Pr\02-01-2024 Nome.prproj

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                   Total   Copiada      IgnoradaIncompatibilidade     FALHA      Extras
Diret¢rios:          3407      3302          3406         0         1           6
 Arquivos:         19705         1         19707         0         0          14
    Bytes: 2037206266068     12680 2037651251411         0         0 12312508810
N.§ de Vezes:       0:00:00   0:00:00                           0:00:00     0:00:00
   Finalizado em: quinta-feira, 4 de janeiro de 2024 01:19:19


Number of files to be copied 169

I'm not able to get a correct count this way, the result is 169 when it should be 1, since in the output only one file is being copied.

How can I adjust my script to get the expected result?

Edit

I'm trying another approach:

# Find the line containing "Arquivos:"
$filesLine = $filesToCopy | Select-String -Pattern "Arquivos:.*?(\d+)\s+(\d+)" | ForEach-Object { $_.Matches }

# Extract the second group of numbers from the line
$numberOfFilesCopied = $filesLine.Groups[2].Value

In this code, the regular expression Arquivos:.*?(\d+)\s+(\d+) is used to search for the line containing "Arquivos:" and capture both groups of numbers. The second group is then accessed using $filesLine.Groups[2].Value.

I still can't get the correct result.

In short, I need to have a count of how many files robocopy will copy before starting the copy.

Improve this question
7
  • Why are you running the command twice? What's the purpose of the Invoke-Expression part? Which PowerShell version?
    – Destroy666
    Commented Jan 4 at 7:26
  • The first command is just to give me visual feedback on the console, to check if the count is correct. Then I will remove it. The purpose of Invoke-Expression is to call the robocopy command without appearing in the console and counting with the robocopy listing. Powershell version is 5.1.22621.2506
    – Tyrone Hirt
    Commented Jan 4 at 15:43
  • 1
    Using the /l switch gives back the results without the operation so really, none of the commands with that will really copy but will give output as if the output occurs. Seems like strictly validation type logic. Let me know when you see the response I provided in the form of an answer as well and how that goes. It seems to work rather well for me with a few test runs both with and without that /l switching each run for the expected results.
    – Vomit IT - Chunky Mess Style
    Commented Jan 4 at 23:02
  • 1
    @TyroneHirt you can use e.g. redirection if you don't want to see any output. I'm pretty sure your problems come from double call/Invoke-Expression, especially now after looking at comments below answer. Invoke-Expression is a command to be avoided as much as possible.
    – Destroy666
    Commented Jan 7 at 15:11
  • You are right! The problem seems to come from the Invoke-Expression command, I changed the script to $filesLine = robocopy $drv $destination /e /NJH /NDL /NC /BYTES /MT:4 /l /xd /A-:SH $IgnorarPastas /xf $IgnorarArquivos | Select-String -Pattern "Arquivos:.*?(\d+)\s+(\d+)" | ForEach-Object { $_.Matches } $numberOfFiles = $filesLine.Groups[2].Value Now everything works as expected! Thanks for your help.
    – Tyrone Hirt
    Commented Jan 8 at 16:18

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
1

There are 2 potential problems I spotted with your script:

  • double call of robocopy, which could result in different outcome on 2nd call and is definitely not needed
  • usage of Invoke-Expression, which is generally discouraged, similarly to alike code evaluating functions in other programming languages. I would recommend avoiding it for security reasons, which don't matter here most likely, but it's worth knowing there are almost always better replacements. See documentation for further info, e.g.:

Take reasonable precautions when using the Invoke-Expression cmdlet in scripts. When using Invoke-Expression to run a command that the user enters, verify that the command is safe to run before running it. In general, it is best to design your script with predefined input options, rather than allowing freeform input.

If you'd like to run it silently, I'd just replace both:

robocopy $drv $destination /e /NJH /NDL /NC /BYTES /MT:4 /l /xd /A-:SH $IgnorarPastas /xf $IgnorarArquivos
            
$robocopyCommand = "robocopy $drv $destination /e /NJH /NDL /NC /BYTES /MT:4 /l /xd /A-:SH $IgnorarPastas /xf $IgnorarArquivos"

with:

$robocopyResult = robocopy $drv $destination /e /NJH /NDL /NC /BYTES /MT:4 /l /xd /A-:SH $IgnorarPastas /xf $IgnorarArquivos

And stdout stream will be saved to the variable. You can then further e.g. mute stderr stream by adding 2>$null at the end, if needed.

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1

Use only ($filesToCopy | Select-String -Pattern "T:\\").Count in the logic omitting the -AllMatches and the .Matches parts out to get the correct counts matching the Robocopy log stored in an array variable.

Furthermore, when defining the $robocopyCommand variable, encapsulate it with single quotes rather than double quotes, and remove the double double quote escape characters.

PowerShell

$drv = "T:\"
$IgnorarPastas = "03. Proxy", "`$Recycle.Bin"
$IgnorarArquivos = "*.avi", "*.ini"

robocopy $drv "B:\Blending Produções - Backup\Blending Produções - Tyrone Hirt - BC" /e /NJH /NDL /NC /BYTES /MT:4 /l /xd /A-:SH $IgnorarPastas /xf $IgnorarArquivos
            
$robocopyCommand = 'robocopy $drv "B:\Blending Produções - Backup\Blending Produções - Tyrone Hirt - BC" /e /NJH /NDL /NC /BYTES /MT:4 /l /xd /A-:SH $IgnorarPastas /xf $IgnorarArquivos'
$filesToCopy = Invoke-Expression $robocopyCommand
$numberOfFiles = ($filesToCopy | Select-String -Pattern "T:\\").Count
            
write-host "`nNumber of files to be copied " -NoNewline -f White; write-host "$numberOfFiles" -NoNewline -f Green;
Improve this answer
7
  • Thank you very much for your help and dedication in responding! I tested it and I still can't get the expected result, but I believe we are very close.
    – Tyrone Hirt
    Commented Jan 4 at 23:24
  • The second approach that I mentioned in my post returns the value of "3187" and the code with the suggestion you presented returns this same result, but the number should be "3017" which is the number that the first robocopy command returns from visual way in the console. I also know that this is the correct number because it was the number of files that I placed there in the folder to be copied. I now suspect that the problem is in the way the robocopy command is being called, this would be the only explanation. Do you have any suggestion?
    – Tyrone Hirt
    Commented Jan 4 at 23:25
  • I apologize for the delay, things were a little hectic around here. Follow the pastebin link that results in 3017, but returns 3187 when called through Invoke-Expression. See, I'm using exactly the same line, check that the result in "Files" in the "Copied" column is "3017", but the result I get in the $numberOfFiles variable is "3187". I get the same result using the second approach that I explained in the edit of my post. I've been scratching my head about this for days.
    – Tyrone Hirt
    Commented Jan 5 at 1:18
  • 1
    Sorry, but my English is not that good, I couldn't understand exactly what your suggestion is, can you explain it to me in a simpler way, please? I understood that you suggested closing the question and asking another one to analyze the cause of the problem, but I didn't understand much about the full log suggestions.
    – Tyrone Hirt
    Commented Jan 5 at 16:37
  • 1
    @TyroneHirt Also, just in case this is the problem, try to ensure all files in the new destination "T" drive folders are purged. RoboCopy will not copy the files by default is their file name, file size, and last date modified attributes match. You will have to use the /IS switch iirc to copy over regardless I believe. I didn't think about your destination already containing some of the "Same" files. See superuser.com/questions/1114377/…
    – Vomit IT - Chunky Mess Style
    Commented Jan 5 at 18:11

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