List of files in a directory containing a string

Hi,

Is there a way to list out all the csv files in a directory that contain a specific string in the data, not in the filename? I want to find all the files that contain "xyz" in the data and then sort the filenames in descending order to pull the most current data for that string.

thanks in advance

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carlmcgowan

Hey BonusCup,

Hopefully I am understanding you correctly. I have attached a workflow that:

Takes a list of files through a directory tool
Opens them with a dynamic input tool (and places the full path in a new column)
Filters in [Column4] for "Find"
- You mentioned you know the field to search, you can change [Column4] to your field name
- The value "Find" is the word you are looking for in the field
Joins back to the original data to use the creation date for sorting
Sorts creation date descending
- You can change this from creation date to last modified date

My input data looks like this:

List files containing a string 20200604.yxmd

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jeff_reynolds

Are you looking for a specific string in the actual file name? If so, then the Directory Tool (In / Out) is what you're looking for. Can't share a workflow, but hopefully the image below gets you where you need to be.

Good luck.

BonusCup

@jeff_reynolds

Thanks, Jeff. I'm actually looking for the filenames where the specific string is actually in the data. I know what column it would be in so I wonder if I could use that as part of the filter too.

carlmcgowan

Hey BonusCup,

Hopefully I am understanding you correctly. I have attached a workflow that:

Takes a list of files through a directory tool
Opens them with a dynamic input tool (and places the full path in a new column)
Filters in [Column4] for "Find"
- You mentioned you know the field to search, you can change [Column4] to your field name
- The value "Find" is the word you are looking for in the field
Joins back to the original data to use the creation date for sorting
Sorts creation date descending
- You can change this from creation date to last modified date

My input data looks like this:

List files containing a string 20200604.yxmd

BonusCup

@carlmcgowan

Thanks, this was exactly what I needed....

That was actually the second part of my workflow I was working on. The first part of my workflow finds multiple different IDs that I need to "Find" in that specific [Column4]. Some days there is only 1 ID and other days there could be multiple IDs to look up. I'm hoping to automate the lookup where I manually entered the ID into the [Column4] filter of your example.

Thanks again, your example worked perfectly. If you have any insight on the dynamic lookup please let me know.

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