How do I bulk delete the file contents of many sub folders but keep all the actual folders they are in which are labeled?

I need just the bare folders in the order they are named but don't need any of the files which are in the folder. Is there a software or a trick to do this quicker?

 

Thank you @Talula I'm going to give that a try!
I just don't want to have to relabel all my plugin folders by type of plugin when I have to rebuild on a new slate in the DAW.

 

really can't understand what you want to do, sorry =)))

 

Sorry, I explained that pretty bad but I want to keep the folders labeled "Parametric EQ" & "Analog Compressors" etc... So when I start fresh in an empty DAW I won't have to remake those folders or relabel then when sending plugins to be saved in those folders in another daw.

But I needed to clear all the files in the folders so they don't interfere with a new DAW when I send plugins to their corresponding folders.

 

this would be so simple in the Mac finder. click an arrow and it drops down the content of the folder without actually going into the folder to delete its content.

 

I don't have mac and it's pretty simple in Windows tbf, I just never had the need to do this before so I didn't know how.

 

on windows, I would create a new empty folder on the desktop (called whatever your plugins folder is named). open that in an explorer window. open your plugins folder in another explorer so you can see your folder names. create blank folders for them in the folder you made on the desktop. create a copy of your real plugins folder and rename it backup. move it somewhere else and then copy in the folder from the desktop.

only because I do not remember if moving an empty folder with the same name into a directory will offer to replace/overwrite the existing folder with the empty one without keeping its contents.

 

Last edited: Jun 23, 2021

Just to expand on @Talula's

Go to root. In Search Tools select Current folder or All subfolders (in your case the latter)

Show folders only:

Code:

*.* kind:folder
*.* kind:=folder

Show files only:

Code:

*.* kind:<>folder

Ctrl+A, del.. you are left with empty, named folders only

 

FileLocator Pro

 

This is a good way to go.
I have a folders template for Effects plugins I began creating when i installed Waves.
They have most types, so it made a good template.

 

Yeah exactly, I just want to beat myself to the punch that way I don't have to organize it as much.

 

so you are making folders to have separated effects by type? I am so used to it being sorted by company names. how does that benefit your work? I have all of airwindows installed, usually Melda, etc. so if they were in generic categories, it would show all of those plugins every time I want a reverb or whatever. wouldn't that actually be slower, because every time you open that category it is reindexed to display the current/refreshed folder content?

 

Last edited: Jun 23, 2021

How about DOS: DEL [d:][path]filename [/P]

 

I've done that (easily) quite a few times, but I just used directory opus, find filename: *.dll / *.exe (w/e) and it avoids folders. I guess windoze does the same?

Spoiler

Which works pretty well unless you have managed to call your folders something stupid? >____>

 

I like having folders and sections to sort different plugins so I could find them easier because I just remember their location because they are sorted correctly.

 

Yesterday I should have added that I like to have choice within each folder to not just find that specific analog EQ but instead go to the analog EQ section and have some options just in case I want to switch it out for another plugin of the same time.

Without having to scroll through dozens of folders trying to remember which plugin was made by which developer just to do something that would otherwise take me just a literal second.

I'm glad sorting through company names works for you but I would rather pick my nose in the time it takes me to get this accomplished.

 

Years ago i made a file strucktor for all my plugins. it has served me very well. especially if you move to a new pc. or HD dies or whatever.

for inspiration:

Keeping it simple.

Vstplugins/
Synths
Tools
Efx

Inside the "tools" folder:
Comps
Delays
Distortion(saturation)
eq
Misc
Reverb

Also have a folder named "companies" that holds the ussual collection of plugins packs.

 

I DO keep all my plugin DLLs in just vendor folders, but found this method very cool within FL Studio's Plugin Menus.
You have access to the DAW menus for the plugins, as they are just folders on the drive.
They supply different templates for the built-in FL plugins, and you can choose from 3 provided template styles (how 'deep',etc), but from that it is easy to see how one can make one's own categories for 3rd party plugins.
I don't know of any other DAWs that have that access. Some seem to have great menu GUI and easy to organize..others not so much.

Copying folder structure and then deleting just the contents is very handy at times, like for Calendar folders, Artist folders, etc.

 

Exactly! @reliefsan gets it!

Having said that after I got Reaper to scan my other VST folder, I was actually impressed with Reaper's auto organizing abilities. It's not perfect but still a lot better than I thought it would be. My drum folder for example is entirely empty lol

@DoubleTake How do I send a plugin to a certain plugin folder in Reaper?

 

Last edited: Jun 24, 2021