Exporting file data into a spreadsheet
In the recent case of Willett v Redflex Traffic Systems Inc., the defendants stated that it had scanned and searched what is called “a high-level directory of the data”, and that it produced a spreadsheet of this directory.
This spreadsheet had 538,000 rows, and it includes the following information:
- File name,
- File Type,
- File Size,
- Creation date, and
- Last Modified date.
It is not stated how this information was created. Certainly it could not be through the standard MS-DOS “CMD”, because that would not include both sets of dates.
Production of such information is easy using our file cataloger Filecats Standard. Not only will it produce that data in an Excel spreadsheet, but it also creates a hyperlink to the file and to the folder, so that both can be opened directly from the spreadsheet, and also includes last accessed date. Filecats Standard can also produce this with minimal expenditure.
The case doesn’t say whether the spreadsheet also included file path, but presumably it would have not. It also didn’t say whether attributes such as Read-Only and Hidden were also added. These are included as standard by our cataloging programmes.
For some reason, by the time of the hearing, the Defendants had not handed over this spreadsheet to the Plaintiffs, but were ordered to do so by the court.
Whilst useful, this information might not go far enough. For example, it is notable that author information is not included in the list – this would have been a requirement had this case been held in the jurisdiction of England.
Such additional information easily can be generated by our file cataloguer and metadata extractor, Filecats Professional.
- It can include the user name of the originator of a Word document, or who last saved an Excel spreadsheet.
- For photographs, the camera make and model, resolution and GPS coordinates (if available) are also available.
- For emails exported to MSG format, a host of data is easily available, such as sender, recipients, attachments and even the body of the text.
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If you don’t have Excel, then why not try Filecats Explore and Filecats Metadata, which export the same information to a self-contained table?
Do you have a similar problem? Do you need to create a spreadsheet with details of your computer’s drives? If so, why not download Filecats Standard or Filecats Professional, and take it for a free 7-day trial. You can be one step closer to harnessing your files.
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This website is intended to give general information and does not constitute legal advice. Should you require legal advice please consult a fully qualified and regulated legal advisor.