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Asked: 2024-09-24T20:43:10+05:30 In:

What is the most efficient method to duplicate a file many times in a short period? I’m looking for a solution that minimizes the time taken for this process. Can anyone suggest a fast approach or any particular commands that could help in achieving this goal?

I’ve been wrestling with a pretty frustrating task lately, and I thought I’d reach out to see if anyone here has a quick solution. So, I need to duplicate a file multiple times—like, we’re talking dozens of copies, and I need to do it in a short period. Time is of the essence for this!

I started off just using the usual copy and paste method, but wow, that became a real hassle as the number of copies grew. It’s slow, and I’m finding that it’s way too time-consuming for my needs. Not to mention, I have a massive file to deal with, so I really want to find a method that can do multiple copies in one go without bogging down my computer.

I’ve read a bit about command-line options, and I wondered if there’s something more efficient than my current approach. I’m on a Windows machine, so if there are any handy commands that can streamline this process, that would be amazing! I’ve dabbled with batch files before, but I’m not super experienced with them. Maybe a script that can just run and take care of it for me would be the ticket?

On a Linux setup, I’ve seen people use `cp` with some flags, and I’m curious if that’s something I could adapt on Windows or if there’s an equivalent. Or maybe a Powershell command could do the trick? Honestly, I really just want to avoid the repetitive clicking and dragging. Has anyone figured out a way to make this pain-free?

Also, I’d love to hear if there are any third-party tools that you’ve found to be fast and reliable for this kind of task. Anything that can help minimize my time spent on it would be a lifesaver. Any tips or tricks you guys can share would be super helpful! Looking forward to your thoughts!

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    2 Answers


    1. For quickly duplicating files in Windows, leverage the command line with a combination of a simple batch script and the `copy` command. First, open Notepad and paste the following script, which will create a specified number of duplicates of your file. Replace `C:\path\to\your\file.txt` with the actual path of your file and adjust the `num` variable to the number of copies you want to create:

      @echo off
setlocal enabledelayedexpansion
set num=10
set src=C:\path\to\your\file.txt
for /L %%i in (1,1,%num%) do (
    copy "!src!" "C:\path\to\your\output\file_%%i.txt"
)

      Save this as `duplicate.bat` and run it; it will generate the copies in the specified output folder. If you’re open to using PowerShell, you can achieve the same with a one-liner command. Open PowerShell and enter:

      for ($i=1; $i -le 10; $i++) { Copy-Item "C:\path\to\your\file.txt" -Destination "C:\path\to\your\output\file_$i.txt" }

      In both solutions, make sure the paths comply with your file’s location and desired output location. For third-party tools, consider using applications like FastCopy or TeraCopy, which are built to handle bulk file operations efficiently, reducing lag on your system. These tools provide a user-friendly interface and additional options that might cater to your specific needs.


    2. Sounds like you’re in a bit of a bind with all that copying and pasting! If you want to make your life easier on Windows, you can totally go the command-line route. Since you mentioned batch files, I’ll share a simple example that might just do the trick!

      Here’s a basic batch script that duplicates a file multiple times:

      @echo off
setlocal enabledelayedexpansion

set "source=C:\path\to\your\file.txt"  REM Change this to your file path
set "destination=C:\path\to\destination\folder"  REM Change this to where you want the copies
set "count=10"  REM Change this to how many copies you want

for /l %%i in (1,1,%count%) do (
    copy "!source!" "!destination!\file_copy_%%i.txt"
)

      Just replace the source and destination paths, along with the count variable for how many copies you need. To run it:

      1. Open Notepad or any text editor.
      2. Copy and paste the script above into it.
      3. Save it with a .bat extension (like duplicate_files.bat).
      4. Double-click the batch file to run it!

      As for PowerShell, you can use this one-liner:

      $source = "C:\path\to\your\file.txt"; $dest = "C:\path\to\destination\folder"; $count = 10; 1..$count | ForEach-Object { Copy-Item -Path $source -Destination "$dest\file_copy_$_.txt" }

      Just like before, change the paths and counts as needed. Super simple!

      If you want to explore third-party tools, check out Bulk Rename Utility. It’s a powerful tool for batch file operations, and you might find it quite handy for this kind of stuff.

      Hope this helps you save time and cut out some of that hassle!

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