How to copy nested folders list?

Question

Is there a way to copy file lists stored in multiple nested folders into other programs, e.g. MS Excel? There was such feature in Mac OS9. For instance, if you copy folder contents of multiple folders located within each other, and paste it into Excel workbook, the files in those folders were placed into indented list, with the level of indentation reflecting the nesting order of the original folders. This was a very useful feature to create records of all files you have in an archive, and for creating databases of the multiple folders content. Is there such a feature in Mac OS X? If not, what could be another solution for capturing names of all files stored within a set of nested folders?

Answer 1

komich,
You can do something similar using Automator. Open up your Mac's Automator program and set up a workflow using the following actions:
1) Ask for Finder Items -- this action from Automator's Finder Library. Select from the drop-down, Type: Files and Folders.
2) Get Folder Contents -- also from the Finder Library. Check "Repeat for each subfolder found."
3) New Text File -- from Automator's TextEdit Library.
Save the Workflow as an application.
When the application is run you will be presented with a Choose a Finder Item dialog. Navigate to the desired folder and press Choose. A new text file will be generated with a list of the nested files and folders, albeit, without the indentation formatting you're looking for.
Note that the workflow can also be saved either as a droplet or a Finder Plug-in. Simply eliminate the Ask for Finder Items action, so that Get Folder Contents and New Text File become steps 1 and 2 respectively. If saved as a droplet, drag and drop a folder onto the saved application icon; if saved as a Finder Plug-in, right-click, or Control-click, on a folder and select your workflow from the Automator contextual menu.
Good luck!
Andrew99