Answered
Collect files found with File & Directories scanner to shared folder on a server
Hello PDQ Team and Community,
Is there simple way to collect files FROM users computers with PDQ Deploy/Inventory?
We can open file explorer from PDQ Inventory and copy single files, but there are hundreds of computers.
Other way we tried is to use "File & Directory" scanner to find files, for example ".pst" archive -> export file directories to CSV -> Powershell script get line from CSV with source and robocopy it to destination server.
Is there any more "friendly" way in PDQ to collect files found in file scanner? Or maybe you have plans to add such function to copy multiple files found in Inventory?
Thanks!
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Comments
Michael,
You could probably do this with a PowerShell script in a PDQ Deploy package. You could copy the files to your PDQ Deploy repository (which should already be available by UNC path and the PDQ Deploy user should already have permissions to it) or you could create a new UNC share to copy the files to.
Can you give more insight into what kinds of files you are trying to grab? Are they in users' folders or are they in system folders? Would it be the same files on every computer, etc.
Hi,
We looking for .PST files to collect them from users computers and then upload it to Office 365 online archive. Files can be everywhere, se we look for them in system drive, excluding directories such like Windows and Program Files.
Currently we deploying package that kills Outlook on target computer and then use PowerShell to robocopy (with parameters and log file) from source (exported to CSV file directory from PDQ Inventory report) to destination which contain computer name and file directory like in source.
Copying all files to repository isn't greatest place to collect them, because there are many locations that have bad internet connection with main office and sending few GB file would take forever. (idea is to take NAS and plug it on network in localization, copy and take it to office by hand).
Thanks for all ideas!
Would you be physically going to each site with your NAS, harvesting all the PST files, then bringing them back to the main office on the NAS one at a time, or would this happen mostly autonomously/remotely? If you're doing them one at a time you could just rewrite your package to point at the new NAS location at each site as you go and rely on your PowerShell logic to find the .PST files. You could organize the computers via site in PDQ Inventory collections and just push the package to the collection for the remote site you are at.
Mostly yes, when we deliver NAS to location, we going to harvest PST files (this will be done remotely). Plan covers all you mentioned above - to use PowerShell script, create collections and deploy with PDQ.
I just wanted to be sure that, there is no implemented function in PDQ, that can grab files found with "File & Directories" scanner or maybe PDQ team will add such functionality in future.
Our products do not have anything built-in that will do what you are asking for. You will have to do it with PowerShell.