Unfolding files

Good day. Is there any way to unfold several files at the same time automatically so that i can create a ToC?
Thanks for your help

Can you provide an example of “unfolding” files

edit: answered below; un-folder files - selecting files within a folder for processing by selecting the folder

Not sure what the question is. Do you mean select files by cmd click, and then tools>create table of contents?

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Yes correct. Suppose I have dozen a fine in a location with documents in these file (pdf) so i would like to unfold all these files so i can see their contents, i can do that manually but if i have hundred of files that is laborious. So Unfold the files just as I would do in an Outliner (Omnioutliner for ex)

Please provide a screen capture of what and where you’re folding things.

Let me rephrase

  1. Let say I have 20 folders in my DB
  2. I want to unfold these folders so i can see the content (pdf) and can get a ToC
    Is there anyway to select all folders and unfold them automatically instead of doing it one by one

Got it; the Unfolding Files request is like un-folder

I could do this with an applescript using children of selection
A script also allows creation of a customized Table of Contents

Are all these groups enclosed in one group? Then just Option-click on the enclosing group’s triangle to expand (“unfold”) the group and all its subgroups in List view.

These things are actually called “groups” in DT. And it’s a good idea to stick to the correct terminology, as that prevents misunderstandings.

  • Files in DT are files in Folder
  • Groups in DT have no representation in Finder unless you use indexed folders
  • in which case a group can be a folder
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What @DTLow seems to be describing is ungrouping. That’s possible by selecting a group or several and choosing Data > Ungroup Items. I don’t think that’s what you’re looking for.

Beyond @cgrunenberg’s suggestion for Option-clicking the disclosure triangle to expand a group and its subgroups, you can make a smart group in the parent group with criteria of Kind is Any Document, if you want to be able to see all the documents within those groups.

Yes you are right, the terminology i used was totally inaccurate…due to the fact that my DB are in French and I got confused …

Got it …I did not even notice these commands existed …still it works in List views and only in the left panel, it seems it does NOT expand in the main window in List view, is that normal?

My purpose is to expand or condense all groups so that I can create a ToC easily as I would do with Omnioutliner then i would not really need Omnioutliner any longer …

Please clarify, I’m not sure what you’re describing here. The “left panel” is the sidebar but not the List view, by the way,

When i control-click a group in the side bar i have the two options expand/condense but i do not have these two options when i control-click in List view

Path to perfection:
Just a small detail : you translated Table of Contents by Table des matiéres it should be table des matières the accent is an “accent grave” not an “accent aigu”

Not sure who did it but not me :joy: Anyway, thanks for the hint.

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When i control-click a group in the side bar i have the two options expand/condense but i do not have these two options when i control-click in List view

Again, do you actually need to expand them all to do what you’re intending to do?
The smart group I suggested would show you all the documents in the selected parent group and its subgroups. You could select the desired documents and create a table of contents via the Tools menu command.

Thanks you very much … it works like a charm, very smart … Exactly what i wanted

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You’re very welcome :slight_smile: