How can I get a list of files in a directory as text?

Question

I have a folder containing a large number of MP3 files. I want to export a list of all the filenames of files in that folder, so I can then send it by email, etc. This can be achieved either by copying the list to the clipboard or saving it to a text file.

A couple of very crude suggestions come to mind:

• I could try connecting via USB to my (Windows) computer and running dir > listing.txt at a command prompt
• Install Terminal Emulator/IDE and run ls > listing.txt

However, I tend to think there must be a better way to do this. Does anyone know of an app which has a feature to do this, for example? (Preferably, the solution should not involve connecting from a PC, although it could do.)

NOTE: Most of the MP3 files do not have correct ID3s. So I'm really after the filenames as opposed to any way of exporting the media information.

Answer 1

There is a simple method for getting a list of files in any folder in Android -

Create an FTP file connection between your Android phone and Windows PC version of FileZilla.

In the FileZilla interface, select your desired folder from the Remote Site pane and drag it to the bottom pane of the file transfer status.

Now in the Queued Files pane, choose the Export option. It will by default save in XML format. Once the exported XML file is created, use Office Excel to get the proper format for edit.

Answer 2

The answer by @the-garret helped me, but I wanted to add one thing. As of November 2024, WinSCP allows you to select a list of files and copy the file names as text.