Using os.walk in Python

Question

I am trying to replace a character in multiple files in multiple subdirectories (over 700 files in 50 or so subfolders). This files works if I remove the path and place the file in the specific folder; however, when I try and use the os.walk function to go through all subdirectories, I get the following error:

[Error 2] The system cannot find the file specified

It points to the last line of my code. Here is the code in its entirety:

import os

path = "C:\Drawings"

for root, dirs, files in os.walk( path ): # parse through file list in the current directory 
    for filename in files: #os.listdir( path ):
        if filename.find("~"):# > 0: # if a space is found
            newfilename = filename.replace("~","_") # convert spaces to _'s
            os.rename(filename,newfilename) # rename the file

Your filename is relative. You need to use os.path.join(root, filename). The same holds for newfilename. — Andrea Corbellini
– Andrea Corbellini, Commented Sep 3, 2015 at 16:14

Martin Evans · Accepted Answer · 2015-09-03 16:33:54Z

3

As has been mentioned, you need to give the rename function full paths for it to work correctly:

import os

path = r"C:\Drawings"

for root, dirs, files in os.walk( path ): # parse through file list in the current directory 
    for filename in files:
        if "~" in filename:
            source_filename = os.path.join(root, filename)
            target_filename = os.path.join(root, filename.replace("~","_")) # convert spaces to _'s
            os.rename(source_filename, target_filename) # rename the file

It is also best to add an r before your path string to stop Python trying to escape what comes after the backslash.

answered Sep 3, 2015 at 16:33

Martin Evans

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2 Comments

Joe M. Crane Over a year ago

Thank you for this. That taught me quite a bit and solved my problem.

Martin Evans Over a year ago

I'm glad it solved your problem. You can also click on the tick next to the answer to accept the solution. This will also get you a badge.

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