PowerShell: Select file with specific name from the folder and rename it by adding the current date

Question

I sincerely apologize if my question seems too easy. I'm completely new to PowerShell and I'm still learning the basics.

I have a folder E:\LastMonthBackup

Where SQL Server everyday adds one new file named ProjectBackup.bak

I need a PowerShell script that could rename this newly added file by adding the date when the file was created.

So in essence I want each new file to be named ProjectBackup_Year_Month_Day.bak

I don't want the script to touch the files which already have dates in their names. Only this one new ProjectBackup.bak file should be renamed.

Could you please help me to write such script?

I found a related question here, but when I tried applying solution from it in my script it didn't work or maybe I just messed up something. I am totally new to PowerShell so any help will be greatly appreciated.

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 02 '15 at 09:19

If its only one file you want to rename to your pattern, you can try this:

$fileToRename = "E:\LastMonthBackup\ProjectBackup.bak"
if (Test-Path $fileToRename)
{
    $fileName = [system.io.path]::GetFileNameWithoutExtension($fileToRename)
    $dateSuffix = get-date -Format 'yyyy_MM_dd'
    $fileExtension = [system.io.path]::GetExtension($fileToRename)
    $newFileName = '{0}_{1}{2}' -f $fileName, $dateSuffix, $fileExtension
    Rename-Item -Path $fileToRename -NewName $newFileName
}

If the file $fileToRename exisits, the script determines the filename ProjectBackup, the date with format yyyy_MM_dd and the file extension .bak and formats the new string. Finally, it renames the file to the new name.

I edited my answer. Instead of -Format 'yyyy_mm_dd' you have to use 'yyyy_MM_dd' — Martin Brandl, Jul 02 '15 at 09:49
Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my question. Your script works great! — QWE, Jul 02 '15 at 09:49

PowerShell: Select file with specific name from the folder and rename it by adding the current date

1 Answers1