File Tools

The File Tools menu (tab DVD Addin → group File and Print) collects the commands that work on files and folders outside Excel: build the folder skeleton for a dossier, list and rename files in bulk, dump a folder tree onto a sheet as an index, shrink site photos, pull images back out of a workbook, and unlock protected sheets. The first four commands of the menu work on tables across workbooks: combine many Excel files into one, split one table into many sheets or files, compare two versions of a sheet, and bring columns over from a lookup table into a main table.

This is the document controller's toolkit: anything that would take hundreds of right-clicks in Windows Explorer is prepared as a table in Excel and then applied in one pass.

Commands in this group

Command	What it does
File List	Write a file listing to the sheet with path, extension, date modified and size
Combine files	Combine many Excel files with the same layout into one new workbook — one sheet per source sheet, or everything stacked into one sheet
Split table	Cut one table into several sheets or files by the values of a key column, repeating the header rows
Compare sheets	Compare two sheets cell by cell, list the differences and highlight them on the returned version
Merge tables	Bring several columns from a lookup table into the main table by a key column, written as values (instead of a row of VLOOKUPs)
Rename Files	Bulk rename from a two-column old name → new name table on the sheet
File Tree	Dump subfolders and files onto the sheet as an indented tree
Create Hyperlink	Turn cells holding text paths into clickable links
Folder Tree	Same as above but folders only, no files
Create Folder	Read a list from the sheet and actually create that folder tree under a parent
UnDiacritics Folder	Rename every file and subfolder to its accent-free form
Resize Images	Batch-shrink JPG/PNG by longest edge into a ResizeOutput sub-folder
Export Images	Extract every embedded image from a closed workbook into a media <filename> folder
Transcribe Audio	Turn a recording into text with AI
Unprotect Sheet	Remove sheet protection and workbook-structure protection from an external file

Combine, split, compare and merge tables

These four commands work on tables rather than folders. Each section below sums up the main steps with a picture of the dialog; click the command name for the full step-by-step guide.

Combine files — collect the files every team sends back

1. Click Add folder… (1) to take every Excel file in a folder (or Add files… to pick them one by one).
2. Choose how to combine: One sheet per source sheet (keeps formulas, formatting and pictures) or Stack everything into one sheet (2) (rows appended, values only — ready to filter or pivot).
3. In stacking mode enter the header rows of each table (3) — the header is kept from the first table only; keep Add columns for source file / sheet (4) to know where each row came from, then click Combine (5).

The result goes into a new workbook, sheet Combined; the source files are only opened for reading. Full step-by-step guide →

Split table — one sheet or one file per package

1. Select the table including its header row, then click Split table — the selection is filled in.
2. Enter the Header rows (1), choose the key column (2) and read the preview line (3): it tells you how many groups will be created and names the first few.
3. Choose Several sheets in a new workbook (4) or one .xlsx per group, then click Split (5).

Every group becomes a sheet named after it, with the header row, borders and column widths repeated; the source table is left unchanged. Full step-by-step guide →

Compare sheets — which cells did the contractor change

1. Pick Version A (original) and Version B (returned) from the list of open sheets; if a file is not open yet, click Open file….
2. Options: compare formulas instead of values, ignore case and stray spaces, highlight differing cells on version B (the add-in asks first and backs the sheet up before colouring). Click Compare.

A new Compare sheet in version B's workbook lists every difference: cell address, both values and the kind of difference (2). Full step-by-step guide →

Merge tables — fill unit rates from the company price list

1. Click ⤴ to pick the main table (header row included) and its key column; do the same for the lookup table — it may be on another sheet or in another open workbook.
2. Under Columns to bring over, tick what you need: a column whose header matches is updated, one that does not is added as a new column on the right. Tick Only fill cells that are empty to keep figures that are already there.
3. Click Merge, check how many columns will be written in the confirmation window (keep Back up sheet so Ctrl+Z works) and click Continue.

The result is plain values, with no lookup formulas left; codes that did not match are listed straight away so you can fix them. Full step-by-step guide →

Building and handing over an electronic dossier

1. Type the folder skeleton on a sheet from row 2 downwards (column A = level 1, column B = level 2, and so on), run Create Folder, pick the parent folder — the whole tree is created on disk.
2. File the documents into it. For phone photos, run Resize Images and enter the longest edge you want (the box is pre-filled with 800 px); the shrunk copies land in the ResizeOutput sub-folder and the originals are untouched.
3. Run File List, press Pick files…, tick the columns you need (Filename, Path, Extension, Date modified, Size), switch on Show column headers and press Apply — the register is written from the active cell down.
4. Use that filename column as the left column, type the standardised names in the right column, then run Rename Files: drag over the two-column body (skip the header row) → pick the folder → the files on disk are renamed to match.
5. If the dossier goes to a public portal or onto a disc, run UnDiacritics Folder on the root so every path is plain ASCII.
6. Run Create Hyperlink over the path column so reviewers can click straight through to each file.
7. Finally, open an empty sheet and run File Tree (or Folder Tree if a folder-level index is enough) → print it with the electronic handover record.

Example

Standardising four inspection photos before filing them. The mapping table sits in B3:C6, the files in D:\Dossier\Inspection_Photos:

Old name (column B)	New name (column C)
IMG_2841.JPG	IR-501_beam_gridline-A.jpg
IMG_2842.JPG	IR-501_beam_gridline-B.jpg
IMG_2843.JPG	IR-502_slab_S1.jpg
IMG_2844.JPG	IR-502_slab_S2.jpg

Select B3:C6 → Rename Files → point at the photo folder: the four files on disk take their new names. Then run Resize Images at 1200 px and insert the copies from ResizeOutput into the site diary.

Tips and caveats

• File Tree and Folder Tree erase everything on the active sheet before writing (there is a confirmation prompt) — always run them on an empty sheet. Create Folder overwrites cell A1 with the parent path.
• In Rename Files, both columns must carry the full extension; a new name that already exists is skipped rather than overwritten, and only files sitting directly in the folder are processed — subfolders are ignored.
• UnDiacritics Folder breaks every hyperlink and formula reference that points at the old paths — run it before creating hyperlinks, never after.
• The File List window is modeless: it writes to whichever cell is active each time you press Apply, so check the cursor first. Save options remembers the configuration for next time.
• Resize Images only handles .jpg, .jpeg and .png, never enters subfolders, and skips images already present in ResizeOutput — delete that folder before re-running at a different size.
• Export Images and Unprotect Sheet both require the source workbook to be closed; Unprotect Sheet edits the original file in place, so back it up first and only use it on files you own or are allowed to edit.
• File Tree, Folder Tree, Create Folder, Transcribe Audio and Unprotect Sheet need a current DVDAddin account (Standard or PRO) and are fully available during the trial; the rest of the menu is free to use.
• Most commands here rename or overwrite for real on disk and cannot be undone with Ctrl+Z; on large trees you can hold ESC to stop midway (File Tree, Folder Tree, Create Folder).
• Combine files and Split table always write to a new sheet or workbook and never change the source files or the source table. Stack everything into one sheet takes values only — use one sheet per source sheet when the formulas must survive.
• Compare sheets compares by cell position: if rows were inserted in the middle of version B, every row below is reported as different. Highlighting overwrites version B's fill colours — keep Back up sheet so you can restore them with Restore data.
• Merge tables overwrites the main table but leaves formula cells untouched; duplicate keys in the lookup table take the first row, like VLOOKUP, and every unmatched code is reported.

See also

• Insert Pictures — bring the resized photos into Excel forms.
• Transcribe Audio — the transcription command in the same File Tools menu.
• PDF and OCR — assemble the PDF dossier once the filenames are standardised.
• Merge to Word — generate documents in bulk, then tidy their names with Rename Files.
• Compare BoQ — compares two bills of quantities by item code instead of cell position (not thrown off by inserted rows).
• Merge rows by key — merge rows sharing a key within one table after Combine files.