How to move files from multiple folders into one folder

There's a way to do this in Finder itself, no app or script needed. Open the big folder that holds all the others and press Command-F. At the top, next to "Search:", click that folder's name instead of "This Mac". Then hold the Option key and click the + button on the right (it turns into "…"). Set the new row to "None of the following are true" and the line under it to "Kind is Folder".

Now the window shows every file from all those subfolders, and no folders. Press Command-A and drag them onto your new folder. Make that folder outside the big one, on the Desktop for example, and on the same drive so the files move instead of being copied. If two files have the same name, Finder asks what to do. Pick Keep Both and tick "Apply to all" so you're not clicking 200 times. The empty folders stay behind, and you can trash them once you've checked everything arrived.

— Dmitry · developer of ComfortFiles

Take a look at Big Mean Folder Machine. It can do what you asked including resolving potential filename conflicts. Free trial, so you can give it try before buying. So much easier than manually moving files or debugging a script. Here's a basic description of how BMFM merges multiple folders:

Merging several file collections in a single folder

Sometimes, rather than needing to create a new file organization, you need to "un-wind" an existing one. In this case, your files are spread over several source folders and/or subfolders and you wish to place them all into one "big" folder.

The main challenge in doing this, aside from the tedious manual dragging and dropping of files, arises from the

possibility of "file name conflicts", i.e. several files may share the same name and the Finder will

refuse to let you move the files until you given them a unique name.

The basic steps involved in merging two or more folders or folder hierarchies are:

1. 1. Select the folder(s) that contain(s) the files you want to merge
   2. Select a file conflict resolution scheme
   3. Select a destination folder

The Big Mean Folder Machine will take care of the rest.

I use it as well as other apps from the same developer ... A Better Finder Rename, A Better Finder Attributes and Nifty File Lists. They're all nicely designed and work perfectly.

I would be very careful about putting all the files into a single folder. Besides the nightmare of trying to locate a file without any storage structure....you may encounter macOS related issues if you have a huge amount of files. The Finder has been known to have issues with folders containing huge numbers of items. It may take a lot longer for Finder to respond when trying to access a folder with a huge number of items even for simple tasks.

Also consider your backup plan. If you need to recover a specific file, how you will find it if everything is in a single folder?

I'm not sure why you wish to have this setup, but there may be better options to achieve the ultimate goal. You may need a fresh perspective here.

https://xyproblem.info/

Usually: Command-A to select all, and drag to the destination.

Here is how to: Drag and drop items on Mac - Apple Support

I understand you want to extract the contents of a number of folders and deposit those files into "one giant folder" containing only files, and not folders. In other words that destination folder will be "flat" with no subfolder hierarchy.

Is that correct?

Is there an easy way to do this, ...

There probably is an easier way, but the following AppleScript might be a starting point.

It has a flaw in that if it encounters a file with a name matching one that has already been copied, it stops to ask what you want to do. Ideally, it should rename duplicates with "file copy", "file copy 2" etc just like the Finder does, but I don't want to put any more effort into it until I confirm it's what you want to do.

• Note: the script does not alter the contents of the source folders, but back up all data before proceeding (ought to go without saying).

heheh_isn wrote:

I know that; I want to know how to remove the files from the folders so I don't have to go into over 200 different folders and remove them manually.

If you know that, then you know that drag-and-drop moves the selected files (absent use of the option key), so there’s nothing left to delete, so I’m unsure what you’re asking about. Maybe cleaning up old directories?

If the folders are on different volumes, then you hold the Command key while dragging the files, and they get moved.

That is to say, they are copied to the destination folder, and removed from the source folder.

Without holding the Command key, dragging files from one volume to another, just copies them.