[SOLVED] mv: target `filename' is not a directory

dai_bach · 08-06-2009, 11:31 AM

I'm trying to write a short script that changes the file names in the folders containing music (mp3) files. The current format is often along the lines of:
"Artist Name - Album Name - tracknum - Trackname.mp3"
and I'd like to shorten this to just:
"tracknum Trackname.mp3"

So, I've tried the following approach

Code:

for i in *.mp3; do
  j=`echo $i | cut -d "-" -f3`; #results in "tracknum"
  k=`echo $i | cut -d "-" -f4`; #results in "Trackname.mp3"
  mv $i $j$k;
done

but I get the error:

Code:

mv: target `Trackname.mp3' is not a directory

I'm not expecting it to be a directory! As far as I'm aware, $j$k should give me "tracknum Trackname.mp3". Indeed, this is the result of

Code:

echo $j$k

Could someone please tell me where I'm going wrong or how to solve my problem?

Cheers

David the H. · 08-06-2009, 11:42 AM

I'll bet the problem is spaces in your filenames. They can really mess up scripting. Most *nix users learn to avoid them in filenames whenever possible.

Add this to the start of your script. It changes the internal field separator to a newline only, and your script will treat spaces as just another character from then on.

Code:

#!/bin/bash

IFS='
'

<your script>

Also, take some time to learn about how quotes work in shells and scripts. Surrounding your variables in double-quotes will generally work too. I usually prefer changing the IFS though, as it's more foolproof.

David the H. · 08-07-2009, 01:07 PM

So I take it it worked then.

dai_bach · 08-08-2009, 02:00 AM

Aye, worked a treat. Cheers!