File matching and sorting

[michalhyza12]

Hello guys

Im trying some new things with UiPath and I ran to a problem.

I have a folder with a files which are named after a extracted values from pdf. PDFs without the date contains name of sender (I have it saved in data table). The sender is variable value. I need to do this

• pair the pdf without date with pdf with date (via matching number in pdf name)
• sort the pdfs by sender to pre-pared folders (always sort the matched couple of pdfs)

So it will be like match 5865105 + 5865105_27.04.2025 then read extracted sender and then by that sender sort the duo to another folder.

I hope this makes sense. I tried everything Im capable of but nothing worked out so every hint helps.

[singh_sumit (Sumit Singh Tariyal)]

Hey @michalhyza12 you can use Directory.getfile method to get the file from the folder.

Directory.GetFiles(folderPath, “*.pdf”)
or else you can use Getfiles from folder activity and filter in with *.pdf extension.

pdfFiles = Directory.GetFiles(folderPath, “*.pdf”)

Group Files by Number
Use a For Each to loop over the files and extract the number part using Regex.
Example Regex for file name: (\d+)
Use Match.Value to get the number.

Build a dictionary:

Dict(of String, List(Of String)) filePairs
For each file:

Add to dictionary :

If filePairs.ContainsKey(number) Then
filePairs(number).Add(filePath)
Else
filePairs(number) = New List(Of String) From {filePath}
End If

For Each Pair → Extract Sender from the One Without Date
Loop over the dictionary:

Identify which of the two files does NOT contain a date in the name (Not Regex.IsMatch(filename, “_\d{2}.\d{2}.\d{4}”))

From that file, extract sender name using whatever method you have (DataTable lookup, keyword matching, or actual PDF text extraction with Read PDF Text).

. Move Files to a Folder Named After the Sender
targetFolder = Path.Combine(rootFolder, senderName)
Use Directory.Exists and Directory.CreateDirectory to ensure the folder exists.

Then use Move File activity to move both files (the pair) to the sender folder.

cheers

[V_Roboto_V]

Hi @michalhyza12

I have an approach, could you try this approach for the Matching Part of your process:
Input:
Dummy PDF Files with the same name:

Workflow:

Explanation:

1. Assign the list of File Names:

listOfFileNames = System.IO.Directory.GetFiles("Data\PDF files\").Select(Function(filePath) System.IO.Path.GetFileName(filePath)).ToList()

2. Iterate through the list and use IF condition to get the files without the Date in the name:
   The IF condition used: Not currentFile.Contains("_")
   The Assign statement:

match = listOfFileNames.FirstOrDefault(Function(fileName) fileName.StartsWith(currentFile.Replace(".pdf","")) AndAlso fileName.Contains("_"))

The Output:

I hope this helps.
Could you let me know on the Sorting Part. I need further explanation.

[DHIAA_RPA]

Try This please:
Use Directory.GetFiles(folderPath, “*.pdf”)to get all PDFs.

Separate into Two Lists:

Use LINQ or For Each to split:

• Files with date (e.g., contain “_”).
• Files without date.

filesWithDate = allFiles.Where(Function(f) Path.GetFileNameWithoutExtension(f).Contains(“_”)).ToList()

filesWithoutDate = allFiles.Where(Function(f) Not Path.GetFileNameWithoutExtension(f).Contains(“_”)).ToList()

For Each fileNoDate In filesWithoutDate
    number = GetNumberFromFilename(fileNoDate)
    matchFile = filesWithDate.FirstOrDefault(Function(f) Path.GetFileNameWithoutExtension(f).StartsWith(number))

    If matchFile IsNot Nothing Then
        pdfText = ReadPDF(fileNoDate)
        sender = ExtractSenderFromText(pdfText)
        
        destinationFolder = Path.Combine(baseOutputFolder, sender)
        Directory.CreateDirectory(destinationFolder)
        
        MoveFile(fileNoDate, Path.Combine(destinationFolder, Path.GetFileName(fileNoDate)))
        MoveFile(matchFile, Path.Combine(destinationFolder, Path.GetFileName(matchFile)))
    End If

[michalhyza12]

I tried It by your workflow but it just game me this without any match (I added some random extra numbers)

[V_Roboto_V]

Extra numbers?
Could you explain the variety of possible inputs. So that i can give you a dynamic solution

[michalhyza12]

Just some random numbers to file name, nothing serious. Now the file names are set as thez are in screenshot.