When a folder accumulates a large number of Excel files such as xlsx and xls, individually opening them to check the path, size, creation time, modification time, worksheet count, and Office metadata is very time-consuming. This article introduces how to use the "File Information Statistics" feature in HeSoft Doc Batch Tool to consolidate the basic information and detailed metadata of multiple Excel files into a single Excel table at once, making it suitable for scenarios such as data inventory, archive organization, project handover, and file auditing.
In daily office work, many teams encounter the same issue: a folder contains dozens, hundreds, or even more Excel files, but when it’s time to compile a list, no one knows the full path, file size, creation time, modification time, access time, parent folder, Office author information, or the exact number of sheets within each workbook. If you manually open each xlsx or xls file one by one to check, it is not only slow but also prone to omissions and errors. This makes subsequent tasks like asset inventory, file archiving, or project handovers difficult to verify.
This article aims to solve the problem of "batch counting information from many Excel files and summarizing it into an Excel spreadsheet." With the help of office software like HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , the repetitive tasks of checking file properties, copying paths, and counting spreadsheets can be done by the software in batches. You simply import the Excel files you need to count, select the detailed Excel file information, set a save location, and run the process. You'll then get a structured summary table, which can be further filtered, sorted, checked for duplicates, or sent to colleagues for review.
Application Scenarios: When do you need to batch count Excel file information?
Batch counting Excel file paths, sheet counts, and metadata is not just about "listing file names." In many real office scenarios, this information helps us quickly create a file ledger and reduce the cost of manual organization.
First, file archiving and handover scenarios. For example, training materials, course schedules, score analysis sheets, project plan sheets, and progress record sheets are scattered across multiple folders. Before handing them over to another colleague, you need to list each file's name, full path, extension, size, creation time, and modification time so the recipient can check for any missing items.
Second, file auditing and compliance checking scenarios. Some organizations need to inspect metadata in Office documents, such as author, title, subject, tags, comments, creation time, and last saved time. Manually checking the properties of each Excel file is very tedious. Using a batch statistics function allows for a one-time export for centralized review.
Third, data asset inventory scenarios. A department may have accumulated a large number of xlsx and xls workbooks over time, but it may not be clear which files are still being updated, which haven't been modified for a long time, or which have a high number of sheets. After a batch summary, you can quickly sort by modification time, size, sheet count, and other fields to determine the priority for subsequent cleanup, backup, or merging.
Fourth, project collaboration and file management scenarios. When multiple project members jointly maintain Excel files, an administrator often needs to generate a directory list. The list needs to include not only file names but also the file's location path, containing folder, and sheet count. This allows for quick file location and assessment of the file structure's complexity.
Result Preview: A batch of scattered Excel files before processing
Before processing, you can see multiple Excel workbooks in the File Explorer, such as ClassNoteIndex.xlsx, CourseReviewMatrix.xlsx, ExamScoreAnalysis.xlsx, GrammarExerciseBook.xlsx, etc. Although the system list can show some modification times, file types, and sizes, this information is scattered in the explorer interface and cannot directly form a filterable, copyable, and reportable Excel ledger. More importantly, the sheet count and Office metadata are usually not directly viewable in this list.
If statistics are gathered manually at this point, one usually needs to copy the file name, then the path, sometimes right-click to view properties, and even open each Excel file to count the sheets. When there are many files, the whole process takes up a lot of time, and it's difficult to ensure a uniform format.
Result Preview: A complete Excel file information summary table after processing
After processing, the software generates an Excel summary table. The table lists information for each file in rows and columns, showing the name, path, extension, size, containing folder name, containing folder path, creation time, modification time, access time, and Office metadata fields. For Excel files, you can also see detailed information fields like "Excel - Number of Sheets," which is the content most easily missed and most time-consuming during manual counting.
The value of this summary result is that all file information is placed into a standard Excel spreadsheet. You can then directly use filtering, sorting, pivot tables, conditional formatting, and other methods for secondary analysis. For example, you can filter for xlsx or xls by extension, find the most recently updated files by modification time, identify structurally complex workbooks by sheet count, or determine if files are concentrated in the same project directory by their paths.
Steps: Using the File Information Statistics Feature to Batch Generate an Excel List
Step 1: Enter "File Organization" and select "File Information Statistics"
After opening HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , select "File Organization" from the function categories on the left. In the tool cards on the right, you can see "File Information Statistics," with descriptive text indicating that this function is used for batch counting information like file names, paths, sizes, times, and metadata. Our goal here is to count the paths, sheet counts, and metadata for a large number of Excel files, so we select this function to enter the processing flow.
The purpose of this step is to find the function specifically for "information extraction and statistics" from among the many batch processing tools, rather than modifying file content. After entering the correct function, the software will guide you through a wizard to import files, set processing options, set a save location, and start processing.
Step 2: Add Excel files or import files from a folder
After entering the "File Information Statistics" page, you can see action buttons like "Add Files," "Import Files from Folder," "Clear," and "More" at the top of the interface. For a small number of Excel files, you can click "Add Files" to select them manually; if the files are concentrated in a specific directory, it's better to use "Import Files from Folder" to add the xlsx, xls, and other Excel files from that folder to the pending list all at once.
After importing, the list will display basic information such as sequence number, name, path, extension, creation time, and modification time. The screenshot shows that 20 records were imported, and the full path of each file is already displayed in the table. There is also a delete action on the right, making it easy to remove files you don't need to count; the page also provides filtering, sorting, and paging display, which is convenient for checking when the number of files is large.
At this step, it's recommended to double-check two things: first, whether the number of files matches expectations, for example, if the record count shown in the bottom summary is correct; second, whether the paths originate from the target folder, to avoid including Excel files from unrelated directories in the count. After confirming it's correct, click "Next" at the bottom of the page.
Step 3: Check "Excel File Details" in the additional information
Once in Step 2, "Set Processing Options," you can see the "Additional Information" area, which includes options for Word file details, Excel file details, PPT file details, PDF file details, text file details, image file details, and more. Since our goal is to count the number of sheets in Excel workbooks and Office metadata, we need to check "Excel File Details."
This step is very critical. If you only count basic file information, you can usually get fields like file name, path, extension, size, creation time, and modification time. But by checking Excel File Details, the software will add fields related to the Excel workbooks in the results, such as the number of sheets. For users who need to assess file structure complexity or check the scale of workbook content, this option significantly reduces the time spent opening files one by one to inspect them.
Step 4: Set the save location and start processing
Following the workflow prompt at the top of the page, the subsequent steps are "Set Save Location" and "Start Processing." After completing the processing option settings, click "Next" again and follow the software's prompts to choose a save location for the results file. It is recommended to save to a directory that is easy to find, such as the current project folder, a temporary directory on the desktop, or a dedicated statistics results folder.
After setting the save location, proceed to the final step and start processing. The software will read the basic properties and detailed information of the Excel files one by one according to the imported list and write the statistical results into a new Excel spreadsheet. The more files there are, the longer the processing may take, but compared to manually opening each file, the overall efficiency is much higher, and it also maintains uniform field naming and table structure.
Common Questions and Notes
1. Can it only count xlsx files?
The example files in the screenshot are mainly in xlsx format, but when organizing Excel files in practice, you might also encounter workbook formats like xls and xlsm. Before importing, you can first organize by file type to ensure the Excel files you need to count have been added to the list. If the folder also contains Word, PPT, PDF, image, and other files, you can also use filtering and the selection of additional information to prevent the statistical results from being too cluttered.
2. Why check Excel File Details?
Because our goal extends beyond exporting just file names and paths to include the number of Excel sheets and related Office metadata. If Excel File Details is not checked, the results might only contain basic file attributes and fail to meet the needs of a workbook structure inventory. Therefore, in the second step of setting processing options, you should specifically confirm that "Excel File Details" is checked.
3. Will a long path affect subsequent viewing?
The statistical results typically retain the full path. When the path is very long, it might not be fully displayed in the Excel spreadsheet, but the actual cell content can still be copied and viewed. It is recommended to adjust the column width appropriately after processing, or to use word wrap and filtering functions for viewing. For project handovers, a full path is more reliable than a short file name because it points directly to the file's location.
4. Can the statistical results be edited further?
The result after processing is an Excel spreadsheet, allowing you to continue with operations like filtering, sorting, annotating, and adding supplementary notes. For example, you can add columns like "Is Archived," "Responsible Person," and "Remarks" to expand the file information list generated by the software into a more complete document ledger.
Summary: Hand over the repetitive task of checking file properties to a batch processing tool
Batch counting Excel file paths, sheet counts, and Office metadata is essentially about transforming scattered file information into a structured spreadsheet. HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , as an office software, is well-suited for this type of highly repetitive, low-creativity file organization task: import multiple Excel files at once, uniformly extract their names, paths, times, sizes, containing folders, and detailed metadata, and then output them into an analyzable Excel summary table.
If you are organizing a large number of xlsx and xls workbooks, or need to create a list for departmental materials, project files, course schedules, or data reports, it is recommended to prioritize using the "File Information Statistics" function to generate the foundational ledger. This reduces the time spent on manual copy-pasting and lowers the risk of omissions and statistical errors, making subsequent archiving, auditing, and collaboration more efficient.