Problems getting rid of multiple periods in a FileName

Question

I am trying to take file names that look like:
MAX_1.01.01.03.pdf look like Max_1010103.pdf.

Currently I have this code:

public void Sanitizer(List<string> paths)
{
  string regPattern = (@"[~#&!%+{}]+");
  string replacement = " ";

  Regex regExPattern = new Regex(regPattern);
  Regex regExPattern2 = new Regex(@"\s{2,}");
  Regex regExPattern3 = new Regex(@"\.(?=.*\.)");
  string replace = "";

  var filesCount = new Dictionary<string, int>();
  dataGridView1.Rows.Clear();

  try
  {
    foreach (string files2 in paths)
    {
      string filenameOnly = System.IO.Path.GetFileName(files2);
      string pathOnly = System.IO.Path.GetDirectoryName(files2);
      string sanitizedFileName = regExPattern.Replace(filenameOnly, replacement);
      sanitizedFileName = regExPattern2.Replace(sanitizedFileName, replacement);
      string sanitized = System.IO.Path.Combine(pathOnly, sanitizedFileName);

      if (!System.IO.File.Exists(sanitized))
      {
        DataGridViewRow clean = new DataGridViewRow();
        clean.CreateCells(dataGridView1);
        clean.Cells[0].Value = pathOnly;
        clean.Cells[1].Value = filenameOnly;
        clean.Cells[2].Value = sanitizedFileName;

        dataGridView1.Rows.Add(clean);
        System.IO.File.Move(files2, sanitized);
      }
      else 
      {
        if (filesCount.ContainsKey(sanitized))
        {
          filesCount[sanitized]++;
        }
        else
        {
          filesCount.Add(sanitized, 1);
          string newFileName = String.Format("{0}{1}{2}",
              System.IO.Path.GetFileNameWithoutExtension(sanitized),
              filesCount[sanitized].ToString(),
              System.IO.Path.GetExtension(sanitized));

          string newFilePath = System.IO.Path.Combine(
              System.IO.Path.GetDirectoryName(sanitized), newFileName);
          newFileName = regExPattern2.Replace(newFileName, replacement);
          System.IO.File.Move(files2, newFilePath);
          sanitized = newFileName;

          DataGridViewRow clean = new DataGridViewRow();
          clean.CreateCells(dataGridView1);
          clean.Cells[0].Value = pathOnly;
          clean.Cells[1].Value = filenameOnly;
          clean.Cells[2].Value = newFileName;

          dataGridView1.Rows.Add(clean);
        }

//HERE IS WHERE I AM TRYING TO GET RID OF DOUBLE PERIODS//
        if (regExPattern3.IsMatch(files2))
        {
          string filewithDoublePName = System.IO.Path.GetFileName(files2);
          string doublepPath = System.IO.Path.GetDirectoryName(files2);
          string name = System.IO.Path.GetFileNameWithoutExtension(files2);
          string newName = name.Replace(".", "");
          string filesDir = System.IO.Path.GetDirectoryName(files2);
          string fileExt = System.IO.Path.GetExtension(files2);
          string newPath = System.IO.Path.Combine(filesDir, newName+fileExt);

          DataGridViewRow clean = new DataGridViewRow();
          clean.CreateCells(dataGridView1);
          clean.Cells[0].Value =doublepPath;
          clean.Cells[1].Value = filewithDoublePName;
          clean.Cells[2].Value = newName;
          dataGridView1.Rows.Add(clean);
        }
      }
    }
    catch (Exception e)
    {
      throw;
      //errors.Write(e);
    }
  }

I ran this and instead of getting rid of ALL period (minus the period before a file extension), I get results like: MAX_1.0103.pdf

If there are multiple periods like: Test....1.txt I get these results: Test...1.txt

It seems to only get rid of ONE period. I am pretty new to Regular Expressions and it is a REQUIREMENT for this project. Can anybody help me figure out what I'm doing wrong here?

Thanks!

EDITED to show changes made in code

Answer 1

Something like this?

 string fileName = "MAX_1.01.01.03.pdf";
 fileName = fileName.Substring(0, 1).ToUpper() + fileName.Substring(1).ToLower();
 fileName = fileName.Replace(".", "");

Greets Flo

Answer 2

I'd forgo regexes all together, do it like this:

1. Replace all periods with empty strings
2. Replace the last 3 characters with ("."+Last 3 characters)

Answer 3

Why not use the Path class:

string name = Path.GetFileNameWithoutExtension(yourPath);
string newName = name.Replace(".", "");
string newPath = Path.Combine(Path.GetDirectoryName(yourPath),
                              newName + Path.GetExtension(yourPath));

Each step separated for clarity.

So for the input

"C:\Users\Fred\MAX_1.01.01.03.pdf"

I get the output

"C:\Users\Fred\MAX_1010103.pdf"

which is what I'd expect.

If I supply:

"C:\Users\Fred.Flintstone\MAX_1.01.01.03.pdf"

I get:

"C:\Users\Fred.Flintstone\MAX_1010103.pdf"

again what I expect as I'm not processing the "DirectoryName" part of the path.

NOTE I missed the bit about RegEx being a REQUIREMENT. Still sticking by this answer though.

Answer 4

you could use GetFileNameWithoutExtension instead of GetFileName and then use the approach in one of the answers to this question. RegEx are rather slow for what you are trying to accomplish and notorishly tough to maintain

Answer 5

Say, didn't you already ask this question?

Anyway, I stick by my original answer:

string RemovePeriodsFromFilename(string fullPath)
{
    string dir = Path.GetDirectoryName(fullPath);
    string filename = Path.GetFileNameWithoutExtension(fullPath);
    string sanitized = filename.Replace(".", string.Empty);
    string ext = Path.GetExtension(fullPath);

    return Path.Combine(dir, sanitized + ext);
}

Now, since you specified that you must use RegEx, I suppose you could always force it in there:

string RemovePeriodsFromFilename(string fullPath)
{
    string dir = Path.GetDirectoryName(fullPath);
    string filename = Path.GetFileNameWithoutExtension(fullPath);

    // Look! Now the solution uses RegEx!
    string sanitized = Regex.Replace(filename, @"\.", string.Empty);

    string ext = Path.GetExtension(fullPath);

    return Path.Combine(dir, sanitized + ext);
}

Note: This is basically the exact same approach that ChrisF suggested.

Whoever is requiring that you use RegEx, I suggest you request an explanation why.

Answer 6

This regex will remove all periods except for the period before the 3 or 4 letter extension.

string filename = "test.test......t.test.pdf";    
string newFilename = new Regex(@"\.(?!(\w{3,4}$))").Replace(filename, "");

If you want it to work with 2 letter extensions just change the {3,4} to {2,4}

Good luck!

-Chris