Simplifying Your Python Code: Efficiently Extracting Only the Files You Want from a List of Files

Discover how to optimize your Python code to extract only `.docx` files while ignoring unwanted formats like `.pdf` or `SS.docx`. Follow our simple solutions to clean up your code and improve efficiency.
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Simplifying Your Python Code: Efficiently Extracting Only the Files You Want from a List of Files

The Challenge

Imagine you need to clean up your code, which currently contains several lengthy lists and conditions just to isolate your target files. Instead of having a long if-elif structure, wouldn’t it be nice to simplify this into a more efficient approach? Let's break this down into actionable steps.

Desired and Undesired Files

What You Want:

Files with the .docx suffix

What You Do Not Want:

Files with these suffixes:

.pdf

SS.docx

Solutions for Simplifying Code

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Solution 2: Using Regular Expressions

If you're familiar with Regular Expressions, this approach can be even more flexible and powerful. Here's how you can accomplish the same task using re:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

How to Use These Functions

Using either of the solutions provided above is simple. Just define your directory and call the function:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

This will return a list of all .docx files that meet your criteria directly.

Conclusion

Embrace simplicity in coding and watch your efficiency soar!