Forum Discussion

Copper Contributor

Feb 06, 2022

Solved

Copy a file and send that copy via email on a loop

Hi, I was just wondering if there is a way to copy a .txt file to a specific destination and then send that copy via email on a loop that runs every hour or so? I've tried to do it but have had no lu...

Windows PowerShell

Harm_Veenstra

Feb 08, 2022

PandaPoodle

Some error handling and checking 🙂

function Test-FileLock {
    param (
        [parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$Path
    )
  
    $oFile = New-Object System.IO.FileInfo $Path
  
    if ((Test-Path -Path $Path) -eq $false) {
        return $false
    }
  
    try {
        $oStream = $oFile.Open([System.IO.FileMode]::Open, [System.IO.FileAccess]::ReadWrite, [System.IO.FileShare]::None)
  
        if ($oStream) {
            $oStream.Close()
        }
        $false
    }
    catch {
        # file is locked by a process.
        return $true
    }
}
  
  
while ($true) {
    #Copying file to other location but checking if it's in use first
    if ((Test-Filelock -path d:\backup\filename.txt) -eq $False) {
        Copy-Item -Path c:\temp\filename.txt -Destination d:\backup -Force:$true
  
        #Sending mail with the file
        Send-MailMessage -SmtpServer smtp.domain.local -port 25 -Subject "Emailing the file" -Body  "See attached file" -Attachments d:\backup\filename.txt -To "Email address removed" -From "Email address removed"
    }
  
    #Wait for 1 hour
    Start-Sleep -Seconds 3600
}

Harm_Veenstra

MVP

Feb 08, 2022

And you can schedule this and keep it running forever 🙂 Did this work for you?

PandaPoodle

Copper Contributor

Feb 08, 2022

It works with one loop but whenever it loops again it doesn't copy the file again. Instead I get an error stating that the Copy-Item cannot access the d:\backup file because its being used by another process. This only happens if I use the email script.

Harm_Veenstra

MVP

Feb 08, 2022

It takes a few seconds to copy and email the file and then you have like an hour of editing time but.. I can imagine if it's in use or locked, that the copy-item could give an error.. But I tested it having a .csv file open in Excel and I can copy the file without issues..

Could you elaborate on "it crashes"? Does the Scheduled Task stop running?

PandaPoodle

Copper Contributor

Feb 08, 2022

The Task continues to run but when it gets to the Copy-Item part that errors out and it just contunes onto the email part of the script.

Harm_Veenstra

MVP

Feb 08, 2022

PandaPoodle

Some error handling and checking 🙂

function Test-FileLock {
    param (
        [parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$Path
    )
  
    $oFile = New-Object System.IO.FileInfo $Path
  
    if ((Test-Path -Path $Path) -eq $false) {
        return $false
    }
  
    try {
        $oStream = $oFile.Open([System.IO.FileMode]::Open, [System.IO.FileAccess]::ReadWrite, [System.IO.FileShare]::None)
  
        if ($oStream) {
            $oStream.Close()
        }
        $false
    }
    catch {
        # file is locked by a process.
        return $true
    }
}
  
  
while ($true) {
    #Copying file to other location but checking if it's in use first
    if ((Test-Filelock -path d:\backup\filename.txt) -eq $False) {
        Copy-Item -Path c:\temp\filename.txt -Destination d:\backup -Force:$true
  
        #Sending mail with the file
        Send-MailMessage -SmtpServer smtp.domain.local -port 25 -Subject "Emailing the file" -Body  "See attached file" -Attachments d:\backup\filename.txt -To "Email address removed" -From "Email address removed"
    }
  
    #Wait for 1 hour
    Start-Sleep -Seconds 3600
}