PowerShell Script to Generate a CSV Report of Old Files

This PowerShell script generates a CSV report of all files in a specified directory (including subdirectories) that were created or last modified over 6 years ago. The report is saved to a specified location.

Script Description

Variables

• $rootDirectory: Defines the root directory to search for files.
• $outputCsv: Defines the output CSV file path where the report will be saved.
• $currentDate: Stores the current date and time.
• $thresholdDate: Calculates the threshold date, which is 6 years ago from the current date.

Main Script Logic

1. Set Up Variables:

   • $rootDirectory: The directory to search for files.
   • $outputCsv: The path to save the generated CSV report.
   • $currentDate: Get the current date and time.
   • $thresholdDate: Calculate the date that is 6 years ago from the current date.

2. Create Report Array:

   • An array $fileReport is initialized to store file information.

3. Search and Filter Files:

   • Get-ChildItem is used to recursively find all files in the specified directory.
   • Each file is checked to see if its last modified date or creation date is older than the threshold date.
   • If a file meets the criteria, its information is added to the $fileReport array.

4. Export to CSV:

   • The file information stored in $fileReport is exported to a CSV file using Export-Csv.

5. Completion Message:

   • Outputs a message indicating that the CSV report has been generated and saved.

PowerShell Script

# Define the root directory to search for files
$rootDirectory = "C:\path\to\your\directory"

# Define the output CSV file path
$outputCsv = "C:\path\to\your\output\report.csv"

# Get the current date and time
$currentDate = Get-Date

# Calculate the threshold date (6 years ago from current date)
$thresholdDate = $currentDate.AddYears(-6)

# Create an array to store file information
$fileReport = @()

# Get all files in the directory and subdirectories
Get-ChildItem -Path $rootDirectory -Recurse -File | ForEach-Object {
    # Check if the file's last modified date or creation date is older than the threshold date
    if ($_.LastWriteTime -lt $thresholdDate -or $_.CreationTime -lt $thresholdDate) {
        # Add the file information to the report array
        $fileReport += [PSCustomObject]@{
            FilePath      = $_.FullName
            CreationTime  = $_.CreationTime
            LastWriteTime = $_.LastWriteTime
        }
    }
}

# Save the report to a CSV file
$fileReport | Export-Csv -Path $outputCsv -NoTypeInformation

# Indicate that the report generation is complete
Write-Host "CSV report generated and saved to $outputCsv"

Usage

1. Save the Script: Save the above script to a file, for example, GenerateFileReport.ps1.

2. Set the Variables:

   • Modify the $rootDirectory variable to the path of the directory you want to process.
   • Modify the $outputCsv variable to the path where you want to save the CSV report.

3. Run the Script: Open PowerShell with administrative privileges and navigate to the directory where you saved the script. Run the script by typing:

.\GenerateFileReport.ps1

4. Script Output: The script will output a message indicating the path of the generated CSV report. The CSV file will contain the following columns for each file that meets the criteria:
   • FilePath: The full path of the file.
   • CreationTime: The creation date and time of the file.
   • LastWriteTime: The last modified date and time of the file.