Master File Filtering in .NET with GroupDocs.Redaction: Efficient Document Management Techniques

In today’s digital world, efficient file management is key to productivity. Whether organizing documents by type, date, or size, programmable file filtering saves time and resources. This tutorial guides you through using GroupDocs.Redaction for .NET to create powerful file filtering solutions that enhance your workflow.

What You’ll Learn:

Setting up GroupDocs.Redaction in a .NET environment
Techniques for filtering files by extension, modification date, creation time, path, and size
Combining filters with logical operators (AND, OR) to refine results
Real-world applications of file filtering
Performance optimization tips

Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure you have:

.NET Framework or .NET Core installed on your system.
Basic knowledge of C# and a development environment like Visual Studio.

Required Libraries & Setup

To begin with GroupDocs.Redaction for .NET:

.NET CLI

dotnet add package GroupDocs.Redaction

Package Manager Console

Install-Package GroupDocs.Redaction

NuGet Package Manager UI Search for “GroupDocs.Redaction” and install the latest version.

Acquire a license to use GroupDocs.Redaction. You can obtain a free trial, apply for a temporary license, or purchase a full license through their official site.

Setting Up GroupDocs.Redaction for .NET

Start by initializing GroupDocs.Redaction in your project:

using GroupDocs.Redaction;
// Initialize Redactor with the path to your document.
Redactor redactor = new Redactor("your-document-path");

Ensure you’ve set up your environment correctly, including acquiring a license as mentioned above.

Implementation Guide

Feature: File Extension Filter

Filter files by their extensions using GroupDocs.Redaction. This is useful for processing or organizing documents of specific formats like FB2, EPUB, and TXT.

Create and Apply a File Extension Filter

using GroupDocs.Search;
using GroupDocs.Search.Options;

string indexFolder = "YOUR_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY";
string documentsFolder = "YOUR_DOCUMENT_DIRECTORY";

IndexSettings settings = new IndexSettings();
// Allow only FB2, EPUB, and TXT files.
DocumentFilter filter = DocumentFilter.CreateFileExtension(".fb2", ".epub", ".txt");
settings.DocumentFilter = filter;

// Create an index with applied filters.
Index index = new Index(indexFolder, settings);
index.Add(documentsFolder);

This snippet sets up a filter that only includes documents with the extensions .fb2, .epub, and .txt. The CreateFileExtension method is key to this functionality.

Feature: Logical NOT Filter

Exclude specific file types from your results by inverting the extension filter.

Exclude HTM, HTML, and PDF Files

using GroupDocs.Search;
using GroupDocs.Search.Options;

string indexFolder = "YOUR_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY";
string documentsFolder = "YOUR_DOCUMENT_DIRECTORY";

IndexSettings settings = new IndexSettings();
DocumentFilter excludeFilter = DocumentFilter.CreateFileExtension(".htm", ".html", ".pdf");
DocumentFilter invertedFilter = DocumentFilter.CreateNot(excludeFilter);
settings.DocumentFilter = invertedFilter;

Index index = new Index(indexFolder, settings);
index.Add(documentsFolder);

By applying a NOT filter, you effectively remove unwanted file types from your indexing process.

Feature: Creation Time Filters

Organize and access files based on their creation dates using logical filters to specify date ranges.

Filter by Creation Date Range

using GroupDocs.Search;
using GroupDocs.Search.Options;
using System;

string indexFolder = "YOUR_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY";
string documentsFolder = "YOUR_DOCUMENT_DIRECTORY";

IndexSettings settings = new IndexSettings();
DocumentFilter filter = DocumentFilter.CreateCreationTimeRange(new DateTime(2017, 1, 1), new DateTime(2018, 6, 15));
settings.DocumentFilter = filter;

Index index = new Index(indexFolder, settings);
index.Add(documentsFolder);

This example demonstrates how to include files created between January 1, 2017, and June 15, 2018.

Feature: Modification Time Filters

Similar to creation time filters, you can filter documents based on their last modification date.

Filter by Modification Date

using GroupDocs.Search;
using GroupDocs.Search.Options;
using System;

string indexFolder = "YOUR_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY";
string documentsFolder = "YOUR_DOCUMENT_DIRECTORY";

IndexSettings settings = new IndexSettings();
DocumentFilter filter = DocumentFilter.CreateModificationTimeUpperBound(new DateTime(2018, 6, 15));
settings.DocumentFilter = filter;

Index index = new Index(indexFolder, settings);
index.Add(documentsFolder);

This snippet filters documents modified before June 15, 2018.

Feature: File Path Filter

Use regular expressions to filter files based on text patterns in their paths.

Filter by File Path

using GroupDocs.Search;
using GroupDocs.Search.Options;
using System.Text.RegularExpressions;

string indexFolder = "YOUR_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY";
string documentsFolder = "YOUR_DOCUMENT_DIRECTORY";

IndexSettings settings = new IndexSettings();
DocumentFilter filter = DocumentFilter.CreateFilePathRegularExpression("Ipsum", RegexOptions.IgnoreCase);
settings.DocumentFilter = filter;

Index index = new Index(indexFolder, settings);
index.Add(documentsFolder);

This example filters files that contain the word ‘Ipsum’ in their path.

Feature: File Length Filters

Control file inclusion based on size with range filters to include only those within a specified byte range.

Filter by File Size

using GroupDocs.Search;
using GroupDocs.Search.Options;

string indexFolder = "YOUR_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY";
string documentsFolder = "YOUR_DOCUMENT_DIRECTORY";

IndexSettings settings = new IndexSettings();
DocumentFilter filter = DocumentFilter.CreateFileLengthRange(50 * 1024, 100 * 1024);
settings.DocumentFilter = filter;

Index index = new Index(indexFolder, settings);
index.Add(documentsFolder);

This setup filters files between 50 KB and 100 KB in size.

Feature: Logical AND Filter

Combine multiple conditions to create precise filtering criteria using logical operators.

Combine Filters with Logical AND

using GroupDocs.Search;
using GroupDocs.Search.Options;
using System;

string indexFolder = "YOUR_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY";
string documentsFolder = "YOUR_DOCUMENT_DIRECTORY";

IndexSettings settings = new IndexSettings();
DocumentFilter filter1 = DocumentFilter.CreateCreationTimeRange(new DateTime(2015, 1, 1), new DateTime(2016, 1, 1));
DocumentFilter filter2 = DocumentFilter.CreateFileExtension(".txt");
DocumentFilter filter3 = DocumentFilter.CreateFileLengthUpperBound(8 * 1024 * 1024);
DocumentFilter finalFilter = DocumentFilter.CreateAnd(filter1, filter2, filter3);
settings.DocumentFilter = finalFilter;

Index index = new Index(indexFolder, settings);
index.Add(documentsFolder);

This example filters files that are created between 2015 and 2016, have a .txt extension, and are less than 8 MB in size.

Feature: Logical OR Filter

Expand your search criteria by combining different conditions using logical OR operations.

Combine Filters with Logical OR

using GroupDocs.Search;
using GroupDocs.Search.Options;

string indexFolder = "YOUR_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY";
string documentsFolder = "YOUR_DOCUMENT_DIRECTORY";

IndexSettings settings = new IndexSettings();
DocumentFilter txtFilter = DocumentFilter.CreateFileExtension(".txt");
DocumentFilter notTxtFilter = DocumentFilter.CreateNot(txtFilter);
DocumentFilter bound5Filter = DocumentFilter.CreateFileLengthUpperBound(5 * 1024 * 1024);
DocumentFilter bound10Filter = DocumentFilter.CreateFileLengthUpperBound(10 * 1024 * 1024);
DocumentFilter txtSizeFilter = DocumentFilter.CreateOr(txtFilter, notTxtFilter, bound5Filter, bound10Filter);
settings.DocumentFilter = txtSizeFilter;

Index index = new Index(indexFolder, settings);
index.Add(documentsFolder);

This example combines filters to include files that are either .txt or within specified size ranges.

Conclusion

By mastering these filtering techniques with GroupDocs.Redaction for .NET, you can significantly improve your document management workflow. Implement these strategies to organize and manage your files efficiently, saving both time and resources.