Wildcards in Directory Path for Real-Time File Collection

The Directory Path field supports standard common wildcard asterisk (*) or the question mark (?) for matching directory names. However, it is supported only for end directory/subdirectory mentioned in the provided path.

Common Considerations
Here are some common considerations:
  • To collect the files from all the subFolders, enter //sharepoint/mainFolder/subFolder*/ in the Directory Path field and FileName*.log in File(s) Include field.
  • Wildcard characters in the Directory Path field is supported only to the last subdirectory on a provided path. Wildcards on parent directories are not allowed.
  • Wildcard characters in directory path filed is strictly applied to the directory level file type only and not to the files in the parent directory.
  • Do not use multiple wildcards in the Directory Path field.

Here are some valid scenarios for using wildcard in the Directory Path field:

Valid Scenarios Description
//sharepoint/mainFolder/subFolder*/ Selects all subdirectories whose names starts with subFolder in the //sharepoint/mainFolder directory.
//sharepoint/mainFolder/sub*Folder/ Selects all subdirectories whose names starts with sub and ends with Folder in //sharepoint/mainFolder directory.
//sharepoint/mainFolder/*subFolder/ Selects all subdirectories whose names ends with subFolder in //sharepoint/mainFolder directory.
//sharepoint/mainFolder/*/ Selects all subdirectories in //sharepoint/mainFolder directory.

Here are the invalid scenarios for using wildcard in the Directory Path field:

Invalid Scenarios Description
//sharepoint/mainFolder*/subFolder/ Wildcards are not allowed anywhere in parent directory name.
.//sharepoint*/mainFolder/subFolder/ Wildcards are not allowed anywhere in parent directory's hierarchy.
//sharepoint/mainFolder/sub*Folder*/ Multiple wildcards are not supported.

Example of wildcard characters in Directory Path field for real-time collection: 

//sharepoint/mainFolder/subFolder1/FileName1.log

//sharepoint/mainFolder/subFolder2/FileName2.log

//sharepoint/mainFolder/subFolder3/FileName3.log

...

//sharepoint/mainFolder/subFolder70/FileName70.log
To collect the files from all the subFolders enter //sharepoint/mainFolder/subFolder*/ in the Directory Path field and FileName*.log in the File(s) Include field.
Note: Wildcard characters in Directory Path field is supported only to the last subdirectory on a provided path. Wildcards on parent directories are not allowed. Also, the wildcard characters in directory path is strictly applied to the directory level file type only and not to the files in the parent directory.

Do not use multiple wildcards in Directory Path.

Related concepts