Filenames and file paths in Python

DanPatterson_Retired

UPDATE: 2019-06-25

Test your paths

<SPAN class="keyword token">def</SPAN> <SPAN class="token function">check_path</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN>out_fc<SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">:</SPAN>
    <SPAN class="string token">"""Check for a filegeodatabase and a filename"""</SPAN>
    msg <SPAN class="operator token">=</SPAN> dedent<SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN>check_path<SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>__doc__<SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN>
    _punc_ <SPAN class="operator token">=</SPAN> '!"<SPAN class="comment token">#$%&\'()*+,-;<=>?@[]^`~}{ '</SPAN>
    flotsam <SPAN class="operator token">=</SPAN> <SPAN class="string token">" "</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>join<SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">[</SPAN>i <SPAN class="keyword token">for</SPAN> i <SPAN class="keyword token">in</SPAN> _punc_<SPAN class="punctuation token">]</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN>  <SPAN class="comment token"># " ... plus the `space`"</SPAN>
    fail <SPAN class="operator token">=</SPAN> <SPAN class="token boolean">False</SPAN>
    <SPAN class="keyword token">if</SPAN> <SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN><SPAN class="string token">".gdb"</SPAN> <SPAN class="operator token">not</SPAN> <SPAN class="keyword token">in</SPAN> fc<SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN> <SPAN class="operator token">or</SPAN> np<SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>any<SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">[</SPAN>i <SPAN class="keyword token">in</SPAN> fc <SPAN class="keyword token">for</SPAN> i <SPAN class="keyword token">in</SPAN> flotsam<SPAN class="punctuation token">]</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">:</SPAN>
        fail <SPAN class="operator token">=</SPAN> <SPAN class="token boolean">True</SPAN>
    pth <SPAN class="operator token">=</SPAN> fc<SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>replace<SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN><SPAN class="string token">"\\"</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">,</SPAN> <SPAN class="string token">"/"</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>split<SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN><SPAN class="string token">"/"</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN>
    name <SPAN class="operator token">=</SPAN> pth<SPAN class="punctuation token">[</SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">-</SPAN><SPAN class="number token">1</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">]</SPAN>
    <SPAN class="keyword token">if</SPAN> <SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN>len<SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN>pth<SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN> <SPAN class="operator token">==</SPAN> <SPAN class="number token">1</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN> <SPAN class="operator token">or</SPAN> <SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN>name<SPAN class="punctuation token">[</SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">-</SPAN><SPAN class="number token">4</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">:</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">]</SPAN> <SPAN class="operator token">==</SPAN> <SPAN class="string token">".gdb"</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">:</SPAN>
        fail <SPAN class="operator token">=</SPAN> <SPAN class="token boolean">True</SPAN>
    <SPAN class="keyword token">if</SPAN> fail<SPAN class="punctuation token">:</SPAN>
        tweet<SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN>msg<SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN>
        <SPAN class="keyword token">return</SPAN> <SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN>None<SPAN class="punctuation token">,</SPAN> None<SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN>
    gdb <SPAN class="operator token">=</SPAN> <SPAN class="string token">"/"</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>join<SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN>pth<SPAN class="punctuation token">[</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">:</SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">-</SPAN><SPAN class="number token">1</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">]</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN>
    <SPAN class="keyword token">return</SPAN> gdb<SPAN class="punctuation token">,</SPAN> name<SPAN class="line-numbers-rows"><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN></SPAN>

What 'flotsam' in the _punc_ list do you use? 

Is it a work restriction? 

Did you work institute 'dot' user names than have to backtrack and replace them with underscores?

Would love to hear the stories.

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Warnings

People still continue to be confused about file path naming conventions when using python. Please take the time to read.  Python 3.x is used in ArcGIS Pro so you may encounter a new problem...

pth <SPAN class="operator token">=</SPAN> <SPAN class="string token">"C:\Users\dan_p\AppData\Local\ESRI\ArcGISPro"</SPAN>
  File <SPAN class="string token">"<ipython-input-66-5b37dd76b72d>"</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">,</SPAN> line <SPAN class="number token">1</SPAN>
    pth <SPAN class="operator token">=</SPAN> <SPAN class="string token">"C:\Users\dan_p\AppData\Local\ESRI\ArcGISPro"</SPAN>
         <SPAN class="operator token">^</SPAN>
SyntaxError<SPAN class="punctuation token">:</SPAN> <SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN>unicode error<SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN> <SPAN class="string token">'unicodeescape'</SPAN> codec can't decode bytes <SPAN class="keyword token">in</SPAN> position <SPAN class="number token">2</SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">-</SPAN><SPAN class="number token">3</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">:</SPAN> truncated \UXXXXXXXX escape

<SPAN class="comment token"># ---- the fix is still raw encoding</SPAN>

pth <SPAN class="operator token">=</SPAN> r<SPAN class="string token">"C:\Users\dan_p\AppData\Local\ESRI\ArcGISPro"</SPAN>

pth

<SPAN class="string token">'C:\\Users\\dan_p\\AppData\\Local\\ESRI\\ArcGISPro'</SPAN>‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍<SPAN class="line-numbers-rows"><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN></SPAN>

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READINGS: String and bytes literals

Still not allowed

pth <SPAN class="operator token">=</SPAN> r<SPAN class="string token">"C:\Users\dan_p\AppData\Local\ESRI\ArcGISPro\"</SPAN>   <SPAN class="comment token"># ---- note the \ at the end</SPAN>

  File <SPAN class="string token">"<ipython-input-86-70ede0dfa3fe>"</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">,</SPAN> line <SPAN class="number token">1</SPAN>
    pth <SPAN class="operator token">=</SPAN> r<SPAN class="string token">"C:\Users\dan_p\AppData\Local\ESRI\ArcGISPro\"</SPAN>
                                                         <SPAN class="operator token">^</SPAN>
SyntaxError<SPAN class="punctuation token">:</SPAN> EOL <SPAN class="keyword token">while</SPAN> scanning string literal   <SPAN class="comment token"># ---- which means you 'escaped' the "‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍</SPAN><SPAN class="line-numbers-rows"><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN></SPAN>

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HISTORY:   take the poll first before you read on

I am sure everyone is sick of hearing ... check your filenames and paths and make sure there is no X or Y.  Well, this is going to be a work in progress which demonstrates where things go wrong while maintaining the identity of the guilty.

Think about it

<SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> <SPAN class="keyword token">import</SPAN> arcpy <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> aoi <SPAN class="operator token">=</SPAN> <SPAN class="string token">"f:\test\a"</SPAN> <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> arcpy<SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>env<SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>workspace <SPAN class="operator token">=</SPAN> aoi <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> <SPAN class="keyword token">print</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN>arcpy<SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>env<SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>workspace<SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN> f<SPAN class="punctuation token">:</SPAN> est <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> ‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍<SPAN class="line-numbers-rows"><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN></SPAN> <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> <SPAN class="keyword token">print</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN>os<SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>path<SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>abspath<SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN>arcpy<SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>env<SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>workspace<SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN> F<SPAN class="punctuation token">:</SPAN>\ est <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> <SPAN class="keyword token">print</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN>os<SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>path<SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>exists<SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN>arcpy<SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>env<SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>workspace<SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN> <SPAN class="token boolean">False</SPAN> <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> <SPAN class="keyword token">print</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN>arcpy<SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>Exists<SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN>arcpy<SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>env<SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>workspace<SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN> <SPAN class="token boolean">False</SPAN> <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> <SPAN class="keyword token">print</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN><SPAN class="string token">"{!r:}"</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>format<SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN>arcpy<SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>env<SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>workspace<SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN> <SPAN class="string token">'f:\test\x07'</SPAN> <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> ‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍<SPAN class="line-numbers-rows"><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN></SPAN> <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> os<SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>listdir<SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN>aoi<SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN> Traceback <SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN>most recent call last<SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">:</SPAN> File <SPAN class="string token">"<interactive input>"</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">,</SPAN> line <SPAN class="number token">1</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">,</SPAN> <SPAN class="keyword token">in</SPAN> <SPAN class="operator token"><</SPAN>module<SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> OSError<SPAN class="punctuation token">:</SPAN> <SPAN class="punctuation token">[</SPAN>WinError <SPAN class="number token">123</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">]</SPAN> The filename<SPAN class="punctuation token">,</SPAN> directory name<SPAN class="punctuation token">,</SPAN> <SPAN class="operator token">or</SPAN> volume label syntax <SPAN class="keyword token">is</SPAN> incorrect<SPAN class="punctuation token">:</SPAN> <SPAN class="string token">'f:\test\x07'</SPAN> <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> ‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍<SPAN class="line-numbers-rows"><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN></SPAN> <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> arcpy<SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>ListWorkspaces<SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN><SPAN class="string token">"*"</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">,</SPAN><SPAN class="string token">"Folder"</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN> <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> <SPAN class="string token">"!r:{}"</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>format<SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN>arcpy<SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>ListWorkspaces<SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN><SPAN class="string token">"*"</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">,</SPAN><SPAN class="string token">"Folder"</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN> <SPAN class="string token">'!r:None'</SPAN> <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> ‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍<SPAN class="line-numbers-rows"><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN></SPAN>

Examples... Rules broken and potential fixes

Total garbage... as well as way too long.  Time to buy an extra drive. <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> x <SPAN class="operator token">=</SPAN><SPAN class="string token">"c:\somepath\aSubfolder\very_long\no_good\nix\this"</SPAN> <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> <SPAN class="keyword token">print</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN>x<SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN> <SPAN class="comment token"># str notation</SPAN> c<SPAN class="punctuation token">:</SPAN>\somepath Subfolder ery_long o_good ix his <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> <SPAN class="keyword token">print</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN><SPAN class="string token">"{!r:}"</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>format<SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN>x<SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN> <SPAN class="comment token"># repr notation</SPAN> <SPAN class="string token">'c:\\somepath\x07Subfolder\x0bery_long\no_good\nix\this'</SPAN> <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> ‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍<SPAN class="line-numbers-rows"><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN></SPAN> No r in front of the path. \a \b \n \t \v are all escape characters... check the result Notice the difference between plain str and repr notation -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Solution 1... raw format <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> x <SPAN class="operator token">=</SPAN> r<SPAN class="string token">"c:\somepath\aSubfolder\very_long\no_good\nix\this"</SPAN> <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> <SPAN class="keyword token">print</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN>x<SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN> <SPAN class="comment token"># str notation</SPAN> c<SPAN class="punctuation token">:</SPAN>\somepath\aSubfolder\very_long\no_good\nix\this <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> <SPAN class="keyword token">print</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN><SPAN class="string token">"{!r:}"</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>format<SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN>x<SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN> <SPAN class="comment token"># repr notation</SPAN> <SPAN class="string token">'c:\\somepath\\aSubfolder\\very_long\\no_good\\nix\\this'</SPAN> <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> ‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍<SPAN class="line-numbers-rows"><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN></SPAN> Use raw formatting, the little r in front goes a long way. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Solution 2... double backslashes <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> x <SPAN class="operator token">=</SPAN><SPAN class="string token">"c:\\somepath\\aSubfolder\\very_long\\no_good\\nix\\this"</SPAN> <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> <SPAN class="keyword token">print</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN>x<SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN> <SPAN class="comment token"># str notation</SPAN> c<SPAN class="punctuation token">:</SPAN>\somepath\aSubfolder\very_long\no_good\nix\this <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> <SPAN class="keyword token">print</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN><SPAN class="string token">"{!r:}"</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>format<SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN>x<SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN> <SPAN class="comment token"># repr notation</SPAN> <SPAN class="string token">'c:\\somepath\\aSubfolder\\very_long\\no_good\\nix\\this'</SPAN> <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> ‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍<SPAN class="line-numbers-rows"><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN></SPAN> Yes! I cleverly used raw formatting and everything should be fine but notice the difference between str and repr. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Solution 3... forward slashes <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> x <SPAN class="operator token">=</SPAN><SPAN class="string token">"c:/somepath/aSubfolder/very_long/no_good/nix/this"</SPAN> <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> <SPAN class="keyword token">print</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN>x<SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN> <SPAN class="comment token"># str notation</SPAN> c<SPAN class="punctuation token">:</SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">/</SPAN>somepath<SPAN class="operator token">/</SPAN>aSubfolder<SPAN class="operator token">/</SPAN>very_long<SPAN class="operator token">/</SPAN>no_good<SPAN class="operator token">/</SPAN>nix<SPAN class="operator token">/</SPAN>this <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> <SPAN class="keyword token">print</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN><SPAN class="string token">"{!r:}"</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>format<SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN>x<SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN> <SPAN class="comment token"># repr notation</SPAN> <SPAN class="string token">'c:/somepath/aSubfolder/very_long/no_good/nix/this'</SPAN> <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> ‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍<SPAN class="line-numbers-rows"><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN></SPAN> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Solution 4... os.path functions There are very useful functions and properties in os.path.  The reader is recommended to examine the contents after importing the os module (ie dir(os.path)  and help(os.path) <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> x <SPAN class="operator token">=</SPAN> r<SPAN class="string token">"F:\Writing_Projects\Before_I_Forget\Scripts\timeit_examples.py"</SPAN> <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> base_name <SPAN class="operator token">=</SPAN> os<SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>path<SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>basename<SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN>x<SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN> <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> dir_name <SPAN class="operator token">=</SPAN> os<SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>path<SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>dirname<SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN>x<SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN> <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> os<SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>path<SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>split<SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN>joined<SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN> <SPAN class="comment token"># see splitdrive, splitext, splitunc</SPAN> <SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN><SPAN class="string token">'F:\\Writing_Projects\\Before_I_Forget\\Scripts'</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">,</SPAN> <SPAN class="string token">'timeit_examples.py'</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN> <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> joined <SPAN class="operator token">=</SPAN> os<SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>path<SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>join<SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN>dir_name<SPAN class="punctuation token">,</SPAN>base_name<SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN> <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> joined <SPAN class="string token">'F:\\Writing_Projects\\Before_I_Forget\\Scripts\\timeit_examples.py'</SPAN> <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> os<SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>path<SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>exists<SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN>joined<SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN> <SPAN class="token boolean">True</SPAN> <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> os<SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>path<SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>isdir<SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN>dir_name<SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN> <SPAN class="token boolean">True</SPAN> <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> os<SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>path<SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>isdir<SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN>joined<SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN> <SPAN class="token boolean">False</SPAN> <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> ‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍<SPAN class="line-numbers-rows"><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN></SPAN> ad nauseum -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gotcha's Fixes often suggest the following ... what can go wrong, if you failed to check. (1) <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> x <SPAN class="operator token">=</SPAN> <SPAN class="string token">"c:\somepath\aSubfolder\very_long\no_good\nix\this"</SPAN> <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> new_folder <SPAN class="operator token">=</SPAN> x<SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>replace<SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN><SPAN class="string token">"\\"</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">,</SPAN><SPAN class="string token">"/"</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN> <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> <SPAN class="keyword token">print</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN>x<SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN> <SPAN class="comment token"># str notation</SPAN> c<SPAN class="punctuation token">:</SPAN>\somepath Subfolder ery_long o_good ix his <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> <SPAN class="keyword token">print</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN><SPAN class="string token">"{!r:}"</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>format<SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN>x<SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN> <SPAN class="comment token"># repr notation</SPAN> <SPAN class="string token">'c:\\somepath\x07Subfolder\x0bery_long\no_good\nix\this'</SPAN> <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> ‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍<SPAN class="line-numbers-rows"><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN></SPAN> (2) <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> x <SPAN class="operator token">=</SPAN> r<SPAN class="string token">"c:\new_project\aSubfolder\"</SPAN> File <SPAN class="string token">"<string>"</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">,</SPAN> line <SPAN class="number token">1</SPAN> x <SPAN class="operator token">=</SPAN> r<SPAN class="string token">"c:\new_project\aSubfolder\"</SPAN> <SPAN class="operator token">^</SPAN> SyntaxError<SPAN class="punctuation token">:</SPAN> EOL <SPAN class="keyword token">while</SPAN> scanning string literal ‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍<SPAN class="line-numbers-rows"><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN></SPAN> (3) <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> x <SPAN class="operator token">=</SPAN> <SPAN class="string token">"c:\new_project\New_Data"</SPAN> <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> y <SPAN class="operator token">=</SPAN> <SPAN class="string token">"new_grid"</SPAN> <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> out <SPAN class="operator token">=</SPAN> x <SPAN class="operator token">+</SPAN> <SPAN class="string token">"\\"</SPAN> <SPAN class="operator token">+</SPAN> y <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> <SPAN class="keyword token">print</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN>out<SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN> c<SPAN class="punctuation token">:</SPAN> ew_project\New_Data\new_grid ‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍<SPAN class="line-numbers-rows"><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN></SPAN> (4) <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> x <SPAN class="operator token">=</SPAN> r<SPAN class="string token">"c:\new_project\New_Data"</SPAN> <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> z <SPAN class="operator token">=</SPAN> <SPAN class="string token">"\new_grid"</SPAN> <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> out <SPAN class="operator token">=</SPAN> x <SPAN class="operator token">+</SPAN> z <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> <SPAN class="keyword token">print</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN>out<SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN> c<SPAN class="punctuation token">:</SPAN>\new_project\New_Data ew_grid ‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍<SPAN class="line-numbers-rows"><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN></SPAN> (5)  This isn't going to happen again! <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> x <SPAN class="operator token">=</SPAN> r<SPAN class="string token">"c:\new_project\New_Data"</SPAN> <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> z <SPAN class="operator token">=</SPAN> r<SPAN class="string token">"\new_grid"</SPAN> <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> out <SPAN class="operator token">=</SPAN> x <SPAN class="operator token">+</SPAN> y <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> <SPAN class="keyword token">print</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN>out<SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN> c<SPAN class="punctuation token">:</SPAN>\new_project\New_Datanew_grid ‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍<SPAN class="line-numbers-rows"><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN></SPAN> (6)  Last try <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> x <SPAN class="operator token">=</SPAN> r<SPAN class="string token">"c:\new_project\New_Data"</SPAN> <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> z <SPAN class="operator token">=</SPAN> r<SPAN class="string token">"new_grid"</SPAN> <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> please <SPAN class="operator token">=</SPAN> x <SPAN class="operator token">+</SPAN> <SPAN class="string token">"\\"</SPAN> <SPAN class="operator token">+</SPAN> z <SPAN class="operator token">>></SPAN><SPAN class="operator token">></SPAN> <SPAN class="keyword token">print</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN>please<SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN> c<SPAN class="punctuation token">:</SPAN>\new_project\New_Data\new_grid ‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍<SPAN class="line-numbers-rows"><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN></SPAN> Well this isn't good!   Lesson?  Get it right the first time. Remember the next time someone says... Have you checked your file paths...?????   Remember these examples. Curtis pointed out this helpful link...I will include it here as well Paths explained: Absolute, relative, UNC, and URL—Help | ArcGIS for Desktop That's all for now. I will deal with spaces in filenames in an update.  I am not even to go to UNC paths.

DanPatterson_Retired

update for those that haven't begun to use python 3

Unicode is here, so U and u isn't an issue with linters and no errors will be raised.

If in doubt, throw the oft used

# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-

at the top of your scripts (others can be used of course)

folder <SPAN class="operator token">=</SPAN> r<SPAN class="string token">"C:\User\user\yowser"</SPAN>

<SPAN class="keyword token">print</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN>folder<SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN>
C<SPAN class="punctuation token">:</SPAN>\User\user\yowser<SPAN class="line-numbers-rows"><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN></SPAN>