How to Move Files in Bulk in SOLIDWORKS PDM Without Breaking References

Vault cleanups usually stall at the same point: everybody agrees on the new folder structure, and nobody wants to move ten thousand files by hand. Moving inside SOLIDWORKS PDM is safe, because PDM updates the references for you. The problem is only the clicking.

The faster way: move from a CSV

PDMShell’s movefromsource moves every file listed in a CSV to its target folder:

# movefiles.csv
FileID,TargetDirectory
1234,\Released
5678,\Archive\2026

movefromsource -source "C:\temp\movefiles.csv"

What is preserved

• References and parent references are updated by SOLIDWORKS PDM.
• File history and versions stay intact.
• Rows with a missing file ID or an invalid format are skipped and logged.
• Permission or state problems are reported, so nothing fails silently.

A typical cleanup

1. Export the files with search ... -csv files.csv to get their IDs.
2. Add a TargetDirectory column in Excel, using formulas based on project, customer or file type.
3. Create the target folders first with mkdir. They must exist before the move.
4. Run movefromsource on a small batch, check the result, then run the rest.

Try it on your own vault

Start a free 7-day trial of PDMShell, see plans and pricing, or read the movefromsource reference. Questions? Book a short call with our team.