Batch Data Generator

The Batch Data Generator creates files or folders in bulk. It is useful for testing, placeholders, benchmarks, or filling out a template folder structure. Open it from the Batch Data Generator button in the main toolbar.

Output type

At the top, choose what to create:

• Dummy Files: files of a defined size.
• Folders: empty folders. (Size and allocation options do not apply here.)

How many & Hidden

Set the number of items to create, and optionally tick Hidden so the created items get the hidden attribute.

Size (files only)

Mode	Behaviour
Fixed size	Every file is the size you enter, in the chosen unit (KB, MB, GB, or TB).
Random size	Each file gets a random size between a minimum and a maximum, set by the sliders or by typing the numbers. The unit applies to both.

Allocation type (files only)

Type	Meaning
Sparse	Logical files with minimal disk usage: created instantly, using almost no real space, while still reporting the chosen size.
Fully Allocated	Physical files that really use the space on disk.

Before a fully-allocated run, ANE checks free space and warns you if it would not fit. If a drive fills up mid-run, ANE stops, removes the unfinished file, and tells you what happened. See Warnings and Safety.

Name and format

Choose how the created items are named:

• Customized name: build names from patterns (see Name Patterns Reference). For files, you also choose a format (extension).
• Mirror of content: place a twin next to every existing file, using your chosen size options. You decide whether the twin keeps the original format (with a twin suffix) or takes a new format from the list. A Scope setting controls how deep the mirroring reaches.

Presets

Pick a ready-made pattern from the presets list, each shows a live preview of the first name. Presets include hour patterns that run from 01-00 to 24-00.

Date sequences

Turn on Date sequence to create one item per date across a start-to-end range, with a step in days. The {date:…} token in your pattern then counts up day by day, and the number of items comes from the range.

Preview, progress, and stop

• Preview lists exactly what would be created, including the total size, before anything is generated.
• A progress bar and log track the run; Clear empties the log.
• Stop takes effect within a moment, even in the middle of a very large file, and the unfinished file is removed automatically.
• All settings are locked while a run is in progress, and unlock again when it finishes.

Example: 100 test files of 50 MB

1. Open the Batch Data Generator and stay on Dummy Files.
2. How many: 100 · Size: Fixed 50 MB · Allocation: Fully Allocated.
3. Name pattern: choose a preset such as File_{n:000}.
4. Click Preview to confirm the total size (about 5 GB), then Generate.

See also

• Name Patterns Reference: every naming token explained.
• Warnings and Safety: disk-space handling and the Stop button.
• Examples and Use Cases: more generation scenarios.