gistfile1.py

import os
import shutil
import sys

# SEARCH_PATH = '.'
# DESTINATION_PATH = ''

def find_files_by_extension(search_path, extension):
	all_files = []
	for root, dirs, files in os.walk(search_path):
		for file in files:
			if file.split('.')[-1][:len(extension)].lower() == extension:
				all_files.append(os.path.join(root, file))
	return all_files

def copy_files(file_list, destination):
	for file in file_list:
		directory_branch = os.path.dirname(file)
		new_dest = os.path.join(DESTINATION_PATH, directory_branch)
		if not os.path.exists(new_dest):
			os.makedirs(new_dest)
		print 'Copying %s...' % file
		shutil.copy(file, new_dest)

if __name__=="__main__":
	if len(sys.argv) != 3:
		print 'Syntax: python copy_xls.py search_path destination_path'
		exit(0)
	SEARCH_PATH = sys.argv[1]
	DESTINATION_PATH = sys.argv[2]
	excel_files = find_files_by_extension(SEARCH_PATH, 'xls')
	copy_files(excel_files, DESTINATION_PATH)