Earlier I wrote about a program for automating file management tasks in Windows, but unfortunately the program was very simple and was last updated in 2005! If you are looking for a program that can handle various file management tasks, you should try Limagito FileMover
They have a free version of FileMover Lite which basically limits you to one move rule. If you want to have multiple navigation rules for different folders or different schedules, different file types, etc., then you’ll have to shell out over $ 200 for one PC version! This price is laughable to consumers, but if you’re using it for your company or IT department, it’s definitely worth it. It is the most advanced file copy / move program I have ever seen.
Once installed, you will be amazed at the sheer number of features and options. With this program, you can do whatever you want in terms of automatically moving, deleting and copying files. It also works with other non-local locations like HTTP, AWS, SQL databases, etc.
First, you can check the two checkboxes in the upper left corner to launch @Startup and run in the taskbar if you don’t want to install the service. If you want it to run as a Windows service, which saves you the trouble of running it in the taskbar, you can click the Application Settings tab at the top and select Export to Service. Of course, you will want to do this after you configure the move rule with all its parameters.
The next thing to understand is one important thing. General options are options that will apply to all rules (only 1 if you are using the free version), and rule options are applied to each individual rule you create. Now that you understand this, let’s get started.
– /
In the General Settings section, you can set the scan time, which by default is 5 seconds. This means that the source directory will be scanned every 5 seconds. The schedule will allow you to set a schedule if you do not have to constantly scan the directory. Mail setup will allow you to add your email account, such as Gmail, so that you can send notifications for specific events such as errors, successes, etc. You can also scan the network drive by clicking the Network Drive button and adding folders.
Below is the essence of the program. Here you can customize the source, destination, and all the filters and settings you could imagine. Let’s start with the source.
At the top is “Source Setup†with three tabs (source, general, and backup). You can select a Windows directory by clicking the Win button, or even get a source like FTP, SFTP and POP3. In the File Options section, you can perform actions such as excluding used files and filtering by file name, file size, and file date. For example, if you only want to move the PDF file, you can click the File Name button, which is the left-most button next to Enable Filter.
To filter by file extension, enter * .ext; and then click Add Filter. The box under “Check Filename” will turn green if what you are entering matches the filter, and red if not. For the FileDate filter, you can select files older than a certain date and select the filter type: Modified Date, Created Date, Last Access Date or Last Record Date. This is great if you want to automatically delete files older than a certain date.
Finally, the FileSize filter will allow you to filter files by size. So you can configure it to only move really large files, or delete files less than 100KB, etc., etc.
In the Directory Options section, you can include subdirectories, exclude the base directory, or even choose the depth of the subdirectory scan (0 will scan indefinitely). You can also customize the inclusion and exclusion of filters in directories, and even choose which subdirectory level you want to apply filters to! Wow!
If you click the General tab under Source Setting, you can also do other things, such as renaming files while copying or moving. Click this button and you can set up complex regular expressions to rename files as you see fit. You can also select the File Memory Database option if you want to keep a record of every file that has been moved, copied, or deleted for later viewing. This can be useful if you need to know when the file was moved, etc.
The Backup tab basically allows you to back up all files as you move / copy / delete them. You can check it yourself if you need. Now about setting up the destination.
Here you can select, move, copy or delete files and where you want them to be saved. Again, you can choose the Windows directory for the destination, FTP / SFTP server, or even a mail server! If you click Common I, you can remove file extensions, change the case of the file name, and set up rename filters.
Common II just has the ability to load balance and save actions to the database. In the “Crypto” section, you can choose to encrypt files as they are transferred to the target directory.
The Validate tab is useful as it allows you to check if the translations were done correctly. You can also write it to the log file or delete the file if the check fails.
There are many more advanced options available in this program, but this article was intended to get you started with a general idea. It’s a great little app, and if you move / delete / copy files a lot, it might be worth purchasing the full version so you can create as many rules as you like. Enjoy!
–