Most operating systems do not provide advanced tools to organize files properly. Windows, for example, includes a few special folders, like Pictures or Downloads, but what you put into those is up to you.
If you have accumulated a folder with thousands of files, you may be interested in organizing these better. Windows users have plenty of options, but many of them are rather old. I reviewed apps like SubDiv, FileSieve, or Extension Indexer in the past that help you sort files.
FolderFresh is a newcomer. It is a free open source software for Windows that promises "intelligent file automation" for the operating system.
What are the main features?
- Sort files automatically into folders.
- Automatic sorting of files as they appear in a folder.
- Check for and deal with duplicates.
- Safe mode feature to copy files instead of moving them.
- Preview mode to verify an operation before it is executed.
- Smart sorting that can recognize certain types of files, e.g., invoices, assignments, or screenshots.
- Custom categories and advanced filters.
You can download the latest version of FolderFresh from the project GitHub's page. Note that it has a massive file size of over 300 megabytes, and that it needs to be installed.
Once that is out of the way, you may start the app at any time. It displays a clean interface. Rules, categories, and the activity log are linked on the right. Rules allow for operations to be complex, more about them later. Categories are all the categories the app uses to sort files into. You can create new categories or edit existing ones.
Archives, for example, include only zip, rar, 7z, tar, and qz by default. You could add more archive extensions here to make sure every archive is included. The same goes for other categories, such as images, documents, or code.
To run a simple operation, select choose folder at the top. Once you have selected a folder a preview is displayed automatically. It indicates each file and its operation. You can modify the defaults, for instance by excluding subfolders. When you are satisfied, hit organize files and confirm the prompt to let the program do the sorting for you.
Note that safe mode is enabled by default, which means that files get copied and not moved. You may disable that there as well.
Smart sorting is disabled by default. It is used to organize files that do not match any of the core categories.
You may also let FolderFresh run operations automatically. Expand the advanced options and click on the "manage watched folders" button. There you may add folders for automation. In other words, any existing and all new files will be processed according to the application's rules.
Rules extend the core functionality. They enable you to create rule-based automations that rely on conditions and actions.
- Conditions: this is used to match files. You can pick names, sizes, content, metadata and many more here.
- Actions: this defines what happens when the app finds a file that matches the conditions. Again, lots of options, including moving or renaming files, running commands, or creating a zip archive.
Rules can be tested at any time until the configuration is set correctly. Options to run FolderFresh at system start and in the background are provided. The app can only run its actions when it is running itself.
Closing Words
FolderFresh is a mighty file organization tool for Windows. While it may take some tests to get used to its set of features, it can help users sort files in certain folders into user-defined categories. This can happen whenever you run the app, or automatically without you doing anything after setting it up.
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