Tools

Magic Folders

Tired of repetitive work? Imagine a folder that automatically does stuff when you put files in it. For example you could have a folder on your desktop that always changes .wav files into .mp3 or maybe png files into jpeg.

That's exactly what this little systray application does.

How To Install It

Put MagicFolders.exe in any folder you like.

Put MagicFolders.ini in C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\

Open the folder C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\ and make a shortcut to MagicFolders.exe so that it starts up every time you start up Windows.

How To Configure It

Everything is controlled by editing MagicFolders.ini. There's a section for each magic folder you want to activate which looks something like this:

[PngToJpeg] InputPath = PNG to JPEG Filter = *.png Command = magick "{INPUT_FILE}" -quality 90 "{INPUT_FILE_NOEXT}.jpg" DeleteSourceFile = no IncludeSubdirectories = yes AutoCreateFolder = yes

The important part is the "Command" statement which is basically like a .bat file written on one line. This example assumes that you have ImageMagick installed. The folder "PNG to JPEG" will be created on your desktop unless you specify a full path.

The .ini file can contain the following keys:

InputPath	Path of where to look for new files.
OutputPath	Where to output processed files. This is also set as the current directory when the command is being run.
Filter	File types (extentions) to match.
IncludeSubdirectories	Whether to keep track of sub directories too.
Command	The command line to execute on new files. Various keywords are available. See the list of available keywords below. Make sure to quote file names in case the file names contain spaces.
DeleteSourceFile	If set to "Yes" the source file will be deleted if the command was successful.
RetryDelaySeconds	If the new file is locked, causing the operation to fail, wait this amount of seconds until it is unlocked. Default value is 5 seconds between retries.
Action	What to do. Choose between "CommandLine" (default) or "CopyToManualTarget".
AutoCreateFolder	Whether to automatically create the OutputPath folder when MagicFolders starts up.

Certain keywords are replaced by dynamic content on the "Command" line. Here's a complete list of the available:

{INPUT_FILE}	The input file name, full path
{INPUT_FILE_NOEXT}	The input file name, full path but no file extension
{INPUT_FILE_NOPATH}	The input file name, no path
{INPUT_FILE_NOEXT_NOPATH}	The input file name, but no path or file extension
{INPUT_PATH}	Full path to the input file
{FILENAME_NICE}	Input file name with special characters removed and title case
{PATH_NICE}	Path to the input file with special characters removed and title case
{PATH_DESKTOP}	Full path to your desktop
{PATH_DOCUMENTS}	Full path to your "Documents" folder
{PATH_TEMP}	Full path to the temporary files folder
{COUNTER}	A counter that increments for each time you convert a file (1 digit)
{COUNTER:1}	Same as above
{COUNTER:2}	2 digits
{COUNTER:3}	3 digits
{COUNTER:4}	4 digits
{COUNTER:5}	5 digits
{YEAR_NOW}	Current year (4 digits)
{DATE_NOW}	Current date in a sortable yyyy-mm-dd format
{DATETIME_NOW}	Current date and time in a sortable yyyy-mm-dd_hh-mm-ss format
{YEAR_FILE}	The year the file was created (4 digits)
{DATE_FILE}	File creation date in a sortable yyyy-mm-dd format
{DATETIME_FILE}	File creation date and time in a sortable yyyy-mm-dd_hh-mm-ss format
{DATE_FILE_SHORT}	File creation date in a short sortable yyyymmdd format

If you make changes to MagicFolder.ini you need to restart the application for the changes to work.

How To Use It

Simply put a PNG file into the magic folder, and it will be converted to JPEG.

Download for Windows

MagicFolders.zip

Disclaimer: This tool has options to remove the source file, and a wrong configuration may result in files being overwritten, so be careful how you set it up. The author of this program cannot be held responsible for any accidental loss of data.

Website by Joachim Michaelis