File Router

The File Router application was designed to be a small tool which monitors a path on the hard drive and moves files to appropriate locations based on matching certain patterns. For example, .avi and .wmv to Movies, .doc and .ppt to Documents.

This project was inspired by the many times I've come across catch-all folders on people's hard drives. Maybe you've got them too. Perhaps it's a documents folder where every file goes uncategorized. I also see downloads folders that contain Zip files, PDF documents, photos, installers and anything else downloaded. Internet Explorer and Firefox download to a single folder unless overridden. Many users either don't know how to manage folders or just don't spend the time to do so. From these observations I decided it would be nice to do something to reduce this burden, and thus, File Router was born.

File Router acts by monitoring a path on the hard drive, then moving files to appropriate locations based on matching certain patterns. The application is fairly basic, with plenty of opportunity for extension. That's a plus for you, not a cop-out for me!

There are only a few things to know. The Source field is the directory that File Router will monitor. Check the Scan source directory recursively checkbox if there are subfolders to watch.

The Mappings area needs a little more explanation. The big ListBox shows any existing mappings. To add one, type in a list of strings to watch for in filenames, select a destination, then click Add. You can select a row in the list and click Remove to get rid of it, but you can't edit it. Sorry, but it's remove and re-add at this point. That's a great enhancement if someone wants to pitch in.

The only trick with the Expression field is that you can multiple patterns set up to route to the same destination. Each much be separated by a comma. These should probably be regular expressions, but are just simple Contains matches. For a file extension, just specify it with the "dot" like ".avi" so it doesn't find "avi" in the middle of a different filename.