SaveDir

Sure enough Windows can easily create detailed reports you need regarding files on your computer. However, it’s easier to work with third-party alternatives which are specially designed to serve a single purpose. One example is SaveDir, which can scan any custom location and generate a plain TXT report.

On the one hand, the application saves you the whole time needed to go through a setup process, and enables you to carry it along on a thumb drive in case you need to use in on other computers. The application doesn’t bound itself to any complex functions, so no registry entries need to be modified to make it work.

The whole process from start to end doesn’t take more than a few seconds. All it has to offer can be found in a compact window fitted only with the bare necessities. There’s a navigation panel for easy selection of the folder you want to scan, a list to display all items inside the target folder, as well as the function to save.

Sadly, the browse panel is rather difficult to use, in the sense there are no quick links to common location, so even reaching the desktop can prove quite the challenge. On the other hand, there’s a dedicated field you can use to only include files matching a particular mask in the operation. Those that match the criteria, name or extension, end up in a list to be analyzed before exporting.

Hitting the “save” button brings up one last prompt to specify where exactly you want to save the report. However, it only comes out under the TXT format. This isn’t really an inconvenience though, but you only get to work file paths as details, and no options to choose more.

Bottom line is that SaveDir provides a quick method through which you can have all files in a folder enlisted in a plain text report. The major inconvenience is the lack of details to choose, and files are only read and displayed by their paths.