- Source Directories
- Methods
- Modifiers
- Simulation Mode
- Threaded Processing
- Flexibility and Power
Rather than just selecting a single directory to work on, in FileSieve you can select as many source directories as you require and, depending on the set processing options, the contained files will be processed into the selected destination directory. Each source directory optionally supports the searching and ignoring of files by regular expressions.
This version of the software supports thirteen sorting methods. A method is a preset algorithm that processes items in the source directories in a particular way; for example, files can be placed into directories based on the first character of their filename. Methods typically contain additional settings that allow you to tailor them further, if required.
Modifiers allow you to apply special rules to the way directories and filenames are named once they have been processed by a sorting method. Modifiers are typically used to change the casing of items, as well as find and replace characters and strings.
The simulation mode allows FileSieve to sort items as normal but without the actual step of copying, moving, or deleting anything, but instead to log and show the results. This allows you to ensure the results are what you expect before any changes are made to the filesystem.
Files and directories are processed in a separate background thread that can have its priority changed on-the-fly, can be paused, resumed, and stopped at any time.
This also opens up the possibility of a future version that will give the functionality of multiple threads running at the same time to allow the sorting of items that reside on different drives and media.
One of the big goals in the version 4 series of FileSieve has been flexibility and power. Many aspects of the software allow the use of the extremely powerful Regular Expressions system, as well as exposing as many useful options and settings as possible.