FileSieve supports various command-line parameters and arguments; they are split into sections below. New commands to access the features of FileSieve will be gradually added in each new version.

A parameter can be passed to FileSieve by prefixing the parameter with a - dash, or a / slash, or a \ backslash character. A list of parameters separated by a comma denotes that any of the items in that list can be used; they're simply aliases and perform the same action.

For example, FileSieve.exe -noeggs will disable any "easter eggs".

Any parameters arguments that are in < and > angled-brackets are required. Any arguments in [ ] brackets are optional. Any parameters separated with a | pipe character denotes any one of those parameters are to be supplied.

Parameters are case-insensitive. For example: profile, PrOfiLe, and PROFILE are all equal.

Application Core

FileSieve runs on an application framework that was developed especially for my software and has had years of development and refinement. This section provides information on the command-line parameters supported directly by the framework.

  • basicui

    • Disables drawing certain Windows controls using visual styling, as introduced in Windows XP.

    Controls will take on a blocker appearance as they are drawn with a heavy 3D, beveled effect. Note that not all controls within FileSieve are drawn by the operating system; some of them are custom (such as the banners at the top of windows) and as such don't visually change when this parameter is specified.

  • nosetcompatiblefontrequires: 4.15+

    • Enables the use of compatible font rendering.

    By default, FileSieve uses a faster, advanced, and better-looking font rendering technique for drawing all text within the application. Setting this parameter disables this technique and uses a primitive version instead. There is typically no reason to specify this parameter.

    More information is available by clicking here.

  • noassemblyresolvesrequires: 4.15+

    • Disables redirection of assembly resolving.

    By default, FileSieve captures and redirects the Microsoft .NET Framework to the appropriate location when plugins are being loaded so it can find them correctly. Specifying this parameter will disable this.

  • nostats

    • Disables the storing of statistical information between each application session.

    FileSieve, or more specifically the app framework, stores statistics such as total number of times launched, total running time, and more. The purpose of this is two-fold: so the application knows if it is being run for the first time so it can display an appropriate welcome message, and the user might find it interesting. This information is stored within %AppData%\Statistics.jso.

    The stored information is as followed:

    • LastLaunched

      • The date and time the application was last run.

    • LastExited

      • When the application was last exited. No specific reason for this being present as the LastDuration could be added to LastLaunched to derive the exit time.

    • LastDuration

      • How long the application was running for in its last session.

    • TotalDuration

      • The total amount of time the application has been running for, across all sessions.

    • LaunchCount

      • The total number of times the application has been run.

  • nomutex

    • Disables the presence of the FileSieve mutex in-system; FileSieve's mutex is BQS_FILESIEVE4.

    The mutex is a small identifier that is stored within Windows operating memory while FileSieve is running; once the application is exited, the identifier is cleared. This allows FileSieve, and any other applications, to know if it is already running (and therefore to not launch another copy otherwise settings may be inappropriately overwritten).

    The main purpose of this is so the FileSieve installer knows if it is already running and to prompt that it should be exited before continuing installation.

  • delay <value>default: 0

    • Specifies a delay before loading and launching the application.

    One of the first things the application framework does after initial set-up is to check to see if this delay value has been specified. If it has, it will then wait for this amount of milli-seconds (1000 milli-seconds equals 1 second; eg. 15000 equals 15 seconds) before continuing. The loading splash window - if present - will be displayed immediately after this delay and program execution will continue as normal.

  • hidesplash, nosplash

    • Disables the displaying of the small loading splash window at startup.

  • portable, local

    • Enables the portable mode for the application. Please note that not all applications utilising the framework are tested with this mode, but in theory they should work.

    By default, FileSieve will store its configuration data within the system's Application Data directory for the current user. To find this location, open a Windows Explorer window and type %AppData%, followed by the Enter key. Locate the FileSieve directory; this is where all of the settings are saved.

    eg. C:\Users\User\AppData\Roaming\FileSieve4

    Specifying the portable parameter will change the path from the system's AppData to an AppData folder located within the application's main executable.

    eg. C:\Program Files (x84)\FileSieve4\AppData

    This is useful for making the application portable so it can be run from a USB drive or memory stick, or just to keep everything in a single directory location.

    Please note that enabling the Start with Windows option within the application itself will be disabled as that setting is stored within the Windows Registry.

  • nopgo

    • Disables the generation and saving of Profile-Guided Optimisations.

    Specifying this parameter to disable PGO can result in performance degredation and so using this is not recommended. For more information on PGO, please check this page at Wikipedia.

    FileSieve's PGO data is saved at %AppData%\FileSieve4\PGO\Default.pgo.

    While you can freely delete the .pgo file at any time, please note that any performance optimisations that the Microsoft .NET Framework performed with FileSieve will be lost until another .pgo is generated on the next run.

FileSieve General

  • noeggs, disableeggs, eggytrumps, rickgrimesisegg

    • Disables access to any of the secret "easter eggs" within FileSieve.

    This may be of use in business environments as one of the hidden easter eggs displays a new window with an interface that may not be considered appropriate for a work environment due to its "artistic" use of colour.