Tips 'n' Tricks

Testing Rules

When creating new rules, it's a good idea to test it to make sure it matches the files you think it's matching. Just set the actions to only color the files and run the rules. This way, you can test the conditions of your rule without worrying about where it's moving your files. Once you are satisfied that the rules are matching the right files, set the actions you want.

Separate Downloads from the Desktop

A good practice is to keep a separate download folder and only move files to the Desktop that need your attention. Here's what you can do:

1. Create a new folder for downloads, say one called "Downloads," for example.
2. Point all your browsers to it.
3. Set up Hazel to monitor your new downloads folder. Set up whatever rules you need.
4. As the last rule, set up a rule to match "Any File" and have it move the file to your Desktop.

The upshot of this is that your downloads are filed as needed and files that Hazel can't handle are put on your Desktop for you to deal with yourself. In addition, you won't have to see the files popping on and off your Desktop as they get downloaded then subsequently moved. Finally, any files you explicitly save to your Desktop stay there. You can even have Hazel monitor the Desktop as well to organize files after you are done with them.

Droplets

Create a folder or use an existing one, add it to Hazel and create some rules, then stick the folder in your Finder sidebar or in the Dock. What does this get you? A nice little droplet that you can drag files to. Just drop a file and Hazel will deal with it.

Advanced uses of dates

In the sample rules, there's a rule to color new files blue. This is handy for seeing what files were recently added and need more immediate attention. An additional rule removes the color label when the file reaches a certain age. A simple modification to that rule can make this even more useful. Instead of removing the color label based on age, do it based on whether you have opened it yet. Change the condition to "Date Last Opened is after Date Added." With this change, files will stay blue until you have opened them, after which, Hazel will remove the color. You can even have Hazel move the file elsewhere at that point.

In addition, version 2.0.1 introduces "Date Last Matched." This matches the last time a rule matched and ran on the file successfully. You can use this to check if something changed since last time. For instance, if you want to do a backup of a file every time it is modified, you can use "Date Last Modified is after Date Last Matched" and use a copy action to copy the file someplace else. You can also use the rename action to add the modified date to the name so you know which back up it is.

Using color labels to give Hazel cues

Sometimes it's not possible to write a rule to express that you are done with a file. Instead, add a rule to process your file if the color label is a certain color. Now, when you are ready for a file to be processed, just control-click on the file in the Finder and set the color to the color you previously set in the rule. When Hazel sees the color, it will process it. Note that it may take a couple minutes for Hazel to notice as Hazel does not immediately detect color label changes.