Date Last Opened Not Available

Get help. Get answers. Let others lend you a hand.

Moderator: Mr_Noodle

Date Last Opened Not Available Fri Apr 20, 2012 6:32 pm • by mrtoner
I've got a rule that should be moving files off my Desktop if they haven't been opened in the last day:

Image

As you can see, there's a Last Opened date in the Finder:

Image

However, when I preview the rule in Hazel (because these files aren't being moved), I see that Haxel doesn't have a Last Opened date for the files. Any chance this is because the files have never been opened (they haven't, notwithstanding the Finder's information)?
mrtoner
 
Posts: 17
Joined: Thu Mar 15, 2012 11:54 pm

Re: Date Last Opened Not Available Mon Apr 23, 2012 12:21 pm • by Mr_Noodle
A couple issues here:

1. Your rule will end up moving the folder containing the files, not the files themselves. The subfiles condition only applies to conditions, not the actions, which always are applied to the current file/folder.

2. Finder lies. Select the file and do "Get Info". If the last opened is not in there, it doesn't exist.
Mr_Noodle
Site Admin
 
Posts: 11255
Joined: Sun Sep 03, 2006 1:30 am
Location: New York City

Re: Date Last Opened Not Available Mon Apr 23, 2012 12:54 pm • by mrtoner
I thought Finder was lying. And I figured out the subfiles problem earlier. (Although I thought it was working before this. And I don't quite understand "The subfiles condition only applies to conditions, not the actions, which always are applied to the current file/folder" -- I probably need to see an example.)

I changed it to "Date Added" instead. Thanks!
mrtoner
 
Posts: 17
Joined: Thu Mar 15, 2012 11:54 pm

Re: Date Last Opened Not Available Mon Apr 23, 2012 1:30 pm • by Mr_Noodle
Concerning the subfiles thing, the rule as you have it matches folders that contains a file opened before today, not files that were opened before today. Check the in-app help on writing conditions as it may have more info there.
Mr_Noodle
Site Admin
 
Posts: 11255
Joined: Sun Sep 03, 2006 1:30 am
Location: New York City

Re: Date Last Opened Not Available Mon Apr 23, 2012 2:08 pm • by mrtoner
Right. But since Last Opened didn't exist, the rule never matched items I'd screen clipped but didn't open. Changing it to Date Added solved that.

So, regarding subfiles: in this case, "any sub-file or folder" doesn't mean "any sub-file or folder of Desktop" (which is the folder Hazel is watching)?

(It may be that I'm the only dweeb who has trouble understanding this right off the bat, but there's plenty of room for confusion between folders that are "current" and "being processed" and which Hazel is monitoring.)
mrtoner
 
Posts: 17
Joined: Thu Mar 15, 2012 11:54 pm

Re: Date Last Opened Not Available Tue Apr 24, 2012 3:15 pm • by Mr_Noodle
You should is the "is blank" or "is not blank" operators if you want to check for the existence of a date.

For the condition target, "current file" is the file (or folder) currently being matched against the rule. All the other options are relative to that file/folder and only apply to the conditions under it. The actions only operate on that file or folder and have nothing to do with any subfiles or enclosing folder.

As I said before, look at your rule and my explanation of it. You are matching the folder which contains files that match those conditions; you are not matching the files that match those conditions directly.
Mr_Noodle
Site Admin
 
Posts: 11255
Joined: Sun Sep 03, 2006 1:30 am
Location: New York City


Return to Support