Running rules on folder contents

[mofofofo]

For the life of me I can't figure this out... I have a download folder and would like Hazel to:

1) move newly downloaded files into appropriate sub-directories within my downloads directory
2) color code files in the download directory and sub-directories for newly added files, old files, etc.


I've created rules in the top-level download directory with the highest level rules sorting files into their appropriate directories. I did NOT add the "Run rules on folder contents" action to these "sorting" rules.

Following those rules are my rules for color coding the files. On these rules, I did add the "Run rules of folder contents" action.

Now when I run my rules, for some reason the some of the "sorting" rules are being run in subdirectories despite not having used the "Run rules on folder contents" action with these rules. What makes things even more difficult to figure out is that while 2 "sorting" rules are essentially identical (sort different file types to appropriate folders), one rule will continue to run on subdirectories, while the identical rule will run only in the main top-level directory. Neither rules should be running on subdirectories!!!

Has anyone experienced this before? For me, Hazel has been very inconsistent in the way it processes and applies rules.

[Mr_Noodle]

Remember that "Run rules on folder contents" only makes sense on folders, not files. You need to put it in a separate rule that matches the folders you want it to descend into, not mix it in with a rule that matches files.

I suggest stopping Hazel and using the preview function to see how it works in your particular case. Keep in mind the order of the rules matter.

If you need any more help, let me know.

[ngpappas]

when you suggest "stopping Hazel", I assume you mean unchecking the check boxes in the Hazel Preferences window. Yes?

What is this "Preview function", of which you speak? I don't see it.

I am evaluating Hazel, and my main application involves a folder containing customer documents. The folder contains 26 subfolders (one for each letter of the alphabet), each of which contains an average of 50 customer folders, each of those containing an average of maybe 20 documents. For some customers the nesting goes deeper (one folder for each ordering site).

Would I have to write around 1,000 rules, or does the "run rules on folder contents" action dig down until it runs out of subfolders?

[Mr_Noodle]

Sorry, should have been more descriptive.

In the "Info" section, there's a start/stop button. You can also get to this functionality in the menu bar item (if you have that enabled).

The Preview function is in the gear/cog menu underneath the rules.

How far/where it digs is dependent on the criteria for the rule. If you match any folder, then it will dig down as far as it can. You can add additional criteria to limit this.

Let me know if you need more help on this.