Multiple actions of the same kind

I'm impressed with Hazel so far. I see a lot of potential here.
Just curious about a couple of things:
1. Is support for multiple actions of the same kind (or should I say a repeated action) planned for Hazel 1.2? So I can move an archive to the desktop, unzip it there, and move the item further to a different folder?
2. what happened to the If Content item? Seems gone in Hazel 1.1.1
3. On a related note: would it possible to let Hazel act on let's say music files in a folder in another folder?
4. Is a 'Copy' action planned for Hazel 1.2?

Thanks,
Ton55

Hi,

Thanks for the comments. As for your questions:

1. Interesting. I'll think about removing the restriction on using a type of action only once per rule. Early on, it didn't make sense to move something twice, for instance, but as more actions with different side effects have been added, you do make a case for lifting the restriction. In your case for now, you can maybe add another rule to detect that the archive was unpacked (check against the "Date Last Opened") and move it then.

2. The "Content" and "Type" attributes were merged into "Kind". Check the release notes as they have a little explanation regarding the change. Sorry about the confusion.

3. Are you talking about a folder within a folder being monitored? For that type of situation, you can use the "Run rules on folder contents" action. Just match the rule against the folder you want Hazel to descend into.

4. I'm looking into adding this into a maintenance release (either the one I'm going to release in the next week or the one after). In any case, look for it soon.

Let me know I missed anything.

Thanks for the info. Good to know #4 is coming. I also hope #1 will make it into the next release. Adding another rule is ok, but I'd rather prefer to have one rule that does'em all. As for #2 and 3: I have a folder that is checked for 'Kind is music'. It doesn't contain music: it contains another folder. The music's is in fact a couple of levels further down the road. The structure is: Digitized records > R&B > James Brown > It's Showtime > track 1, track 2, track 3 etc. I have a rule set up according to what you said, but nothing's happening. I did some experimenting and it looks like the Run rules on folder contents action is checking just one level. Is that correct?

I think #1 will make it. I've been thinking about it and there are several non-contrived cases I can come up with so there's a good chance it will be in the version next week.

The "Run rules on folder contents" will keep descending as long as it's conditions keep matching. BTW, the "Music" kind only applies to files. Folders do not really have a type other than "Folder" usually. So you need one rule to match Kind is Folder and descend down into them and another to match Kind is Music to match the files themselves and do whatever it is you intended to do with them.

BTW, if you have any examples of how you would use the copy action, could you post them here (a full flow would be most helpful)? I am making a decision on how part of it works and I want to get a sense of user needs/expectations.

Thanks.

Hmmm, I figured it would be just like a 'Move' only you make a copy and leave the original item in place instead of moving it.
That brings up another request: the ability to 'Move Folder To'. In some cases the ability to Move a file is not sufficient. Can you implement that?

"Copy" has the twist that now there are two files and it's unclear which of the two files subsequent actions in the rule operate on. I'm leaning towards having subsequent actions apply to the copy as it seems to be what people expect out of those I've asked. In any case, I was hoping you had some specific workflow so I could see if it fit this behavior.

"Move" works on folders as well. Sorry about the nomenclature but most of the time, "file" refers to any entity in the filesystem.

Thanks.

I thought the procedure would be like this: I have a file of which I want to make a copy in another location. That's my workflow: I have a file and I want to place a copy in another folder. So there are no two files at one location: there's one in the original location and one in the new location. Where with a 'move' the original will be placed in a new location, with a 'copy' the orginal will be left where it is and a 'copy' will be placed in the new location.

As for the 'Move File To': wouldn't it be better if you rename that to 'Move Item To'? That can easily be a file or a folder.

The question with the copy action is suppose you do a copy, then you set a color label. Does the color label get applied to the original or the copy? From the people I've asked, it seems as if the gut expectation is that the copy gets the color and I'm inclined to follow that though if you have an argument for applying the color to the original, then let me know.

I've been considering "item". Wasn't sure if it was too generic but if "file" is causing confusion, then it is probably worth doing.

Thanks.

Nahh, I'd say that the copy should get the color. Either that or you should have the option to colorize the orginal and/or the copy.

In regard to "item": I think it's much better than File. File is a one instance thing that is a document, or an mp3 or an InDesign template or a JPG, whereas a folder is a container for your files, not a file in itself.
Just my 2c's.