Script Help: Folder Actions - Move files

Hi,
So, I'm having some trouble writing a script for a folder action. I basically want the folder to check the file extension of the files that I add to the folder, and if they are music files (mp3, m4a, m4p), to move those files to a different folder. Additionally, is it possible to also move entire folders containing music files to a different folder, instead of just single files?
Thank you for any help.

What is your script doing now (note that a name extension does not include the period delimiter)? You can move entire folders, but your folder action script would only pass the items added to the attached folder, not any folder contents. Your folder action script would need to look into any passed folders if you wanted to move them based on their contents.

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Folder Action + Move Finder Items = Zero KB files

I've got a folder action set that is supposed to run the Automator Action "Move Finder Items" on any file that gets placed in a specific folder (called "Folder A") and move it to "Folder B". I'm having an issue with larger files though.
As soon as I begin to transfer the file to "folder A" , the folder action runs and results in a "Zero KB" file in "Folder B".
Is there any way to keep the Folder Action from triggering until the file has completely copied to the folder with the Folder Action attached ("Folder A")?
A side note: I have this same folder action running on an iMac with Mac OS 10.6.3 and it works great . (This one was made with the newer version of Automator that shipped with 10.6 vs. Automator on 10.5 which made the action I am having trouble with)
Any input would be appreciated!

There is a check in *Snow Leopard* to see if the items have completed their copy/download, but Leopard does not do any checking - the script is triggered immediately. You can add your own delay with a *Run AppleScript* action, though, for example:
<pre style="
font-family: Monaco, 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;
font-size: 10px;
font-weight: normal;
margin: 0px;
padding: 5px;
border: 1px solid #000000;
width: 720px; height: 340px;
color: #000000;
background-color: #DAFFB6;
overflow: auto;"
title="this text can be pasted into an Automator 'Run AppleScript' action">
on run {input, parameters} -- wait for file copy to complete by testing the size of the containing folder
set theFolders to {} -- to handle items in different folders
set skippedItems to {}
repeat with anItem in the input -- get a list of unique folders
tell application "Finder"
get (container of anItem) as alias
if the result is not in theFolders then set the end of theFolders to the result
end tell
end repeat
repeat with aFolder in theFolders
set timeToWait to 30 -- time to wait for copy to complete
set interval to 2 -- test every interval seconds
set copied to false
tell application "Finder" to set currentSize to size of aFolder -- get initial size
repeat with timer from timeToWait to 1 by -interval -- check every interval seconds up to maximum time
delay interval
tell application "Finder" to set newSize to size of aFolder -- recheck size
if (newSize is equal to currentSize) then
set copied to true
exit repeat -- success
else -- update size
set currentSize to newSize
end if
end repeat
if not copied then set the end of skippedItems to quoted form of (aFolder as text) -- timed out
end repeat
showSkippedAlert for skippedItems
return input
end run
to showSkippedAlert for skippedItems
show an alert dialog for any items skipped, with the option to cancel the rest of the workflow
parameters - skippedItems [list]: the items skipped
returns nothing
if skippedItems is not {} then
set {alertText, theCount} to {"Error with waiting for items to copy", count skippedItems}
if theCount is greater than 1 then
set theMessage to (theCount as text) & space & " folders timed out"
else
set theMessage to "1 folder timed out"
end if
set theMessage to theMessage & " - copy of contents may be incomplete:"
set {tempTID, AppleScript's text item delimiters} to {AppleScript's text item delimiters, return}
set {skippedItems, AppleScript's text item delimiters} to {skippedItems as text, tempTID}
if button returned of (display alert alertText message (theMessage & return & skippedItems) alternate button "Cancel" default button "OK") is "Cancel" then error number -128
end if
return
end showSkippedAlert
</pre>
The action will check the folder sizes, and when there is no change (or the wait times out) the input items are passed on.

Folder action - open file in quicktime

I'm trying to do something I think should be simple, but I can't seem to make it happen.
I get voicemails as .wav files in email. I'd like to save these to a folder, and have them automatically open up with quicktime player.
I've verified that I've got folder actions working, as I've tested some of the example scripts for converting files. However, this script fails silently. What clue am I missing?
on adding folder items to thisFolder after receiving these_items
tell application "QuickTime Player"
open file these_items
end tell
end adding folder items to
Thanks for any help!
- Steve

My guess is that what you're missing is that these_items is a list therefore you can't open file <list> since you cannot coerce a list to a file.
(note this is true even if there's only one file - it's a list of one item)
Ironically, you may be able to:
open these_items
since you're not trying to coerce the list to a file (QuickTime Player will look at each item in the list and work it out).
Alternatively, the typical approach is to iterate through the list:
on adding folder items to thisFolder after receiving these_items
repeat with each_item in these_items
  tell application "QuickTime Player"
   open each_item
  end tell
end repeat
end adding folder items to

Folder actions - copy files AND subfolders

I cannot seem to get folder actions working in the expected way. I have no problem creating a folder action that copies files into the target destination folder.
But if I create a new folder in the source folder (i.e. a subfolder) it does not create that same subfolder in the target. And of course by consequence, does not copy the subfolders files into the target either.
Can anyone recommend an automator folder action step that I may be missing? I'd appreciate any feedback, thanks!

Thanks for offering to help.
I'm using automator with the following two steps:
- first the default step where automator asks for a folder to attach the folder action to. I selected a folder called test input 1
- second step is the 'copy finder items' step. I designated a named folder 'test output' and selected the checkbox 'replace existing files' (although I know that all of the folders/files that will be placed in the initial folder will be unique
I just discovered that I pulled a bit of a rookie mistake. I had the target folder open and incorrectly assumed that my script wasn't working. When in fact I needed to close and reopen the window to refresh.
However...
After testing this script quite a bit, it seems very inconsistent. While subfolders to get created, dragging and dropping some files yields a total inconsistency in the results. I have a particular PDF that refuses to get copied to the target via this script in a subfolder.
So I guess my updated status is: I have a script that works, but I don't really trust it because it doesn't always work properly.

Create folder (rename), move files and delete source

This seems a simple and obvious need but I cant find anything to help.
I want to be able to create a folder with a unique name (I would prefer to input the folder name when the workflow is run), move some files into it, and ensure the source files in the original location are deleted.
The problem with the create new folder action as it stands is that it COPIES any files passed into it. I want to MOVE the files into a new folder.
Am I missing something obvious?

There's no out of the box way to achieve what you're looking for.
Two solutions:
1. Your users would need to open the entry first and then click on the "edit this file" link.
2. You could code your own folder view or landing page element and build what you need.
HTH
Cheers
Erik
PS: Feel free to contact me offlist if you need professional support.

Delaying folder action until file creation is complete

I'm trying to create a folder action that takes the output of a bounce from ProTools and then imports it into iTunes. The problem I'm having is that it takes real time (about 20 min) to create the complete ProTools file in the folder, however the script begins to execute immediately, before the bounce is complete. This gives me 1 second of audio garbage.
Is there any way to delay the folder action until the file creation (bounce, upload, transfer, whatever) is done?
Thanks.

V.K. Thanks again for your help. When I look in my folder directory/library/scripts/folder action scripts, I see many scripts for images as well as scripts for closing subfolders, converting to pdf, open - show comments in dialog, and add - new item alert, however I don't see anything that was created recently (i.e. something that was created when I built my Automator workflow (folder action). The closest (to what I am looking for) Folder Action Script could find was "add - new item alert.scpt", which is an existing Apple written script, but this will not really help me. When I created my initial automator script, it created a folder and file and workflow in my homefolder/library/Workflows/Applications/Folder Actions/xxx.workflow, however I cannot open this workflow in applescript. I even tried changing the extension to .scpt. I'm not sure I can accomplish the desired result with Automator alone, but I don't think I am well versed enough in AppleScript. Thanks for your help.

From script to Folder Action?

Sample script:
tell application "Finder"
set List1 to {"VNG", "COW", "SIN", "CVR", "CRM"}
set List2 to {"VNG", "SIN"}
set MissingList to {}
repeat with i from 1 to count of List1
if item i of List1 is not in List2 then
set end of MissingList to item i of List1
end if
end repeat
display dialog MissingList as text
end tell
Works, gives me what I want - answer as "COW, CVR, CRM"
I make a Folder Action from it, like this:
on adding folder items to this_folder after receiving added_items
tell application "Finder"
set List1 to {"VNG", "COW", "SIN", "CVR", "CRM"}
set List2 to {"VNG", "SIN"}
set MissingList to {}
repeat with i from 1 to count of List1
if item i of List1 is not in List2 then
set end of MissingList to item i of List1
end if
end repeat
display dialog MissingList as text
end tell
end adding folder items to
Attach it to the folder, try - the answer comes as ""COWCVRCRM", without separating items in a list.
Why?
And, BTW, when I work with script I can see an Event Log in a Script Editor, but when Folder Action works - is there any way to see a Log?
Thank you in advance for any help!
Vera

It may be that displaying the dialog via Script Editor instead of whatever app is frontmost when your folder action is triggered causes the difference. It's been known to happen. Try this in place of your code to display the dialog (untested code).
<pre style="
font-family: Monaco, 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;
font-size: 10px;
margin: 0px;
padding: 5px;
border: 1px solid #FF0000;
width: 720px;
color: #000000;
background-color: #ffff99;
overflow: auto;">
set {oldDelims, my text item delimiters} to {my text item delimiters, {", "}}
display dialog (items of MissingList) as text
set my text item delimiters to oldDelims</pre>
As for seeing your events, you can write code that can send some of it to a file on the desktop but you won't get all of it, mostly just error info. The best way I know of is to use [Script Debugger|http://www.latenightsw.com/sd4/index.html|http://www.latenightsw.com/s d4/index.html] from Late Night Software Ltd. It may seem expensive initially but it's worth every penny you'll spend on it. Note: the SD download is completely functional for 20 days after installation so you can give it a good workout. Its debugging environment will allow you to step through every line of code, see your variable results for each line and also concurrently view the event log.

Will changing the partition of the Home Folder automatically move files from old location?

I want to change the home folder for my users. Currently they are saving to the C: drive and using up the space on the root drive. There is a D: partition that has 774 GB free, so I would like to move use directories over to a new Home
Folder on the D: drive.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/816313
What I am unsure of is whether or not I will have to manually move their files once I change the home directory. Will it or do I need to take an extra step to move files in order to provide a seemless experience to the users?
I am working with Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials.

Hi,
Did you use the group policy to set the user home folder?
As Ahmed MALEK mentioned, a user account is moved from one location to another in AD the users home drive setting is not automatically updated as its a static configuration on the users account. You need to manually move the file to the new location.
Maybe you could consider the folder redirection, more detail information, please refer to:
How to “Set users home folder” via group policy in Windows 8
Regards.
Please remember to mark the replies as answers if they help and unmark them if they provide no help. If you have feedback for TechNet Support, contact [email protected]

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Setting the track format to: RGB, 24-bit, Masks=3:2:1, PixelStride=-1, LineStrid
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space
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mydir
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Script Help: Folder Actions - Move files

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