Has anyone successfully created an Automator script that works sensibly without errors?

Finding files relies on Spotlight, regardless of the criteria (file name, kind, size, date, or whatnot), so it could well be Spotlight.

If I understand correctly, you have several folder actions associated to your Downloads folder - one for each type of files (Music, Photos, etc).

The fact that the file was moved incorrectly is more likely to be caused by a false positive in the Find Finder Items than by the Move Items mistaking the destination folder.

All in all, my suspicion is that this may be a timing problem.

I don't know how the several actions are launched, they may be acting concurrently, and this may be the cause of the error.

I would try the following test: create a different "Test" folder, and add only one of the actions (say, the one for Music files) to this folder. Then make a script that copies some files to it, and check how it goes. I suspect that it will work correctly.

Another thing is, if my assumption above is correct: instead of several folder actions, create just one and concatenate them all - or is it that what you are doing already?

I was thinking a little more, and doing some testing, and I came up with a different suggestion which I think is a lot more efficient.

Your workflow uses the "Find Finder Items" action, which is ignoring the given input and searching through the whole Downloads folder and all its subfolders. It should be using the "Filter Finder Items" action instead, which would apply the same criteria only to the files you are adding to the Downloads folder.

Suppose you are adding one file and the folder contains 20000 files... the difference will be significant, and the potential for issues significantly reduced with this change.

I will add similar actions for pdf, video and music files run a test creating a few thousand files and checking if they all go where intended; I will let you know.

I don't think you followed the important part of that.

A folder action takes in files automatically. Whatever was added is passed into the action.

Your Find Finder Items adds to those files that are pulled in automatically.

So, if you added a video file, a music file, and a jpeg image, all three would enter the workflow because that is what a folder action does.

When you then Find Finder Items, it searches the Downloads folder for files matching the criteria. If your criteria is for video files, then your workflow still has all three original files because they are passed through. That's how all workflows operate and the reason it moves files that don't meet your criteria.

That's why a Filter Finder Items is the appropriate action. Unfortunately, it has never worked correctly from what I have seen.

You can alter your workflow by disabling the connection between the folder action input and your Find Finder Items.

Ctrl-click on the triangle in the top, center of the action and choose Disable. Now, the items won't fall through the workflow.

I see Louis has already stated the same. However, it is not that the workflow is ignoring the things passed into it, it is processing both. That is why it is moving files to the wrong place. You could break the link between the Folder Action input and the Find Finder Items Action, then it should work as you desire.

There is no need to run a search of finder items. You are already getting files that are added to the Downloads folder when the action runs.

You are just adding another group of files to the workflow, essentially acting on the same files twice.

When the workflow runs, the files added to the folder are passed into the workflow. You then search the same folder for the music files and pass them along, too.

Files added to the folder are being moved, regardless of what type that they may be.

You need a Filter Finder Items action to do the filtering. That will filter the items passed into it, not go gather the files again.

Replace the Find Finder Items with a Filter Finder Items action.

Barney, of course you are right that Filter Finder items is the correct action and I had said it too. But in testing I, like the OP, got very inconsistent results. Some times a file goes to the correct destination, sometimes to a wrong one, and sometimes it just stays in the folder. I’m stymied.

The Filter Finder Items has never worked reliably in the history of Automator.

I didn't see your post until after I posted the second and third paragraph. I added the first to try to clarify, then it dawned on me that you could just disable the passing of files from the Input section. But, all of this is OBE with Folder Tidy.

1. “The problem with Filter action is it will move only one file. “

That’s not true. That’s just what you think is happening. regardless, it s

doesn't’ work correctly.

2.No. It will “find” files that matches the criteria.

You folder action moves the rest of the files that triggered the workflow, along with what that action finds

Sridhar Ananthanarayanan wrote:

I don't know why you say I 'think'. Because what I said is what I 'observed' during my testing.

Since you have confirmed that these workflows are not reliable, I would rather wait for them to fix these in the OS updates. For now, Folder Tidy hopefully wouldn't disappoint.

They haven't fixed filter finder items in about a decade, so don't hold your breath.

Everything else is working as it should, you just don't understand how it works.

This ought to work but I wonder if Automator itself is to blame. To me it seems more likely to be a problem with Spotlight index, or maybe a bug in the Find Finder Items action.

Barney, of course you are right that Filter Finder items is the correct action and I had said it too. But in testing I, like the OP, got very inconsistent results. Some times a file goes to the correct destination, sometimes to a wrong one, and sometimes it just stays in the folder. I’m stymied.