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

I like to keep my files very organized, so I used Automator to organize files in my Downloads folder automatically based on the type of file. I created a very simple workflow that watches the Downloads folder for any file additions, and simply move them to the appropriate folder (Documents, Images, Videos, Music).

Initially, i just used the "kind" parameter to move the files. For example, if kind is music, move to Music folder, etc. But Automator was frequently moving the files to the wrong folder (music files could be moved to any folder like images, videos, or even documents). I suspected macOS to be unable to differentiate the file formats due to lack of native support, so i edited the workflows to now look for specific file extensions, and move the files accordingly. A sample workflow is here:

As you can see above, the workflow is as simple as it can be. Yet, I found that music files would be moved to other folders. I tried copying the same file several times to the downloads folder, and surprisingly, Automator would move the same file to different folder each time. This was ridiculous because Automator worked without any sense.

It is a bug with Automator as of now. I tried looking for alternatives, and there is only one app that i found - Hazel.

But it is incompatible with Catalina as of now. Read here.

Does anyone know of an alternative? Or has anyone successfully created (and wouldn't mind sharing the workflow) an Automator script that works sensibly without errors?

Thanks.

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

MacBook Pro 13", 10.15

Posted on Oct 21, 2019 11:13 PM

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17 replies

Oct 31, 2019 10:30 AM in response to Barney-15E

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.

Oct 25, 2019 1:08 PM in response to Barney-15E

Filter Finder items only moves one file at a time. And if you copy/ download several files at a time, most of them will remain unmoved (unorganised). May be this is a bug, but that is how it is as of now.

Find Finder items action runs on all files which is a good thing. But it is organizing (moving) them incorrectly, and inconsistently.

Ideally, the workflow should only look into the folder, and not sub-folders. Even if it does, there is absolutely no reason to move a mp3 file into a videos folder, especially when the workflow explicitly mentions what extensions to look for when moving files, and this was done specifically because Apple seems to have its own definition of what constitutes what. For example, if I create a smart folder with "kind" as documents, all types from pictures, music, videos, everything gets shown. I don't think Documents should include files with jpeg, mpeg, etc extensions.

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